Border controls between Italy and Spain are not expected to have a significant impact on the Canary Islands, beyond the usual inconveniences of passenger checks. These issues could exacerbate existing problems at airports like Tenerife-South, which currently operates 37 direct air routes to Italy with 73 weekly flights.
Italy is a major source of tourism for the Canary Islands. In 2025, the archipelago welcomed 834,108 tourists from that country, out of approximately 18 million total visitors. Furthermore, the Italian community is the second largest group of residents in the Canary Islands, after native Canarians. An estimated 60,000 Italians reside on the islands, drawn by the climate and low tax pressure. Their travel between the Canary Islands and Italy will become more cumbersome until this reciprocal measure is lifted.
Sources familiar with the Italian community in the Canary Islands indicate that their numbers continue to grow. Tenerife is the preferred island for this nationality, although the municipality with the highest percentage of Italians is La Oliva, in Fuerteventura, specifically in the tourist area of Corralejo. They are followed in preference by municipalities such as Adeje and Arona, in southern Tenerife.
In the municipality of Arona, in southern Tenerife, the Vice-Consulate of Italy is located. This office handles phone inquiries from Monday to Thursday between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, making it difficult to obtain immediate information on the measure's impact on its users. In the province of Las Palmas, only one consular agency operates, which is a lower-ranking diplomatic representation.
Eight out of the ten Spanish municipalities with over 1,000 inhabitants and a high percentage of Italian residents are located in the Canary Islands. Notable ones include La Oliva (16.88%), Adeje (10.99%), Antigua (9.77%), and Arona (8.64%). In Santa Lucía de Tirajana (Gran Canaria), specifically in Vecindario, the Italian community is the primary foreign nationality after Spanish, followed by Moroccan.
