Brits heading to Mallorca this Bank Holiday weekend face disruption as thousands of anti-tourism protesters take to the streets
Britons heading to Mallorca this Bank Holiday weekend are facing major disruptions as thousands of people take to the streets to protest the saturation of tourism.
The popular holiday island is the latest Spanish destination to host demonstrations, following Tenerife and the other Canary Islands last month.
The protests will take place on Saturday evening from 7 p.m. and are concentrated around the capital Palma.
Organizers say they are surprised at the number of groups and organizations that have pledged their support.
“Initially we thought there would be around 2,000 people, but now it will be significantly more,” said a spokesman for the organizing group, Banc de Temps de Sencelles.
Thousands of people demonstrate against tourism policy on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain on April 20, 2024
British holidaymakers could face holiday chaos this summer as Mallorcans step up their anti-tourism campaign by threatening to block the island’s airport and protesting outside hotels (pictured: holidaymakers partying in Mallorca)
Shops in tourist hotspots such as Magaluf have been banned from selling alcohol between 9:30pm and 8am since 2020 as part of legislation the government said was the first of its kind
The main focus of the march will be on the problems locals have with affording homes in Mallorca, due to the higher prices that owners can get for holiday rentals.
But the protesters will also highlight all the other aspects of mass tourism that they say is ruining the island.
Last week, a group under the slogan ‘Més turisme, menys vida’, which translates to ‘More tourism, less life’, said it planned to cause chaos at Palma airport this coming weekend.
The saturation of tourism has become the main topic in Mallorca in recent months.
While residents understand that tourism is critical to local economies, patience is running out.
Locals say there is traffic congestion, overcrowded beaches, blocked access roads, destroyed beauty spots and just too many holidaymakers flocking to the island.
Mes calls for a reduction in the number of flights at Palma airport, saying: ‘Mallorca is no longer overpopulated, Mallorca is experiencing a collapse. You can’t have airports that break records year after year.”
The Balearic government says it is ready to change the tourism model and has started a round of talks with the public. No concrete measures have yet been agreed.
Banc de Temps de Sencelles has labeled its campaign ‘Mallorca is not for sale!’ and is so surprised by the promised support that she has asked the government to use more buses and trains so that people from all over the island can attend.
“The demonstration aims to highlight the problem of access to housing in Mallorca, a general problem, but not isolated, because it cannot be separated from tourist saturation, the purchase of properties by foreigners,” says Carme Reynés of Banc de Temps de Sencelles.
The group says the protest will be followed by “other actions” in the coming weeks.
Locals are particularly angry about traffic jams across the island, including in and out of Palma, and have described the center of the capital as ‘unbreathable’ in the middle of the tourist season.
The beautiful spots are also hidden, with queues of up to four hours at some beaches and viewpoints.
The Balearic Islands government held its first meeting on Wednesday to “lay the foundations for a new tourism model” in light of existing “social unrest” and congestion on the islands.
“The time has come to make difficult decisions and transform the tourism model,” said Marga Prohens, president of the Balearic Islands.
‘Tourist Go Home’ is scrawled in English on a wall beneath a property promotion billboard in Nou Llevant, Mallorca, a neighborhood that has seen a huge influx of foreign buyers in recent years. It is one of many examples of anti-tourist graffiti
Protesters flooded the streets of Tenerife last month (pictured) calling on local authorities to temporarily limit visitor numbers to ease pressure on the island’s environment, infrastructure and housing stock, and to ban property purchases by foreigners restrict
People on hunger strike sit in wheelchairs during a protest against a change in the tourism model in the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, last month
She said that the Balearic economy has so far developed with a growth pattern based mainly on ‘volume and quantity’ and that it is ‘not capable’ of growing in ‘value or quality’.
But she cautioned that the change in the model won’t be active for a year or two.
“Today we start working on a great social and political pact for the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the Balearic Islands,” she said.
“The road to reaching an agreement will not be easy, but we owe this to the entire society in light of the current situation of overcrowding of the archipelago and mobility problems.
The Balearic Islands received almost 18 million tourists last year and this year summer bookings are up 15%, the president confirmed.
The government will launch a macro survey among Balearic Islanders to find out their opinions, quantify traffic on main roads this summer and monitor the influx of visitors to tourist areas and certain natural enclaves.
The protests in Mallorca come after more than 50,000 people took to the streets of Tenerife in April to protest against tourism on the island in the Canary Islands.
Protesters were seen waving “you enjoy, we suffer” placards, claiming that the huge influx of tourists to the island is wreaking havoc on the environment, driving down wages and pushing locals out of cheap, affordable housing, leaving dozens people are forced to live in tents and cars. .