Protests have taken place across the Spanish Balearic Islands this weekend due to overtourism, amid resident calls for authorities to take action. Police estimates put the number of protesters, who brandished banners declaring “Enough Mass Tourism” and “SOS Residents”, at 10,000 in Palma de Mallorca, 1,000 in Ibiza and in the hundreds on Menorca.
Mallorca and Menorca had already hit the headlines this year, after guerilla signage telling tourists to “Go the f*** home” went up and one village threatened to close access to tourists altogether. Now Ibiza is joining the chorus of complaints.
We have nothing against the people who come and respect our island.
Rafael Jimenez, a Prou Eivissa spokesperson
Campaign group Prou Eivissa (Enough Ibiza) says key workers such as nurses, doctors, police officers and teachers have been priced out of the housing market on the Spanish Mediterranean island, forcing some to live in their cars or caravans, or even move to mainland Spain and fly in for work. The situation is so bad, the group says, that essential medical care such as cancer surgery is being delayed due to a shortage of doctors to perform operations.
Sigue sumándose gente a la concentración convocada por Prou frente al Consell de Ibiza para pedir medidas para evitar la masificación y los problemas asociados como la vivienda pic.twitter.com/le1uCcGrX2
— Radio Ibiza SER (@RADIOIBIZASER) May 24, 2024
Rafael Jimenez, a Prou Ibiza spokesperson and local police officer from Ibiza who moved to Aragon on the Spanish mainland to get away from the effects of mass tourism, told Euronews that the islanders “are not against tourism itself. We have nothing against the people who come and respect our island.”
While some Spanish destinations have legislated to curb antisocial behaviour, part of the problem on Ibiza in particular, is the island’s reputation as a clubbing destination which brings in a certain type of tourist, less interested in the UNESCO heritage and more interested in partying.
Key workers are homeless
It is not only rowdiness that causes an issue though, Jimenez went on to explain: “A side effect of mass tourism is that house prices are rising. Everyone feels that everything is collapsing. More restaurants require more workers but these workers require places to live and there are ten looking for every place. There are nurses and police who live in caravans.”
The protesters targeted government offices during their demonstration, demanding action such as limiting the number of tourist beds and preventing outsiders from purchasing housing unless they have lived on the island for at least five years.
One teacher told a Spanish TV channel it was cheaper for her to take 40 flights a month, jetting to work at 6am from where she now lives in Palma, Mallorca, rather than live on Ibiza itself. But as the breadth of the protests shows, citizens in Mallorca and Menorca share Ibizan concerns that local infrastructure cannot cope with the numbers of arrivals.
Spain’s second most popular destination
Nearly 18 million tourists visited the Balearic Islands in 2023. Tourism accounts for 200,000 regional jobs and brings in a massive €16 billion income or 45% of the islands’ GDP. They rank as Spain’s second most visited destination, after the Catalonia. The Canary Islands, where residents have also complained in recent months, saying that locals have been forced to live in caves, rank third, with 13.9 million visitors.
