Silent Disco Tours Spark Debate Over Tourism in Tenerife and Spain

Dancing Through the Streets — and Dividing Opinion

A video showing a group of tourists dancing in formation through the streets of South Tenerife while wearing silent disco headphones has gone viral — and in doing so, has added fresh fuel to Spain's ongoing debate about the impact of mass tourism on its most popular destinations.

The tours, operated by Silent Adventures and conducted in English, are primarily aimed at British visitors. Participants wear wireless headphones, follow choreographed routines and complete musical challenges as they move through public spaces — creating scenes that look, from the outside, like a spontaneous flash mob of holidaymakers.

How the Tours Work

Groups of around 20 participants follow a guided route through town centres, with the experience described by organisers as "an immersive and impactful" way to explore a destination. Participants hear music and instructions through their headphones while performing choreographed movements in public squares, outside historic buildings and along pedestrian streets.

The tours operate in both Tenerife and Alicante, where weekend sessions take in some of the city's most prominent landmarks: Town Hall Square, the Co-cathedral of St Nicholas, the Central Market and the Esplanade.

For those taking part, the appeal is clear. One participant described it as "like being at a private concert" — a novel, social experience that stands apart from a standard walking tour.

The Local Reaction

Not everyone is enthusiastic. For many residents, the viral footage was less a charming novelty and more a symbol of exactly what concerns them about the direction of tourism in Spain's most visited areas.

Some locals have described the scenes as a "tourist circus" — a phrase that captures the frustration of watching public spaces, squares and streets that form the backdrop to daily life transformed into stages for visitor entertainment. Residents in heavily touristed areas increasingly report feeling that their neighbourhoods are designed exclusively for visitors, with local life pushed to the margins.

There are also concerns that the imagery reinforces negative stereotypes about British tourists at a time when Spain is attempting to attract higher-spending, more culturally engaged visitors.

A Wider Debate

The silent disco controversy is the latest flashpoint in a broader conversation about overtourism that has been building across Spain for years — and which has intensified as visitor numbers have recovered strongly since the pandemic.

In the Canary Islands, the Balearics, Barcelona, and along the costas, communities are grappling with the same tensions: the economic dependence on tourism revenue on one side, and the genuine costs to local quality of life, cultural identity and public space on the other.

The question of what kind of tourism Spain wants to attract — and what it is willing to accept in exchange for visitor spending — is one that local governments, residents and the tourism industry are increasingly being forced to answer directly.

Silent disco tours are, in isolation, a minor and largely harmless phenomenon. But as a symbol of the direction of travel, they have clearly touched a nerve.

This article is based on reporting from Alicante Today, published April 2026.