Calls have been made to expand the Canary Islands’ use of the ES-Alert mobile warning system so it can better inform tourists about dangers which are becoming more frequent and intense. CIT Sur (The Centre for Tourism and Initiatives of South Tenerife) is requesting that the regional government provide real-time safety information about areas such as hiking trails and coastal zones, particularly in response to weather warnings.

This comes after seven people have been killed in Tenerife by rough seas and powerful waves in the last two months, including four tourists at a natural ocean pool at the Los Gigantes coast in early December, when they ignored warnings and swimming bans. CIT Sur wants the ES-Alert system – which notifies the public via SMS and an alarm of major disasters and imminent or ongoing emergencies – to also be activated during periods of adverse weather when official alerts are in place. It plans to present its proposal to the General Directorate of Security and Emergencies and the archipelago’s Ministry of Tourism.

CIT Sur is proposing the use of the “Serious Threat – Level 3” alert, which is designed for situations that require caution but do not warrant full emergency alarms, such as strong winds, dangerous sea conditions, heavy rainfall, extreme heat or snowfall.

According to the organisation, this type of alert would allow authorities to share clear, preventive information and even warn of possible transport disruption, as is already the case in other European countries, such as Belgium’s BE-Alert and France’s FR-Alert and our own UK Emergency Alert System.

CIT Sur highlights that in a highly touristic region like the Canary Islands, the ability to send warnings directly to 4G and 5G mobile phones in different languages, without the need to download any app, is a major advantage.

David Pérez, Vice President of CIT Sur, highlighted that tourists are not always able to see local media: “Social media algorithms and the digital environment do not lead tourists to our local news outlets,” he explained.

While stressing the importance of personal responsibility, Mr Pérez added that immediate and accessible information could help people better understand risks and make safer decisions, especially when faced with situations such as trail closures, restricted access to natural areas or sea condition warnings.

“Any information that reaches tourists is vital if we are to prevent incidents,” he added.

Currently, Spain’s ES-Alert is mainly used for major emergencies such as wildfires or volcanic eruptions. On November 20, hundreds of thousands of people along the Cadiz coastline participated in Andalusia’s largest-ever tsunami drill. At 10.03am, every mobile device located in officially mapped inundation zones rang with an alert message, warning of a simulated earthquake triggered by a “Lisbon-style” 7.6-magnitude earthquake, which struck Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa in 1755 and is estimated to have killed between 50,000 and 60,000 people.