The controversy arose after a video went viral on TikTok, posted by user @anapologyx, who denounced the emergence of a “new circus for tourists” in Tenerife's streets. The footage shows groups of foreigners with wireless headphones, listening to music and loudly singing as they walk along the sidewalks.
This activity, known as silent disco, is offered by Silent Adventures, a business model imported from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The leisure offering is conducted entirely in English, with guides leading clients in their native language and advertising that completely ignores the local public.
The main criticism lies in the creation of a “subculture” isolated from the Canarian reality. Southern Tenerife functions, according to the complaint, as a closed ecosystem for visitors.
Local residents have expressed clear fatigue with this model of tourist exploitation, feeling that public space has been entirely ceded to external visitors. The video has garnered thousands of views and hundreds of comments, with users describing the archipelago as an “amusement park” or a “theme park.”
The situation for residents in southern Tenerife is exacerbated by constant noise and a lack of cultural integration, creating a barrier for locals. The silent disco activity is seen as a symptom of a deeper structural problem, where mass tourism does not encourage learning Spanish, and tourists pay foreign companies for activities already available in their home countries.
“"The question posed by the content creator resonates strongly: “Which Canarian would want to live there and put up with that?"
The outrage on social media reflects palpable social tension, with comments advocating for “ordered and quality” tourism and lamenting the loss of emblematic places in favor of what they call “circus land.” The debate over the limits of tourist growth remains more alive than ever in the Canary Islands.
