Fury on the streets of Ibiza as 1,000 protesters march against mass tourism amid backlash at boozy UK holidaymakers – with banners reading ‘we don’t want an island of cement’ and ‘not like this’

As many as 1,000 protesters have marched against mass tourism in Ibiza amid a backlash against drunken British holidaymakers.

Campaigners held up banners reading “We don’t want an island made of cement” and “Tourism, yes, but not like this” as they gathered outside the island’s council headquarters.

The noisy protest started last night at 8pm in Ibiza Town, and another protest will take place this evening in the Mallorcan capital Palma.

Tonight’s march is expected to attract thousands of people and is expected to be the largest of its kind since last month’s protests in the Canary Islands.

The organizers of the Ibiza demo, a group called Prou ​​​​Eivissa – which literally translates to ‘Enough Ibiza’, met with Ibiza president Vicent Mari before taking to the streets.

Tourist hotspots including Palma, Llucmajor and Magaluf in Mallorca and San Antonio in Ibiza have stepped up efforts to curb rowdy behavior by increasing fines for drinking on the streets, banning shops from selling alcohol at night and restricting party boats lay.

In a bid to tighten the islands’ 2020 legislation, partygoers now face fines of between €500 and €1,500 if their street use ‘disrupts coexistence, involves crowds or degrades the tranquility of the environment’.

Protesters’ demands include a limit on the number of vehicles allowed onto the island in summer and a ban on the use of taxpayer money to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination.

At the end of the protest, a letter was read out from an Ibiza-born woman who linked her decision to leave the island with her family and move to the Spanish mainland to a “destructive” tourism model that had led to “more cars , more tourists and more rudeness.’

Ahead of last night’s protest, organizers said: ‘We are fed up with our failure to properly address the complaints of so many citizens about the dire consequences of mass and selfish tourism that ignores the future of the island to treat.

‘Our beautiful island is in danger. Tourist crowds not only affect our quality of life, but also the beauty and authenticity that makes Ibiza such a special place.

‘The overcrowding of tourists makes the cost of living unfeasible for many residents.

‘We fight for an Ibiza where we can all live in dignity. It is time to raise our voices and protect our home.”

The protest comes a month after thousands of people in the Canary Islands took to the streets of the Atlantic archipelago to demonstrate against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand their politicians take action.

Government officials in Tenerife, where protesters held up banners reading: “You enjoy it, we suffer” and “Tourism memorial now”, said about 30,000 people had taken part, but organizers put the number at 80,000.

Tonight, a platform called Banc del Temps organized a separate protest against ‘tourist overcrowding’ in central Palma under the slogan ‘Mallorca no se vende’, which is Spanish for ‘Mallorca is not for sale’.

The idea of ​​an airport protest in high season, involving the collapse of Palma airport with cars, was discussed just over a week ago during a brainstorming session organized by the association Menys Turisme, which translates into English as ‘Less tourism, more to live’.

Mass protests outside hotels and on beaches were also put forward as proposals at a citizens’ meeting attended by more than 300 people.

Anti-tourist graffiti has appeared in both Mallorca and Tenerife in recent months.

Some foreign holidaymakers have expressed support for the issues raised by the campaigners, but others have accused them of biting the hand that feeds them.

A British tourist celebrating her birthday in San Antonio’s gritty West End said the regional government’s tightened restrictions aimed at promoting responsible tourism were “stupid”.

They cover Magaluf’s party area and party strip, Punta Ballena, and include a ban on street drinking and night-time closure orders for shops selling alcohol.

Party boats are no longer allowed to operate closer than one nautical mile (1,852 km) from designated areas and are prohibited from picking up or dropping off passengers.

Shops selling alcohol in areas with ‘excessive tourism’ must now close completely between 9.30pm and 8am, rather than simply stopping selling booze between these hours.

The strict rules, which also ban tourists from organizing public drinking parties, spraying graffiti, riding scooters and showing nudity, will remain in place until at least December 2027 – after which the government hopes the law will no longer be needed .

A spokesperson for Prou ​​Eivissa said: ‘We don’t want tourism, but we want a different tourism.

‘We want some controls. We want our beautiful island back.’