Canary Islands Put Cybercrime at Heart of Tourism Safety

The Canary Islands have put visitor safety, online fraud and the protection of tourism businesses under renewed scrutiny after police, prosecutors and tourism officials met in Gran Canaria for the archipelago's second Safe Tourism conference. The 10 September meeting brought together the Guardia Civil, National Police, local police, the Canary Islands Police and the public prosecutor's office, reflecting a wider shift in travel security: keeping a destination safe now means protecting bookings, payment data and hotel systems as well as streets, beaches, airports and resorts.

The immediate message for holidaymakers is reassuring rather than alarming. The conference did not announce a new travel warning, entry requirement or restriction, and it did not suggest that visitors should reconsider trips to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura or the smaller islands. Instead, officials used the event to explain how cooperation, digital reporting, tourist assistance and inspections fit into the Canary Islands' tourism model.

For travellers, the most useful development is the growing range of ways to contact or report to the authorities. Spain's AlertCops service can connect people with the National Police or Guardia Civil through a geolocated alert or chat, while its chat can provide simultaneous translation in more than 100 languages. The Guardia Civil also operates an online reporting system for a limited list of non-violent incidents, although eligibility depends on the identification method available to the user and not every crime can be reported digitally.

That distinction matters. Online reporting can be convenient after a theft, fraudulent card charge or loss of documents, but an emergency, a violent or sexual offence, an incident involving intimidation, or a situation in which the suspected offender is known still requires immediate direct contact with the authorities. Travellers should call 112 in an emergency rather than spend time trying to complete an online form.

Why tourism safety is back on the Canary Islands agenda

The II Safe Tourism Conference was organised by the Canary Islands tourism department through the public tourism-project company Gesprotur and held at the Elder Museum of Science and Technology in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Its programme ranged from cybercrime and operational policing to legal cooperation and the inspection of tourist activities.

Regional tourism officials described safety as the second most important reason visitors choose the Canary Islands, behind the climate. They also presented figures indicating that 72% of tourists are repeat visitors and that 20% have visited more than ten times. Those percentages were cited at the conference as evidence of destination loyalty; the announcement did not provide the survey period or methodology, so they are best understood as the tourism authority's current headline indicators rather than a new statistical release.

The broader point is persuasive even without treating those numbers as a league table. A holiday destination earns repeat business partly through everyday predictability: travellers expect reliable hotels, legitimate bookings, safe public areas, clear help in an emergency and a workable route to report a problem. In an island region where many visitors arrive from abroad and stay for only a week or two, the response must also work across languages and tight travel schedules.

Safe tourism is therefore not simply a police matter. It depends on coordination among national and regional forces, municipalities, accommodation providers, tour operators, transport companies, payment services and visitors themselves. A hotel receptionist who recognises a fake payment request, a car-hire company that protects customer data and a traveller who verifies a booking address all contribute to the same system.

Cybercrime now sits inside the travel-safety brief

One of the clearest themes from the Gran Canaria conference was that the boundary between travel and cyber security has largely disappeared. Holidays are researched, booked, modified and paid for online. Airlines, hotels, holiday-rental platforms, excursion providers and car-hire firms hold personal information that can be useful to criminals. A compromised email account or fraudulent payment link can disrupt a trip before the visitor has even reached the airport.

The conference identified several risks to tourism companies: operational interruption, ransomware, automated or artificial-intelligence-assisted attacks and large-scale leaks of confidential information. The advice to businesses was practical. Staff need training, daily backups should be maintained and isolated from the live network, and companies should have procedures for suspicious messages from a supposed supplier or senior executive.

For a traveller, the same issue appears in a different form. A convincing message may claim that a hotel booking will be cancelled unless card details are confirmed. A fake accommodation page may copy photographs and branding from a real property. A criminal may impersonate an airline, travel agent or tour operator and request payment through a channel that was not used for the original reservation.

The safest response is to step outside the message. Do not use the embedded link or phone number. Open the company's official website or app independently, locate the reservation there and contact the provider through a verified channel. Travellers should be particularly cautious when a message creates urgency, asks for a bank transfer, requests full card details by email or moves a conversation away from the platform through which the booking was made.

Public Wi-Fi deserves similar care. It is useful at airports, shopping centres and hotels, but sensitive payments and account changes are better made through a trusted connection. Spain's Safe Tourism Plan recommends checking that the booking brand and portal are genuine, using trusted payment platforms and favouring a private network connection over open Wi-Fi when handling sensitive information.

How AlertCops can help visitors in the Canary Islands

AlertCops is the Spanish Ministry of the Interior's mobile service connecting users with the National Police and Guardia Civil. It is available in the Canary Islands and is designed to make contact faster and more accessible, including for tourists who do not speak Spanish.

The application itself is available in eight languages, including English, German, French and Italian as well as Spain's official languages. Its chat service adds simultaneous translation in more than 100 languages. Users can communicate by call or chat, send multimedia material and share their location when making an alert.

The current version also includes location-sharing tools. A traveller can share a position with trusted contacts, and the Accompany Me function is intended for activities or routes where being locatable adds reassurance. That may be useful for a walk between coastal towns or a solo outing, but it is not a substitute for checking trail conditions, obeying closures, carrying water or choosing a route within one's ability.

Visitors should install and configure the application before they need it. Registration, permissions and language settings are easier to deal with in the hotel or at home than during a stressful incident. Keeping the phone charged and allowing accurate location access when using an alert also makes the service more useful.

AlertCops does not replace the European emergency number. When there is an immediate threat to life, a serious accident, a fire, a medical emergency or an urgent rescue situation, call 112. The application is an additional channel, especially valuable when location or language complicates communication.

What travellers can and cannot report online

The Guardia Civil's electronic complaint service is another part of the changing safety system. It can accept a defined set of reports without a later visit to a police station when the user meets the digital-identification requirements. The eligible categories include damage, theft without violence or intimidation, lost or found documents, vehicle theft, theft from inside a vehicle, and online fraud or fraudulent payment charges.

However, this is not a universal online police desk. Reports involving violence or intimidation, sexual offences, a known suspect, witnesses, a minor complainant or a crime in progress are not handled through that channel. Anyone in immediate danger should contact emergency services. Where there is uncertainty, the nearest National Police or Guardia Civil station can advise on the correct procedure.

Identification is particularly important for international visitors. The Guardia Civil has expanded access for European citizens using compatible national electronic identification, while some other foreign residents may be able to use a Spanish NIE or TIE and an accepted digital certificate. A short-stay visitor without compatible electronic identification should not assume that the online route will work. In-person reporting remains essential in many cases.

Travellers who need a police report for an insurer should keep the practical evidence that supports the case: booking confirmations, serial numbers, photographs of belongings, card statements, screenshots, emails, the time and location of the incident, and any relevant vehicle or accommodation details. Blocking a bank card or phone account should not be delayed while waiting to make the report.

Inspections are part of prevention, not evidence of a crisis

The Canary Islands Police told the conference that it had carried out 302 police actions and 111 inspections of tourism establishments or holiday homes during the previous year under a cooperation agreement signed with the tourism department in 2024. The work focuses on checking compliance with safety requirements for regulated tourism activities.

Those figures should be read carefully. An inspection is not, by itself, proof of wrongdoing, and the conference statement did not say that 111 properties had failed checks. Nor does the announcement mean that ordinary hotels or legal holiday rentals have suddenly become unsafe. Inspections are one of the routine tools used to verify that businesses meet the rules that apply to them.

For visitors, the sensible approach is to book identifiable, legal accommodation through a reputable provider and retain the reservation record. The address, property name, host or operator details and payment route should be clear. Extremely low prices, pressure to pay outside a recognised platform, inconsistent addresses or a refusal to provide normal booking documentation are reasons to pause.

Holiday-rental guests should also distinguish a commercial disagreement from an emergency. A missing amenity or check-in delay is normally handled first with the operator or booking platform. Threats, suspected fraud, unlawful entry, violence or an immediate safety risk require police or emergency assistance.

Why hotels, airlines and tour operators should pay attention

The safety conversation matters commercially because trust is part of the Canary Islands holiday product. A guest who receives calm, accurate help after losing a passport or noticing a fraudulent card charge is more likely to recover the rest of the trip than one who is sent between unclear contacts.

Hotels and resorts should know the nearest appropriate police service, explain that 112 is for emergencies and avoid promising that every complaint can be made online. Reception teams can help a guest preserve booking records, contact a bank or locate official assistance, but they should not minimise a crime or decide whether formal reporting is necessary.

Cyber resilience is equally operational. A ransomware attack can affect reservations, room access, payments, restaurant systems and communications at the same time. An isolated daily backup is valuable only if the organisation knows how to restore it. Staff training must include seasonal and outsourced workers because criminals often target ordinary email and payment processes rather than technical specialists.

Tour operators, transfer companies and excursion providers have their own exposure. A false schedule change can divert customers; a compromised supplier account can redirect a payment; and a data leak can reveal travel dates or passport information. Clear verification procedures protect both the balance sheet and the visitor.

A practical Canary Islands safety checklist

• Keep digital and offline copies of your passport or identity document, insurance details and key booking references, stored separately from the originals.
• Verify urgent payment or booking messages through the provider's official app, website or a previously confirmed telephone number.
• Use trusted payment methods and avoid sending card details through ordinary email or messaging services.
• Install and configure AlertCops before travelling if you want access to geolocated police contact and multilingual chat.
• Call 112 for an emergency. Do not rely on an online complaint form when there is immediate danger or urgent medical need.
• Keep bags closed and in sight in busy transport areas, markets, events and viewpoints, and do not leave valuables visible in a parked hire car.
• Report a lost passport promptly and contact the relevant embassy or consulate about an emergency travel document when required.
• Preserve screenshots, statements and transaction information if you suspect booking fraud or an unauthorised charge.
• Check official weather, coast, wildfire and trail information before hiking, swimming or entering remote areas.
• Tell a trusted person where you are going when travelling alone, especially for a remote route or late return.

What the conference changes for a Canary Islands holiday

There is no new form to complete before flying, no new police registration for ordinary tourists and no change to resort access. The conference is best understood as a statement of priorities: visitor protection must cover physical safety, online transactions, tourism-business systems and accessible assistance across languages.

That is a meaningful update because the fastest-growing risks are often invisible. A beach can be calm and a hotel lobby orderly while a fake booking message reaches hundreds of customers. The response requires more than patrols. It requires secure systems, trained employees, verified communication and reporting routes that fit the short time visitors spend on the islands.

The Canary Islands' high repeat-visitor share gives the authorities and tourism industry a strong incentive to protect that trust. The latest conference also shows that safety is being treated as a destination-wide quality issue, not merely as a reaction after something goes wrong.

For most holidaymakers, the practical conclusion is simple. Travel plans can continue normally. Book through verifiable channels, protect payment and account details, know how to call for help and keep enough documentation to act quickly if a problem occurs. The islands' renewed tourism-safety focus is designed to make that response clearer while helping the businesses behind each holiday prevent disruption in the first place.