A Tenerife-backed surf and sustainability project has begun a 12-day national and European expedition using surfboards made with cigarette butts collected from beaches, turning one of the coast's most common pollutants into a travelling symbol for responsible ocean tourism.
The initiative, called Surfing With Me, is led by the Fundación Moving The Planet with the support of Turismo de Tenerife. It set off from Tenerife on 22 June 2026 after fresh clean-up and awareness actions on Playa de Las Américas and at Las Arenas in Buenavista del Norte, two coastal areas with strong links to the island's surf, beach and outdoor visitor economy.
The project is deliberately visual. Instead of treating cigarette butts as an abstract environmental problem, Surfing With Me has transformed collected beach waste into functional surfboards that will accompany the team across several of Europe's best-known surf destinations. The route includes stops in Galicia, Cantabria, the Basque Country, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom before returning to Tenerife on 3 July.
For visitors, the story is bigger than an unusual surfboard. It is a reminder that Tenerife's beaches are both holiday spaces and living coastal environments. The same sand used by families, surfers, walkers, swimmers, sunbathers, beach clubs and surf schools also absorbs the impact of everyday behaviour. A cigarette butt left in the sand may look small, but it can remain in the natural environment for years and release pollutants into water and marine ecosystems.
That makes the campaign highly relevant for Canary Islands tourism. Tenerife is one of Europe's most established year-round holiday islands, but it is also trying to show that beach destinations can lead on ocean protection, circular-economy thinking and visitor responsibility. By taking a Tenerife-born project on the road through other surf communities, the island is using sport as a way to communicate sustainability without turning the message into a lecture.
What Surfing With Me Is Doing
Surfing With Me combines beach clean-ups, surf culture, environmental education and circular design. The core idea is simple: cigarette butts collected from beaches are turned into surfboards, and those boards become the public-facing symbol of a campaign about marine litter.
The latest phase began after two Tenerife actions held over the weekend before the expedition. On 20 June, coinciding with International Surfing Day, the project held a clean-up and symbolic launch at Playa de Las Américas, one of the island's most recognisable surf zones. The action was linked with the Colillatón 2026 campaign promoted by Surfrider Foundation. On 21 June, another volunteer action took place at Playa de Las Arenas in Buenavista del Norte, with collaboration from Gesplan and a talk on marine litter.
The expedition then left Tenerife on 22 June for Pantín in Galicia, continued towards Cantabria on 23 June, stopped in Somo on 24 June and moved to Mundaka in the Basque Country on 25 June. The planned route continues to Hossegor in France on 26 and 27 June, Nazaré and Peniche in Portugal on 28 and 29 June, and Praa Sands in the United Kingdom between 30 June and 2 July, before the return to Tenerife on 3 July.
During the route, the team is meeting surf schools, local organisations, surfers and community representatives. The aim is to share a clear message: beach waste is not someone else's problem, and sport can help make environmental protection more visible, relatable and memorable.
| Key point | What has been announced | Why it matters for tourism |
|---|---|---|
| Project origin | Surfing With Me is promoted by Fundación Moving The Planet with support from Turismo de Tenerife. | It links Tenerife's surf identity with responsible destination management and ocean protection. |
| Beach actions | Recent clean-ups took place at Playa de Las Américas and Las Arenas in Buenavista del Norte. | Both areas connect the campaign with real visitor spaces rather than a distant environmental message. |
| Symbol | Surfboards made with cigarette butts collected on Tenerife beaches are travelling with the expedition. | The boards make marine litter visible and help visitors understand how small waste becomes a coastal issue. |
| Route | The 12-day journey covers surf destinations in Spain, France, Portugal and the UK before returning to Tenerife. | The campaign projects Tenerife's responsible-surf message into other European beach communities. |
| Tourism angle | The project combines sport, education, sustainability and circular-economy thinking. | It supports Tenerife's positioning as a destination where outdoor tourism and environmental care belong together. |
Why This Matters For Tenerife Holidays
Most travellers do not book a Tenerife holiday because of an environmental campaign. They book for sun, beaches, pools, food, scenery, walking, family time, nightlife, whale watching, golf, cycling, diving, surfing or the chance to disconnect in a mild Atlantic climate. But the quality of those experiences depends directly on the condition of the island's natural spaces.
Beaches are among Tenerife's most important tourism assets. Playa de Las Américas, Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje, El Médano, Playa Jardín, Las Teresitas, Bajamar, Punta del Hidalgo, Benijo, Almáciga and Buenavista are not identical holiday products. Each has its own setting, visitor profile, currents, surf conditions, services and local identity. What they share is exposure to the same pressure: high use, everyday litter, coastal wind, tides, stormwater movement and the challenge of keeping public spaces clean during a long tourism season.
Cigarette butts are especially difficult because they are small, easily overlooked and often treated as harmless. They are not harmless. They contain filters and residues that do not simply disappear when pushed into sand. Once left on a beach, they can be moved by wind, rain, cleaning machinery or tide action. They can fragment, enter drains, reach the water or remain embedded in the beach environment.
For a destination built around the sea, that matters. Visitors come to Tenerife expecting clean bathing water, attractive beach days, safe surf lessons, good coastal walks, pleasant promenades and a sense that the island is caring for the spaces that make holidays valuable. Campaigns like Surfing With Me support that expectation by turning a common bad habit into something people can see and remember.
The project also speaks to a wider shift in travel. More visitors now pay attention to how destinations manage pressure. They may not use policy language, but they notice whether a beach is clean, whether bins are available, whether local guides explain responsible behaviour, whether surf schools respect the coastline and whether tourism businesses appear connected to the place around them. Tenerife's challenge is to remain welcoming while making responsibility feel normal rather than optional.
Surf Tourism Gives The Message More Reach
Surfing is a useful vehicle for an ocean-awareness campaign because surfers have a direct relationship with coastal conditions. They read the sea, wait for swell, understand wind, spend time in the water and often form communities around specific beaches. When a surf project speaks about marine litter, the message does not feel detached from the setting.
Tenerife has a mature surf scene. The south-west around Playa de Las Américas is especially well known for waves, surf schools, board hire, international visitors and events. The north and north-west add more rugged conditions, local surf culture and dramatic coastlines. For many travellers, surfing is either the main reason to visit or an activity added to a broader holiday. Lessons, camps, competitions, board rental, surf photography and related hospitality all form part of the island's visitor economy.
That gives the campaign a strong tourism logic. A surfboard made from cigarette butts is unexpected enough to attract attention, but still credible because it belongs to the world of waves, beaches and boards. It creates a conversation point for surf schools, instructors, young travellers, families, local councils and beach users. It also gives Tenerife a way to connect with other surf destinations across Europe through a shared coastal problem.
The route is not random. Pantín, Somo, Mundaka, Hossegor, Nazaré, Peniche and Praa Sands are names that resonate with surf communities. By taking the boards from Tenerife into those places, the project places the island inside a wider European network of surf destinations that face similar questions: how to welcome visitors, support sport and protect the coast at the same time.
A Responsible Tourism Story, Not A Travel Warning
It is important to read this story in the right way. Surfing With Me is not a beach restriction, a tourist fine announcement, a new rule for visitors or a warning against travelling to Tenerife. Beaches remain open according to normal local conditions, and the campaign does not change holiday access.
What it does is add a practical layer to beach planning. Visitors should treat cigarette butts as waste, not as something that can be buried in sand or left near a sunbed, beach bar, promenade wall or car park. Smokers should use ashtrays, portable containers or designated waste points. Non-smokers can still take the message seriously by avoiding single-use litter, using bins properly, joining local clean-ups where available and choosing operators that show respect for the marine environment.
For families, the message is easy to translate into a holiday habit. Children notice beach cleanliness. A short conversation about why litter should not be left behind can make the day more meaningful without making it heavy. For surf students, the same principle applies before entering the water: the beach is part of the lesson, not just the place where boards are carried from the van to the waves.
For hotels and holiday rental managers, the campaign is a reminder that visitor communication can be simple and effective. A small ashtray policy, clear balcony and pool-area waste information, beach-clean-up partnerships, surf-school collaborations or guest messaging around local coastal respect can reinforce the destination's values. The best sustainability messages are often practical, visible and easy to act on.
How The Project Fits Tenerife's Destination Strategy
Tenerife has spent recent years trying to strengthen its image beyond the classic resort formula. The island still depends heavily on sun-and-beach demand, and that will remain true, but official tourism messaging increasingly highlights gastronomy, walking, cycling, nature, wine, stargazing, culture, local identity, sport and responsible travel.
Surfing With Me fits that direction because it connects several of those themes at once. It is a sports project, but also an education project. It is a beach clean-up story, but also a circular-economy story. It is local, because the waste and initial actions are linked to Tenerife's coastline, but international, because the expedition is moving through other European surf destinations.
That combination is valuable for the island's brand. Many destinations claim to be sustainable. Fewer can show an object as concrete as a surfboard made from beach waste and then send it through a network of surf communities as a working symbol. The project gives Tenerife a story that is easy to photograph, easy to understand and directly connected to the visitor experience.
It also aligns with the idea that tourism can help fund and amplify environmental awareness. A destination with millions of annual visitors has pressure, but it also has an audience. If even a small percentage of visitors leave with a clearer understanding of beach waste, marine litter and personal responsibility, the impact can extend beyond a single holiday.
What Visitors Can Take From The Campaign
The most immediate takeaway is simple: do not leave cigarette butts or any other waste on Tenerife's beaches. That may sound obvious, but repeated clean-up campaigns exist because the problem remains visible. The same applies to food wrappers, bottle tops, plastic fragments, broken toys, disposable vapes and fishing-line waste. Small items are easy to drop and hard to recover once they move into sand, rocks or water.
Visitors should also pay attention to local beach conditions. Tenerife's coastline changes sharply from one area to another. Some beaches are sheltered and family-oriented; others are better suited to experienced surfers or strong swimmers. Responsible tourism is not only about litter. It also means following lifeguard instructions, respecting flags, choosing appropriate surf schools, avoiding protected zones, staying away from dangerous rocks in rough conditions and not entering the sea when local warnings advise against it.
For surf travellers, the campaign is a good reason to think about the operators they use. A responsible surf school does more than deliver a lesson. It explains safety, conditions, etiquette and the beach environment. It keeps groups under control, uses suitable equipment, respects local surfers and avoids turning popular breaks into disorderly spaces. Environmental awareness should sit naturally alongside those basics.
For repeat Tenerife visitors, Surfing With Me is also a reminder that familiar places need care. Playa de Las Américas may be well known, but familiarity can sometimes make people careless. Buenavista del Norte may feel quieter and more natural, but quieter areas can be even more sensitive because cleaning services, access and environmental pressure work differently from major resort beaches.
Why Tourism Businesses Should Pay Attention
This is not only a feel-good environmental story. It has direct relevance for tourism businesses because coastal quality affects reputation, repeat visits and local trust. Hotels sell proximity to beaches. Surf schools sell access to waves. Restaurants and bars benefit from attractive promenades. Excursion companies sell the idea of a beautiful island. If coastal spaces are treated poorly, the entire visitor economy loses value.
Businesses can use the campaign as a prompt to make small operational improvements. Beach-facing venues can review ashtray availability and waste collection. Hotels can include clear guest reminders without sounding punitive. Surf schools can mention litter at the start or end of lessons. Activity providers can support local clean-ups. Car-hire companies can remind visitors not to leave waste at viewpoints or beach car parks. Tour guides can frame coastal respect as part of understanding Tenerife, not as an optional extra.
The campaign also helps businesses speak to a younger and more environmentally aware visitor segment. Many travellers now expect outdoor destinations to show credible action. They are quick to detect empty slogans, but they respond to visible projects with local roots and practical outcomes. A surfboard made from cigarette butts collected on beaches is exactly the kind of tangible story that can cut through generic sustainability language.
The Wider Canary Islands Context
Although Surfing With Me is rooted in Tenerife, the message applies across the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa all depend on coastal quality in different ways. Some islands lean heavily on long sandy beaches, others on natural pools, volcanic coastlines, ferry ports, diving, sailing, whale watching, fishing heritage or protected marine areas. In every case, the sea is part of the destination's identity.
The Canary Islands are also working through a broader debate about how to balance tourism, resident wellbeing and environmental protection. Beach litter is not the whole debate, but it is one of the most visible points where visitor behaviour and destination quality meet. It is also one of the areas where individual action is genuinely useful. A traveller cannot solve housing pressure or airport policy during a one-week holiday, but they can avoid leaving waste, respect signs, choose responsible operators and treat shared spaces carefully.
That is why this Tenerife project deserves attention beyond the surf community. It turns a small object into a larger lesson. A cigarette butt can be ignored, or it can become the starting point for a conversation about how tourism should behave on islands whose appeal depends on beaches, water and open-air life.
The Bottom Line
Surfing With Me is one of the fresher Tenerife tourism stories of the week because it connects a concrete visitor issue with a highly visible campaign. The facts are straightforward: Fundación Moving The Planet, with support from Turismo de Tenerife, has launched a 12-day surf expedition from the island using boards made with cigarette butts collected on beaches. The route follows clean-up and awareness actions in Playa de Las Américas and Buenavista del Norte and takes the Tenerife message through major surf destinations in Spain, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The deeper value is in what the project says about Tenerife's tourism direction. The island is not stepping away from beach holidays or surf travel. It is trying to show that those experiences work best when visitors, businesses and local communities protect the coast that makes them possible.
For holidaymakers, the practical lesson is simple: enjoy Tenerife's beaches, surf spots and coastal towns, but leave nothing behind. For tourism businesses, the message is equally clear: sustainability is strongest when guests can see it, touch it and understand how their own behaviour fits into the place they came to enjoy.