Anger over £60 per day charge to use sunbeds in Palma: Outrage in Mallorca over high price for use of beach facilities
- Cala Major’s managers charge up to £60 per day for use of the facilities
- Locals are furious about the measure and say they are overpriced
- Tensions between holidaymakers and locals flared this weekend
Sun worshipers are in shock after a beach in Mallorca revealed it was charging holidaymakers up to £60 a day to use its beach facilities.
Cala Major, a public beach in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, charges up to €70 per day for the use of premium facilities, including luxury sun loungers and parasols.
A normal set of two sun loungers and a parasol will still cost a holidaymaker €25.50, or just under £22, for a whole day.
Lawyer Toni Bennàssar, who shared a photo of the exorbitant price signs in Cala Major, said this measure would make regular Mallorcans more expensive.
“(Palma City Council) has guaranteed that Mallorcans will occupy the beaches for the shortest possible time, leaving them unoccupied for foreigners who can pay these prices,” he wrote on X.
Cala Major, a public beach in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, charges up to €70 per day for the use of premium facilities
A tourist enjoys the weather on the beach of Magaluf
Last month, Palma’s ruling political party, the People’s Party, was criticized for expanding the right of private companies to monopolize public beach space (File image)
Last month, Palma’s ruling political party, the People’s Party, was criticized for extending the right of private companies to monopolize public beach space until at least April 2025.
Neus Truyol, a spokesperson for the Més per Palma party, told local media that Cala Major “has been affected by the massive installation of sunbeds and umbrellas, leaving no room for the fundamental right to enjoy the beach without paying.”
He added: ‘We demand that the PP inspect the occupancy of sunbeds and umbrellas in Cala Major.
“We cannot subject the entire beach to the private tourist business.”
Tensions between locals and holidaymakers flared over the weekend as thousands of anti-tourism protesters paraded through the streets of Mallorca, booing and jeering foreign visitors in the first of many mass demonstrations planned by angry activist groups.
An estimated 15,000 locals joined the protest which wound through the capital Palma and towards Weyler Square, where holidaymakers were out in droves for food and drinks.
Protesters hold a banner reading ‘Mallorca is not for sale’ during a demonstration to protest the massification of tourism and house prices
Protesters holding banners with anti-tourism slogans and beating drums gathered in the center of the capital Palma
An estimated 15,000 locals joined the protest that wound through the capital Palma and headed to Weyler Square, where holidaymakers turned out en masse for dinner and drinks.
Protesters shout at shocked holidaymakers enjoying dinner and drinks in Palma
Protesters were heard chanting “Tourists go home” as they passed the main square on the 20-minute route from a nearby park, holding banners with the message: “Salvem Mallorca, guiris arruix,” which in Catalan Spanish means “Let’s Mallorca save’ means. , foreigners out’.
The colloquial expression ‘Guiri’ is used to describe British holidaymakers known for partying and heavy drinking, usually in a mildly offensive manner.
Another sign said in Catalan: “Wherever you look, it’s all guiris.”
The protest in Palma was organized by Banc del Temps, a group that comes from the town of Sencelles in Mallorca’s interior and is outraged by the struggle locals face in paying for houses on the island due to the higher prices charged owners can get for holiday rentals.
After Saturday’s protest, Banc del Temps spokesman Javier Barbero issued a chilling warning.
‘This is just the beginning. If no action is taken, we will continue to take to the streets until we see action.”