Things have gone awry in Mallorca. The sun-soaked island and mass tourism go hand in hand, with around 40 per cent of its working residents employed in the holiday industry. But a colossal 17.
8 million tourists, including more than 3.7 million Brits arrived in the wider Balearic islands in 2023 – a record – and it seems many locals . A summer of discontent is upon us, with barely a week seeming to pass without some kind of anti-tourism protest.
At the beginning of the season, in Palma staged by activist group Banc del Temps was attended by an estimated 10,000 people, chanting “Mallorca is not for sale”. Hot on its heels, just a few weeks later, flash mobs of hundreds of locals , mobilised by campaigners Mallorca Platja Tour. They headed to two popular coves in the south, Caló des Moro and Cala Galiota.
In the spirit of Winston Churchill, febrile organisers rallied recruits to “occupy the beaches” as they greeted bewildered tourists with cries of “Go, go go!” – and cheered as they hurriedly took their leave. More recently in Soller, in the northwest of the island, scores of banners were hung from balconies with the slogan, “SOS Residents. Stop overtourism.
” Ironically, in 2021, following the pandemic, similar banners were unfurled but with the words “SOS Turismo”, meaning, save tourism. How quickly times change. Since the 1960s, Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic islands, has proved a magnet for British holidaymakers – as well as those from Ger.