Over 20,000 Mallorca residents marched down the streets of Palma de Mallorca on Sunday evening in a protest against mass tourism.
The protests are not against tourism per se, but against a tourism model that puts visitors above residents, making life harder or even impossible for inhabitants of the island. Marching with signs that read “Tourists we love you when you don’t buy our land” and “Your paradise is our nightmare”, the protesters asked for an alternative tourism model, access to housing, the improvement of public services and the conservation and regeneration of natural areas.
Yesterday, over 20,000 protesters took to the streets of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in a demonstration against mass tourism. This continues a series of similar protests in Tenerife and Barcelona over the summer 🇪🇸
— Challenge Magazine (@ChallengeYCL) July 22, 2024
The protesters have made it clear that their movement is not… pic.twitter.com/mz5vdvonkd
Organised by Menys Turisme, Mas Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), the demonstration started around 7pm on Sunday evening. Over 100 groups and social movements took part in the protest, including neighbourhood associations, community groups and activist organizations.
With just under 1 million residents, the island saw 14.4 tourists last year and is expecting a record 20 million this year. Not only does the presence of visitors on the island increase the cost of goods and services, as people on holiday have a different budget to spend for their few days in the destination, but the prevalence of short-term rental accommodation, like Airbnb, makes it difficult for people to find and afford housing.
"I hope they'll listen"
— Bruno Boelpaep (@BrunoBoelpaep) July 22, 2024
People in Spain're protesting against the consequences of mass tourism.#Mallorca many locals can no longer afford to rent a place.Alicia's son works at the airport for €650/month."We don't want to be the waiters of Europe" w/ @Beaking_News @jadominguez_a pic.twitter.com/PEFQEm5Gxl
This is just the latest in a series of protests taking place across the Balearics and overall Spain. A residential coastal town in Menorca, owned by just 195 people, gets 800,000 tourists a year, mostly concentrated in the high season months between May and October. The visiting hours introduced last year have had little effect, so now the community is working on getting approval to entirely ban visitors.
Soon after in May, anti-tourism protests were staged throughout the Balearic Islands, with hundreds of people taking to the streets of Menorca, 1,000 in Ibiza and 10,000 in Palma de Mallorca. “Enough Mass Tourism”, “SOS Residents” and “Go the fuck home” are the resounding messages of the locals.
In April, residents of the Canary Islands staged a hunger strike, citing the environmental disaster, left behind by tourists, with golf courses, swimming pools and other developments sucking up huge amounts of water in an era when water shortages are becoming more frequent. Most recently, Barcelona residents sprayed tourists with water guns, as if trying to shoo away an annoying stray cat or dog.
