Despite escalating calls to curb over-tourism in hotspots like the Canary Islands and Majorca – TUI has unveiled more flights for next summer
TUI has unveiled a major expansion at a tiny UK airport in several EU hotspots – casting the effectiveness of anti-tourist protests into doubt.
The airline, which flies to more than 100 destinations worldwide, has boosted capacity at Cardiff Airport as part of its Summer 2026 schedule. Due to soaring demand, TUI will double its weekly flying frequency to Gran Canaria next summer to twice a week, while the Cardiff to Palma De Mallorca route will be increased from five flights per week to six. Customers will also be able to choose from an additional flight to Tenerife each week, with four weekly flights due to commence.
A new route to Fuerteventura, one of the less visited Canary Islands, will also commence on December 20, 2025 and will continue through the following period. Other new routes include direct flights to Hurghada from May 2, 2026, and routes from Cardiff to Faro, in Portugal – while TUI will increase its flights to Antalya, in Turkey, to four times a week.
READ MORE: ‘I’m a travel expert and making one simple change saved me £90 in flights’
“We’re really excited to be expanding our routes and flying frequency from Cardiff Airport to give our customers even more choice and flexibility,” said TUI UK&I’s Chris Logan.” With exclusive new routes and additional flights to some of the most popular holiday destinations, we’re making it even easier for travellers to visit new places from their local airport.
“We’ve seen the demand for destinations such as Turkey, Tenerife and Mallorca grow year on year. So, this increase in capacity allows customers to explore more options when booking their holiday.”
Lee Smith of Cardiff Airport also welcomed the ‘fantastic news’ – which he says will mean there will be an additional 48,000 holidays available from TUI from Cardiff next summer. “The recent announcement of a second based aircraft this winter, followed by today’s news of a fourth based aircraft in summer 2026, shows the confidence TUI has in the market,” he added.
However, it’s likely the announcement won’t go down as well with locals in the Canary Islands and Majorca – who have been ramping up their efforts against over-tourism. Following record-breaking levels of international tourists in 2024, both Brit-heavy destinations erupted into a string of protests – which saw banner-waving residents ordering holidaymakers to ‘go home’.
Locals argue the influx of tourists is pricing them out of the property market, and worsening Spain’s housing crisis. While tough crackdowns have been announced to curb the on-going issue (including a strict ban on new holiday rentals) activists have vowed to keep demonstrations going through the summer period.
Next week (June 15) widespread protests are slated to happen across hotspots including Ibiza, San Sebastián, Palma de Mallorca, Granada, the Pyrenees, and Barcelona. The Assembly of Neighbourhoods for Tourism Degrowth, which is behind the action, has been encouraging protestors to bring water pistols to target holidaymakers and get their message across.
As previously reported, member Daniel Pardo Rivacoba argued water pistols are a ‘popular symbol of resistance against the plundering of the tourism monoculture’ before arguing that the tourism industry ‘is incompatible with life’. His group is demanding rapid ‘tourism regrowth’ – something less likely to happen with even more scheduled flights.
Have you been put off going on holiday due to rising anti-tourist sentiment? Let us know in the comments section below
