Majorca islanders vow to block tourists from ‘every centimetre’ of beaches

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by TheTelegraph

36 comments

  1. ***The Telegraph’s Nick Squires in Palma reports:***

    Islanders in [Majorca](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/24/majorca-restaurant-new-rooftop-terrace-day-before-collapse/) have vowed to block tourists from “every centimetre” of beach this weekend as protests against the effects of over-tourism intensify.

    Tourism has brought great wealth to the Balearic Islands but locals now say that they are being choked by traffic congestion, high prices, overcrowding and unaffordable rents.

    After about 10,000 islanders marched through the streets of Palma, the capital, last weekend, protesting against saturation tourism, new demonstrations are planned for this weekend.

    Locals say that they want to take back their beaches from the millions of tourists who descend on the island each summer.

    Many residents were furious when a Spanish politician suggested that they could no longer expect to enjoy their own beaches in July and August, at the height of the tourist season, and instead they should make way for international visitors.

    “I understand the discontent but us Mallorcans, who live directly or indirectly from tourism, cannot expect to go to the beach in July and August like we did years ago,” said Manuela Canadas, a member of the far-Right Vox party in the Balearic Islands’ regional parliament.

    ***Read more:*** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/30/majorca-islanders-vow-to-block-tourists-from-beaches/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/30/majorca-islanders-vow-to-block-tourists-from-beaches/)

  2. If these places don’t want tourists, perhaps they should spend their energy building up some other industry to replace it.

  4. I give it 6 months before they beg for tourists to come back after all the local businesses collapse.

  5. “Let’s destroy our only industry. It will be fun!”

  6. I don’t know man, I was there 20 years ago, and it was basically just Germany with palm trees. They will soon realize that they need that sweet, sweet German tourist money. Though I see how toursim has become so massive, the locals feel like they lost their island. And they are not alone. Ask the good people of Dubrovnik, what they think about their city becoming an absolute hot spot for tourism cause game of thrones. Or ask Jamaicans how easy is for them to go to their own beaches.

  7. No problem. Came to Portugal. We love canned sardines in oil so we love the money that the tourist bring and leave in Portugal

  8. I don’t see the logic in this. Raise prices or introduce another tax like what they did in Venice.

  9. Xenophobia towards people who take away our money: 😡

    Xenophobia towards people who bring us money: 😄

  10. I mean isn’t the local economy exceptionally dependent on tourism for income?

    I think perhaps the problem is management of the industry rather than the existence of tourists. Allowing buildings to be bought out by international companies who can take in the rent, not having residence rules on who can buy property etc.

  12. its a german colony so not much will change after all

  13. Easy: just put a tourist tax of … I don’t know 50 euros. Filter out a good number of people that come to the island every year. Make some money and reduce the numbers. win-win

    Venice did this. It seems to have worked.

  14. I’ve seen this in Barbie

    SEE YOU AT THE MALLORCA BEACH!!!!!!

  15. Something I don’t understand is that if this is such a popular sentiment why aren’t local politicians that can enforce new official rules elected rather than depending on random activists?

    The tourists don’t have voting rights, they need to follow the laws the locals decide on, so decide on them.

  16. We have spent last week on Mallorca and I agree with the locals. It’s not about no tourists but about less mass tourism. Many hotels are all inclusive and don’t bring money except for the hotel owners. So many only eat at the hotel. Did you ever try to find a parking spot in Sóller?

  17. Taking in consideration the comments, it is fair to assume, that corporations created there like a colony to consume money from tourists ignoring locals, and overusing them.
    This would not be possible W/O politicians, which are elected by locals. It is also possible to change by politicians.
    So, the strikes are dedicated to interrupt money flow, and to make a noise. Both will damage politicians. Looks fair enough.
    However, the results of this fight can be unexpected, tbh.

  18. Good job blaming it on tourists but not local government….

  19. I do have sympathy with them, having lived in Spain for 11 years. But it’s not the tourists’ fault, it’s local governments not reinvesting in infrastructure and a fair amount of corruption over years.

    Greedy property owners Air BnB and so on so targeting the tourist is going to eventually end in tears, nobody wants to go on holiday feeling they are going to be harassed, they just want to go on holiday and chillout for a couple of weeks.

    Given 45% of their income is from tourists, this won’t go well for them. I’m just heading elsewhere this year. Like I said, I sympathise with them, but I don’t want to go where I’m not welcome.

  21. I see no problem with that, under the condition that Mallorca islanders will never be able to leave the island

  22. People will oppose to everything.

    >Tourists that inject money into the local economy? Fuck them, we don’t want them.

    >Industry that will generate jobs? Not in my back yard, pal.

    >A needed road or railway? You’ll have to go over my dead body before disturbing the local flora.

    But then they’ll complain that there are no jobs nor money nor infrastructure…

  23. The idea is to stop tourists overflow, not to stop tourism in majorca. They are not gonna destroy the tourism industry, just restrict it enough for they to be able to live.

    If it baffles you these people want to put limits to the overprices, traffic congestion and unhingedhousing prices maybe you should check ur own logic.

  24. I’d bet that it has to do with Russian tourists. Sri Lanka kicked them out bc of their behavior

  26. Can’t blame them, the tourism they’ve been getting in recent years are mostly young people from the UK that apparently have forgotten how to behave in a society. They don’t spend much at all and they basically destroy everything they come in contact with

  27. I can’t believe how arrogant and insensitive some comments are. From the tourist countries, heh, who could have guessed.

    Those locals aren’t against tourism or pro-srarvation, they just wish to live in a safe environment where their children can find houses too. They’re again mass-tourism. I’ve been in Mallorca, half of the island is basically a Disneyland for drunk morons and arrogant foreigners mistaking the locals for charity cases. I know if the same happened on the Aquitaine coast where I live, we would riot. Locals are people, they’re not a set for your drunken vacations, they’re not Somalians needing your benevolence nor they wish to be (*”soon they’ll bet for our bucks again”*, one comment said. Despicable)

    Anyway. Some comments here just illustrate why those people’s fight is fair.

  28. They always have all other industries to make money from. They do, right?

  31. I’m actually going to Mallorca this week. I’ll report back anything I see. Would be nice to actually speak face to face with these protesters and hear their grievances from their own mouth.

  32. Why is Simon Cowell there ( check front left side of the picture)

  33. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t exist without tourism.

  34. Watch the island crumble as their biggest source of income disappears. And once you block it, the likelihood of anyone returning once you realise your failure, will be low.

    Look at us in the UK.

  35. Ban Airbnb and touristic apartments and tax the fuck out of unused residential property.

  36. I completely understand protesting against airBnB because it ruins the housing market, but I do hope they have a lot of triving industries to employ all the people currently in tourism… because it’s one thing opposing a certain aspect of tourism and it’s a completely different thing completely making people cross your place out of their future plans.

    We will see how that will go…

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