Residents of a village in Menorca are fed up with disrespectful tourists and will vote tonight on whether to impose a maximum number of visitors or ban them altogether.
In May, residents of the picturesque Binibeca Vell, a fishing village in the south of Menorca that has been dubbed the “Spanish Mykonos,” announced they wanted to ban visitors before 11 a.m. and after 8 p.m. to prevent selfie-taking tourists from trampling on their private property.
But now residents are taking it a step further and toying with the idea of banning tourists from their village altogether.
The vote will take place tonight and will be conducted by the local residents’ association.
A member of the group told MailOnline: ‘We are not against tourism, we are just against rude people’, adding that ‘as a community we have rules and we hope people respect them’.
Residents of a Menorcan village fed up with disrespectful, Instagram-obsessed tourists will vote tonight on whether to cap the number of visitors or ban them altogether
Local resident Maita, 63, who divides her time between the village and Barcelona, told MailOnline how large groups of noisy tourists have caused chaos in the village
Visitors are urged to ‘avoid indecent postures’ by ‘not entering the houses or climbing stairs or balconies’ and to help keep the village clean by ‘using the bins and keeping the walls white’.
Although it is not an official referendum, the 195 homeowners living in Binibeca will decide on a solution to tackle the flow of tourists to the Menorcan village, which attracts 800,000 people every year.
Residents are currently closing off 22 entrances to their private neighborhood, known for its narrow cobblestone alleys that wind between whitewashed houses.
Binibeca residents have long complained about hordes of noisy, social media-obsessed tourists who flood the village in summer, disturbing their peace and privacy in search of an Instagram-worthy holiday snap.
On the village’s website, the villagers share photos of tourists treating their private homes with disdain, with one lying on a staircase and another climbing over a balcony.
Online, visitors are urged to ‘avoid indecent behaviour’ by ‘not entering the houses or climbing stairs or balconies’ and to help keep the village clean by ‘using the bins and keeping the walls white’.
Concerned business owners warn that a total ban would be disastrous for them, as they rely heavily on tourists visiting the village.
Oscar Monge, president of the Binibeca Vell Property Owners Association, has stressed that tourists are welcome in the village and that the new rules are not intended to ruin anyone’s livelihood.
The photo shows the village of Binibeca Vell, also known as the ‘Spanish Mykonos’
A horde of tourists are pictured in a small alley in the village taking pictures in front of the picturesque white stone houses
A young woman poses for a photo on private property in the village
Residents have long complained about the hordes of noisy tourists flooding the village
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, he said most villagers supported the new rules because they saw it as a ‘common sense’ matter.
He claimed that there was a municipal deal last year that allowed tourists to visit Binibeca Vell from 12pm to 9pm, but accused the island council of thwarting the deal by failing to properly regulate the busloads of tourists entering the village. He also withdrew a €15,000 subsidy to clean up rubbish left by holidaymakers.
Mr Monge added: ‘I think the measures are having the desired effect in terms of the homeowners here, in terms of the number of people during the off-peak hours.
‘The regulations surrounding coaches are improving and there seems to be more understanding of the situation among the coaches that operate them.
Residents of a Menorcan village dubbed ‘Spanish Mykonos’ deny they have declared ‘war’ on tourists by chaining their streets at night. A caretaker who attaches the chains across the lanes
British holidaymakers said the ‘anti-tourism’ measures made them feel unwelcome and they would think twice before visiting the Balearics again
‘We are very happy that tourists are coming to Binibeca Vell.
‘But it is not normal for the Island Council to charge a tourist tax (up to €4 per person) and not want to help an iconic tourist destination like our village, where five of the photos you see of Menorca come from here, and then also withdraw the €15,000 subsidy we received to pay a private company to clean up the waste left by visitors.
“There comes a point where people say, ‘Enough is enough,’ and that’s what happens.
‘Tourists are welcome during the permitted opening hours, they can visit Binibeca Vell for free and outside those opening hours they can visit the restaurants, all of which are located outside the area that is closed after 8pm.
“We are not getting any help to make our community look the way it does now.
‘It costs us about €100,000 a year to keep the houses as white as possible, because the facades become black because people put their hands on the walls.
‘If we didn’t have 800,000 visitors a year, we would probably only have to paint once every two or three years.
This comes as protests against tourism took place in Spain this summer.
Last month, under the slogan “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism,” some 2,800 people marched through a waterfront neighborhood in Barcelona to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists who visit each year, according to police.
Protesters carried signs reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists, go home”, before some used water pistols on tourists eating outside restaurants in popular tourist hotspots. Shouts of “Tourists out of our neighbourhood” were heard as some stopped outside hotel entrances.
Members of the Mallorca Platja Tour association demonstrated yesterday on the beach of Palma de Mallorca against tourism with a banner reading ‘Let’s occupy our beaches!’
Members of the Mallorca Platja Tour association demonstrate against the tourist saturation on the beach of Palma de Mallorca
Yesterday, protesters against tourism demonstrated on the beach of Palma de Mallorca
The action group said it chose the area because it is notorious for drunkenness and disorder.
In the Canary Islands, 50,000 people took to the streets of Tenerife in April to protest against tourism on the island.
Protesters held banners reading “You enjoy, we suffer,” claiming that the huge influx of tourists to the island is causing environmental damage, driving down wages and forcing locals out of cheap housing, forcing dozens of people to live in tents and cars.
Also last month, anti-tourism activists in Mallorca joked about England’s defeat to Spain in the 2024 Euro final, demanding that Britain “take back its drunks” as thousands demonstrated against holidaymakers.
Around 50,000 residents took to the streets in Palma, the capital of Mallorca, to demand that fewer foreign visitors be allowed to the Spanish island.
And this despite calls from the regional government for protesters to show “respect” to foreign visitors during the march, as a wave of anti-tourism sentiment continues to grow across the Mediterranean.
Last year the Balearic Islands welcomed almost 18 million tourists and this year bookings for the summer have increased by 15%, the president confirmed.