“’Don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical?’ is the main question I’m asked,” Mr Harrison said with a strong Welsh accent, reported the Telegraph. However, the 57-year-old engineer says he “didn’t just go on holiday to Spain and stay there”.
Mr Harrison argues that he has lived in Tenerife for most of his life, after making a plan to move to Spain when he was still a young man. “Why wouldn’t anyone want to take care of a place they’ve lived in for over 30 years?” said Mr Harrison.
He says that he doesn’t not “feel obliged to be British” and has no plans to leave Tenerife. And he said that while he’s in Tenerife he will “fit in with the culture”.
“If I was in Australia, if I was in Bali, I’d do the same,” added Mr Harrison.
A spokesperson for Salvar La Tejita has also defended Mr Harrison’s involvement. Daniel Duque, 46, said Mr Harrison is one of the association’s most active members.
“It’s better for us that he is British because it dispels the myth that all British people want more tourists,” said Mr Duque. He also said that Tenerife needs to attract higher-quality tourists.
“We know we owe a lot to tourists but it has to change,” added Mr Duque. “We have to leave behind the ‘tourism of quantity’ and replace it with the ‘tourism of quality.’
Mr Duque’s comments echo those of Mateu Hernández, the head of the public-private body Barcelona Tourism, which has supported the city’s hosting of the America’s Cup. He said: “We need to improve the quality of those who visit. But people confuse quality with wealth.
“What we want is people who come here to do something, whether it’s to visit museums or enjoy the architecture and the gastronomy.”
However, Barcelonians fear plans to attract €1bn of revenue by pandering to super-rich tourists will turn their city into a playground for the wealthy – like Monte Carlo or Monaco.