Mallorcan families have packed the beaches in protest against tourists in the latest efforts to drive out tourists.
Protesters yesterday occupied a beach in Mallorca in a demonstration against the avalanche of tourists who flock to the area every summer.
They claim mass tourism is driving up rental prices for local people and putting pressure on their public services.
Angry Mallorcans gathered in the tourist town of Colonia De Sant Jordi, east of the island’s capital, Palma de Mallorca.
The campaign group Mallorca Platja Tour (Mallorca Beach Tour) called on residents to reclaim the beaches from tourists on social media under the hashtag ‘OcupemLesNostresPlatges’, which translates to ‘Occupy Our Beaches’ in Catalan.
Mallorcan families have packed the beaches in protest against tourists in the latest efforts to drive out tourists.
Protesters yesterday occupied a beach in Mallorca in a demonstration against the avalanche of tourists who flock to the area every summer.
They claim mass tourism is driving up rental prices for local people and putting pressure on their public services.
Protest group Mallorca Platja Tour took to social media to appeal to locals, writing on
The group, which said it is organizing a mobilization for the middle of next month, added: ‘We invite all residents who live near the beaches to go there to recover our beaches and enjoy them as before.’
The group described itself as “a civic, peaceful and family response” to mass tourism, and added: “We will simply go swimming, to show that the beaches belong to everyone, they are a public good and we are not going to give up.” ‘
Angry Mallorcans gathered in the tourist town of Colonia De Sant Jordi, east of the island’s capital, Palma de Mallorca.
The campaign group Mallorca Platja Tour (Mallorca Beach Tour) called on residents to reclaim the beaches from tourists on social media under the hashtag ‘OcupemLesNostresPlatges’, which translates to ‘Occupy Our Beaches’ in Catalan.
It comes as TUI announced that the Balearic Islands have “reached capacity” and urged tourists to look elsewhere when booking their sunny getaways following recent anti-tourism protests across Spain.
It comes after a wave of protests against mass tourism in Mallorca, with up to 10,000 people taking to the streets of the capital Palma last weekend to demand limits on the number of visitors.
TUI CEO Sebastián Ebel, 61, said the company had reached its “capacity limits” in the Balearic Islands and was looking to other Mediterranean destinations to grow.
Less-crowded destinations include Egypt and Turkey, although Algeria is also a potential option, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
Protesters hold a banner reading ‘Mallorca is not for sale’ during a demonstration to protest against mass tourism and house prices.
Up to 10,000 people took to the streets of Palma, the capital of Mallorca (pictured), last weekend to demand limits on the number of visitors.
The general director of TUI, Sebastián Ebel, 61, stated that the company has reached its ‘capacity limits’ in the Balearic Islands and is looking towards other Mediterranean destinations to grow.
The travel agency stated that it had accepted that the Spanish archipelago cannot accommodate an increasing number of tourists. TUI already expects to bring around two million tourists to the Balearic Islands this summer, five percent more than last year.
But despite the pause in the Balearic Islands, the TUI boss revealed that he had recently discussed the possibility of opening up Algeria for beach holidays.
Amid a series of mass anti-tourism protests and calls for drunken Brits to “go home”, Ebel made a surprise promise to invest in residential housing in the Canary Islands instead of building new hotels as angry locals continue to demonstrate against overcrowding.
File photo: Camp de Mar, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Thousands of residents protested in Tenerife, Canary Islands, last month to demand that the government temporarily limit tourist arrivals.
TUI announced that the Balearic Islands have ‘reached capacity’
He said: ‘We are offering to create living spaces for employees and other residents; We are happy to address the problem head-on.’
The decision follows large-scale demonstrations in the Canary Islands on April 20, which saw more than 50,000 people take to the streets of Tenerife to protest against tourism on the island, brandishing banners that read “you enjoy, we “we suffer” as locals struggle with poverty and housing shortages. .
Activists claimed the huge influx of tourists to the island is causing significant environmental damage, driving down wages and driving locals out of cheap, affordable housing, forcing dozens to live in tents and cars.
A protester at the march held a sign that read: “Fourteen million tourists a year, but 36 percent of Canarians are at risk of poverty.”
Residents of Tenerife also carried out hunger strikes for more than a week as part of a wider protest campaign.
Graffiti is seen that says ‘My misery, your paradise’ in the Balearic Islands
The Spanish islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic jams and a lack of cheap and affordable housing linked to rising property prices due to Airbnb-style holiday rentals.
The words “Go Home Tourist” were scrawled in English on a wall beneath a property development sign in Nou Levante, Mallorca, a neighborhood that has seen a massive influx of foreign buyers in recent years.
Protesters packed Weyler Square in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife, the starting point of a march on the popular British tourist island, on April 20.
Activists have quickly distanced themselves from anti-tourist graffiti that appeared on walls and benches in and around Palm Mar, in the south of Tenerife, earlier this month.
However, Ebel stressed that it is up to policymakers to determine how to regulate tourism, not the heads of travel companies.
Ebel added: ‘It is not for us to dictate how many tourists a destination can accommodate; “That is the responsibility of local politicians.”
The German travel chief attributed the rise in house prices on the island mainly to the influx of foreign property buyers and the increase in holiday home rentals to tourists, rather than package holidays.
In response, TUI has decided not to invest in new hotels in the Canary Islands.
It comes as Mallorca’s anti-tourism campaign urged locals not to reveal the island’s beauty spots on their social media in its latest bid to deter rowdy visitors.
Earlier this month, stickers appeared with the slogan ‘Don’t tag this beach, bitch!’ were seen plastered around beach entrances following the initial launch of the campaign by Mallorcan communications agency La Indis last year.
A local told Ultima Hora: ‘Overpopulation affects us residents first, making the situation more expensive and worsening our quality of life, but tourists are also harmed.
‘Therefore, our campaign seeks to involve them in the search for solutions to alleviate this problem.’