Several thousand locals took to the streets in the Mallorcan capital of Palma on Sunday evening to protest against the millions of tourists that descend on the Spanish Mediterranean island every summer. During the protest organised by the “Less Tourism, More Life”, demonstrators held signs with messages such as “Your luxury, our misery” and “We don’t want to be the pioneers of rising housing costs”. The poster advertising the protest representing the island’s almost 1 million residents showed airliners, private jets, cruise ships and luxury yachts all circling the island like a swarm of flies.
“Let’s change course” was written in Catalan above the photomontage, and in smaller print “Set limits to tourism”. Just eight weeks ago, around 10,000 people took to the streets of Palma under the slogans “Enough is Enough!” and “Mallorca Is Not for Sale!” according to police reports. The organisers claimed there were 25,000 participants.
There have also been demonstrations against ever-increasing mass tourism in other Spanish tourist hotspots such as Barcelona and Malaga, as well as on the Canary Islands. While tourism is essential for Mallorca, with the industry accounting for 45 per cent of the island’s economic output, many complain that only a minority benefits while the vast majority gets by on poorly paid jobs and suffers from housing shortages, traffic jams, noise and pollution. “I work in maintaining a luxury villa for English people and earn between €1,500 [US$1,630] and €1,800 a month,” a resident of Ibiza told El País newspaper.
He moved out of his home in February unable to pay monthly rent for a room of around €1,000. Since then, he has been sleeping in a caravan behind a Swedish furniture shop and showering at a friend’s place. His neighbours, also in caravans, earn similar amounts.
“Welcome to Ibiza,” with its two worlds of top nightclubs and life on the parking area, El País wrote. Regional government head Marga Prohens told local media that she had understanding for the protests. “But I ask that these demonstrations do not turn into vandalism against holidaymakers and residents, the way they did in Barcelona,” she said.
The Barcelona protesters sprayed patrons at restaurants used by tourists with water pistols and waved placards with “Tourists go home. You are not welcome”, written in English..
