MADRID – British holidaymakers heading for Mallorca this summer face a new wave of protests as campaigners urge tourists to stay away.
Protest groups said the authorities on the Spanish island had failed to address the growing problem of overtourism so they have planned a wave of demonstrations starting on 5 April.
Six different protest groups issued a statement telling tourists: Stay at home.
“Mallorca is not the paradise they are selling you. The local population is angry and no longer hospitable because the land we love is being destroyed and many of us must leave the island because it is uninhabitable,” it reads.
MALLORCA, SPAIN - AUGUST 11: Members of the Mallorca Platja Tour association demonstrate against tourist saturation with a banner that says "Let's occupy our beaches!" on the beach of Palma de Mallorca on August 11, 2024 in Mallorca, Spain. This is the third protest this summer over excessive tourism in Mallorca, which many locals blame on a cost-of-living crisis on the island. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Members of an anti-tourism group with a banner that says ‘Let’s occupy our beaches!” on the beach of Palma de Mallorca last August (Photo: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
“It is time to take a stand. Our leaders do not listen to us, so we ask you: DO NOT COME. We do not need more tourists, in fact you are the source of our problem.”
Neus Lopez, one of the campaigners, insisted the protesters were not against tourists.
“We speak for a great proportion of the society of Mallorca. We are against mass tourism, which preys on our territory and resources and the foreign capital which controls our island without scruples,” she said.
“We have tried to talk about this with our politicians and so far they have not solved any problems.”
The i Paper tried to reach the Balearic regional government for a comment but did not receive a response.
Spain’s Balearic Islands announced last week that they will increase the tourist tax and put a new levy on hire cars as the archipelago tries to contain over tourism.
The islands’ regional government said the tourist tax would rise from €4 per night to a maximum of €6 a night per person in the high season in summer.
The tax hike, which needs to be approved by the regional parliament, will apply at four different rates from March to December, with January and February being exempt.
Cruise passengers visiting the Balearic Islands between June and August, will see their tourist tax tripled from two euros to six euros for each night they stay.
The planned levy on hire cars will be for vehicles arriving on the islands from elsewhere, affecting tourists and hire car companies who ship in vehicles for the summer months.