Anti-tourism protesters storm local beach
Dozens of activists stormed a beach in Mallorca to protest against mass tourism on the popular tourist destination.
The demonstrators took place on the Platja de Palma (Palma Beach), a popular tourist hotspot, on Saturday, making their way to the sea with a large banner that read: โOccupy our beachesโ.
Members of the group laid their towels along with the banner across the seashore and proceeded to dance, with one protester playing a bagpipe and another a hand-held drum.
โWe want to be able to enjoy Mallorca as it was 20 years ago,โ Martina, a local resident, told i.
โWe want fewer tourists to come since resources are limited; to be able to go to the beach in summer; to drive on our roads; recover the environment; get on a bus, which are always full of tourists; reduce cruises, flights, rental flats and rental cars.
โIn short: we want Mallorca to return to being the paradise it was.โ
The protest was planned by the Mallorca Platja Tour (Mallorca Beach Tour) group, which informed authorities of the event before it took place, according to local media reports.
Two police vans were stationed by the beach ahead of the protest, while a police helicopter flew overhead during the event, the Diario de Mallorca news website said.
Llorenรง Alou, a local resident who participated in the protest, said: โThe protest involves going to beaches that are banned to Mallorcans for tourism.
โPalma is an example of a beach banned to Mallorcan citizens. The Germans have renamed it and call it Ballerman.
โIn Mallorca, we have gone from summer tourism to excess,โ he added.
โI would like to see a real common policy against mass tourism. A real limit on flights, overnight stays, car rentals, and so on.
โWe are an island and we have limits that cannot be exceeded.โ
Sundayโs protest comes just weeks after the latest anti-tourism demonstration took place in Mallorca on the eve of the British summer holidays.
Around 20,000 people were estimated to have taken part in the Canviem El Rumb: posem lรญmits al turisme, (Change course: limit tourism) protest on 21 July.
Pere Joan, a spokesperson for Plataforma Menys Turisme Mรฉs Vida Mallorca (Platform Less Tourism More Life), which helped organise the protest, told i that more demonstrations to take place in late August and early September.
โTourism doesnโt create benefits for the general population,โ he said.
โIt is sinking the economy of the city.
โForeign people from powerful economies buy houses and that increases the price of buying and renting. Prices rise every year.โ
โIf the general population want to go to the beach, they face problems with traffic, parking and they cannot go to many places that are overbooked,โ Mr Joan added.
โWe want to reduce the number of planes, cruises and tourists that come to Mallorca.โ
Mallorcaโs population of less than 1 million has been dwarfed in recent years by surging tourist arrivals, which peaked in 2023 when a record 17.8 million tourists visited the Balearic Islands.
Thousands of protesters also took to the streets of Barcelona in August, spraying people sitting in cafรฉs with water pistols as they marched against โmass tourismโ.
That followed similar action in holiday destinations popular with British people, including Malaga, Mallorca and Menorca over recent months, accompanied by warnings that tourism risks causing permanent damage.
The Balearic Islands announced in May that restrictions will be applied to street drinking and party boats in an effort to crack down on alcohol-fuelled holidays.
