15,000 anti-tourism protesters boo holidaymakers in Majorca as organisers vow ‘this is just the start’

16 comments

1. Isn’t Majorca’s economy dependent on tourism?

2. Airbnb does that.

3. If I was a tourist there, I’d pack up and leave, and never return. Exactly what these guys want. End of story.

   I don’t want to be, especially if I’m paying for it, where I’m not welcome.

   On another note, screaming ‘Tourists go home!’ is not a great strategy when your entire livelihood pretty much depends on tourists. Especially if they manage to reduce them way more than they imagined.

   ‘When gods wish to punish us, they fulfill all of our wishes’ – some quote I think I saw somewhere

4. Good for them.

   Also fuck AirBnB.

5. “But-t they depend on tourism”
   We know! That’s the problem, that’s why those zones are poorer, we can’t keep being a resort for germans and english people, we are getting displaced by Airbnb, locals can’t get a house so we have a shortage of health workers, teachers… And a surplus of rude drunkards that love balconing (jumping from the window to the hotel pool, fun fact, here summer starts when the first foreigner dies due to balconing).
   We don’t want tourism to disappear but we can’t keep like that, it’s not sustainable

   We even have an official account tracking balconing
   England 1st with 189 points
   https://x.com/Botquebota/status/1793743458395697595?t=dufGDwBF8ehJwDskIDvquA&s=19

6. Cheap travel has ruined a lot of places…

   People do not cherish and see the value in travel anymore. You can spend 100€ and have a nice weekend few 1000km away.

   And it ruins the life of the locals.

7. First: Housing prices rising 100% in the past 10 years is kinda universal everywhere people actually want to live.
   Second: The price hikes are not due to tourists, but investors and airBnB scams. Just limit the number of tourism-available “beds” and forbid any more, be they airbnb or hotel/hostels. Have a contigent for family-owned holiday houses. Give heavy fines to offenders.
   Majorcan hotel prices will probably rise as a result, potentially raising wages etc. and simultaneously reduce cheap-party-tourism.
   The only thing that’s difficult is the “stop allowing foreigners to buy homes here/foreigners be gone”. You are part of the EU after all, and enabling spanish citizens to live and work everywhere means you have to be open to traffic coming the other way as well.

8. How was Mallorca before “tourism”?
   Some Greece and Italian places have been absolutely poor places. It reminds me Brexit a little bit

9. As always, people from countries that go to those places saying that this is stupid, they are actually saving the place and locals should be thankful lmao every single time.

10. I love Mallorca and have spent countless holidays on the island since 1995. But in recent years it has simply become too much. The island is overcrowded in the summer months and I can totally understand the locals.

    For this reason, I no longer go on holiday to Mallorca in the summer. I prefer to use the low season when there are far fewer tourists on the island. You can enjoy the island much better that way.

11. Expecting an r/compoface post of one of the tourists shortly.

12. Yep, I’m taking note of all places where I see these protests and will not holiday there – I don’t want to add to the problem and be unwelcome. Shame there isn’t a list of places that aren’t overcrowded and do want tourists.

13. Also Brits on drunken holiday. 10 days straight. Nope.

14. So how much does it cost not to have these protestors outside your restaurant?

    Airbnb problems can be mitigated by regulating home ownership like has been done in for instance Åland and I believe Hainan.

15. I’m from Mallorca and very few people are against tourism, what we’re against is having the square meter 3x more expensive than the rest of Spain thanks to Airbnb and people from richer countries buying stuff here just to speculate.

16. Reminds me of Hawaii a little. I love going there, but the loud voices saying that tourists are the problem just cause me to move my money to another island getaway. With “go home tourist” signs I’ll happily go to an island I know wants my money. Best to give everyone what they want, but if those voices are a vocal minority then those people suffer.