Overtourism in Spain: residents have had enough, as protests erupt in Mallorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands
- Thousands marched through Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain’s latest protest against mass tourism
- ‘We want more sustainable tourism,’ a march organiser said. They seek better control of short-term holiday rentals that price locals out of the property market
Thousands of people have staged a protest in Spain’s Balearic Islands against mass tourism ahead of the summer season.
About 10,000 demonstrators took part, a Spanish National police spokesman said, although organisers claim the number was 25,000. The demonstrators included many families with children, students and retired people as well as members of trade unions, and environmental and other citizen groups.
A smaller protest, with a few hundred people, was staged in Menorca, the second largest of the four main Balearic Islands.
“We want the authorities to stop people who have not lived here more than five years from buying properties and to put more controls on holiday accommodation,” said Carme Reines, from a collective which organised the protest in Palma de Mallorca.
Javier Carbonell, a property agent, said more than half of rental properties were used for holiday rents and were not affordable for locals. “We want less mass tourism and more sustainable tourism,” Carbonell said.
Tourism is vital for Mallorca – it generates 45 per cent of the Balearic Islands’ gross domestic product, according to data from industry organisation Exceltur – but many say only a minority benefit, and that the vast majority working in the sector struggle with low-paid jobs while facing housing shortages, traffic jams, noise and rubbish.
Some 18 million international tourists visited Catalonia and 13.9 million people visited the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago off Western Africa.
On May 24, about 1,000 protesters took part in a demonstration against mass tourism in Ibiza, one of the most popular Balearic Islands.
“We want a limit on new tourist places and a ban on more illegal flats. With less flats around on the market, it pushes up the price,” said Rafael Gimenez, a spokesman for Prou Ibiza, which organised the protest.
The Mallorca rally was organised after the ceiling of a restaurant filled with mainly German tourists collapsed on May 23, killing four people.
