COUNCIL chiefs have been warned that anti-tourism protesters could descend on the streets of Edinburgh as locals become increasingly frustrated over the growing number of visitors. A 10,000-strong hoard of demonstrators marched through Palma back in May and chanted "Let's save Majorca . Foreigners out" while holidaymakers dined out.
4 The number of people visiting Edinburgh has rapidly increased in recent years Credit: Getty 4 Locals have become increasingly frustrated by the huge number of tourists Credit: Getty 4 The city faces dealing with protests similar to those take took place in Palma Credit: Alamy 4 They booed and chanted 'tourists go home' as they stormed through the city Credit: Alamy They booed and chanted " tourists go home" as they stormed through the city to vent their anger over tourist saturation. The march through Palma's capital reached a climax when protesters appeared to boo and jeer alongside tourists enjoying their evening meal in Weyler Square. The banners campaigners carried included one with the offensive message: "Salvem Mallorca, guiris arruix" which in Catalan Spanish means "Let’s save Majorca, foreigners out".
And now, one expert has warned that similar protests could happen in Edinburgh as the number of visitors flocking to the city has soared in recent years. READ MORE SCOTTISH NEWS FAMILY'S HEARTACHE Tributes to 'loving dad' who was killed in horror crash on Scots flyover MOTORWAY STOP Lamborghini seized by police after 'racing cars' on Glasgow's M74 The Scottish capital has a population of around 530,000 people and sees around 2.5million domestic and international visitors a year.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), an International Passenger Survey (IPS) revealed that 980,000 tourists visited the city back in 1999. I don’t think we’re that far behind something happening in Edinburgh to really bring this to the fore..
. Nobody is saying we need to stop tourism, but by God, we need to start managing it Terry Levinthal director of the Cockburn Association This dropped to 770,000 in 2003 before climbing to 1.33 million and 1.
34 million in 2007 and 2009. Before Covid , 2.51 million people visited Edinburgh in 2019, and as the city recovered from the pandemic, 2.
32 million tourists stayed in the city in 2023. Most read in The Scottish Sun 'PATIENT NEGLECT' NHS killed our daughter – sepsis, MRSA, broken bones, & referrals ignored UNION BERLIN 4-4 GERS Dessers & Lawrence at the double for Rangers in German goal-fest AIRPORT CHAOS New Manchester Airport vid shows police being punched before man was kicked SEX ASSAULT Woman raped in horror attack as cops seal off area near Scots school This is a 136 per cent increase in the number of tourists in just 24 years. And it's caused many to become worried that the local council has begun to prioritise tourism over residents and locals.
Protesters block beach in Spanish hols hotspot spelling out message for tourists in sand in latest anti-tourism row Terry Levinthal told The Scotsman that if the authorities don't start managing tourism better then they face dealing with a situation similar to that happening in Majorca. The director of the Cockburn Association said: "As the city gets busier and busier, I don’t think we’re that far behind something happening in Edinburgh to really bring this to the fore. “Whether that’s a mass protest , I don’t know.
Nobody is saying we need to stop tourism, but by God, we need to start managing it.” He added: “From what we can see, certainly on social media , is an increase in rhetoric against tourists. “Only a few days ago, we came across someone calling for direct action on tourists.
It’s a sign of how people are beginning to think.” We need a city that works for the people, not just the people passing through. Edinburgh’s residents are already angry Aditi Jehangir chair of the Living Rent tenants’ union Aditi Jehangir, chair of the Living Rent tenants’ union, also warned that “Edinburgh’s residents are already angry", adding that "We need a city that works for the people, not just the people passing through".
But Professor John Lennon, director of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University said he was unsure if residents in Edinburgh would take to the streets in the same manner. The increasing number of tourists visiting the city has directly resulted in the rapid increase of short-term lets, holiday homes and Air BnBs. And he thinks that this could lead to locals having an "avoidance rather than protest" attitude about the issues.
He said: "Will Morningside take to the streets? That’s a good question. What’s the normal behaviour pattern that occurs during the festival? "People either close up their flats and head on holiday, or let them out. "The behaviour seems to be avoidance rather than protest, but it’s hard to predict what will happen.
” Anti-tourist graffiti has appeared across Spain, Tenerife and Greece in recent months with protests in the Canary Islands, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Venice. And it's feared that protesters could flood airports in a bid to be taken more seriously - a move that would spark travel chaos for Brits. In the Menora Brit hotspot of Binibeca , locals have resorted to restricting tourist access to streets after selfie-loving tourists caused havoc.
Images showed chains and ropes used to book out holidaymakers using private doorways and alleyways to take snaps in the area dubbed "Spain's Mykonos". PALMA MARCH The Palma protest was organised by Banc del Temps, a group which hails from the inland Majorcan town of Sencelles and has claimed 25,000 people joined in the demo although government officials have put the figure at around 10,000. But the organisers were later forced to apologise for the outburst directed at holidaymakers - but hit back, saying "this is just the start of things".
Spokesman Javier Barbero said of the targeting of some visitors: "We didn’t want to have a go at tourists and it shouldn’t have happened. "If measures aren’t taken we will continue taking to the streets until we see action." Another campaign group that took part in Saturday's demo, held under the slogan "Majorca is not up for sale", described the organisers afterwards as "heroes".
The manifesto Banc del Temps made public when protestors had finished marching through Palma included the demand only people who had been living in the Balearic Islands for five years could buy property as well as a moratorium on holiday rentals. The protest, the largest of its kind since last month’s Canary Islands’ demos against mass tourism, was the second in 24 hours in the Balearic Islands back in May. Around 1,000 protestors took part in a demo in Ibiza to vent their anger over the effects of mass tourism.
Campaigners held up banners saying "We don’t want an island of cement" and "Tourism, yes but not like this" as they massed outside Ibiza Council’s HQ. The organisers of the demo, a group called Prou Eivissa, met with Ibiza’s president Vicent Mari before taking to the streets. British tourists across the other side of the island in San Antonio however dismissed a street drinking ban which could see them hit with fines of up to £1,300 if caught.
The protestors' demands included a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in summer and a ban on using taxpayers’ cash to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination. Some foreign holidaymakers have shown their support for the issues raised by campaigners but others have accused them of biting the hand that feeds them. Locals say there are too many cars on the roads, traffic congestion, overcrowded beaches, blocked access roads, ruined beauty spots and just too many holidaymakers flocking to the island which expects record figures this summer.
Meanwhile, another holiday hotspot sparked fury over its anti-tourism plans, which include hunting "illegal" visitors and a "fascist" list of foreigners. Residents and businesses in Girona, Spain, argue they have reached their limit with "overtourism" and called for urgent measures as "it is already too late". Locals in the Catalan town proposed increasing the number of patrols to find illegal tourist apartments and creating a list of all foreign residents living in Girona.
Read more on the Scottish Sun PITCH IN 'Beggars belief' cries NC500 campsite boss as she blasts new £40 motorhome pass HORTI LOVE Sir Andy Murray could be about to serve up new career with unusual new hobby The controversial plans have left many expats fuming, with some slamming the proposals as "fascist". One user said: “Far-right nationalism in Girona. Looks like populism is taking a hold even in traditionally left-leaning liberal areas.
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