Thousands of locals took to the streets of Mallorca over the weekend to protest the mass tourism that has wreaked havoc on their Spanish island in recent years. In the capital city of Palma, which has long been a popular resort destination for northern Europeans, demonstrators carried signs and travel-themed props to get their point across.
The protest in Palma is just one of many that have taken place across Spain as of late, with those in Barcelona, Malaga, and the Canary Islands drawing huge crowds. Despite the backlash, tourism has continued unabated as millions make their holidays in the Iberian nation.
"We are not against tourists as such," protestor Alvaro Sanchez told the Times, "but we are against the touristic model, which is kind of a part of the capitalist model. We are suffering the consequences of this model, because we cannot afford living here."
The taxi driver explained that "tourists with high standard of living" come to Mallorca and make everything more expensive for the locals, who are unable to afford to carry on living as they had before.
"We have to change course," Palma de Mallorca residents association president Biel Gonzales added. "We can't continue like this. When tourism began to increase gently, it began directly impacting the neighborhoods, and created a total gentrification of the city."
He lamented that because there are now "no flats" due to "tourist rentals both legal and illegal," locals "can no longer live in the city."
The protest was organized by Menys Turisme, Mas Vida, which translates to Less Tourism, More Life. One of its members, Pere Joan Femenia echoed Sanchez and Gonzalez's sentiments, explaining to Reuters, "tourists fill up beaches and put a strain on public services in the summer." He expressed a desire to "cut mass tourism and to ban non-residents from buying houses which are just used for a few months a year or for speculation."
According to the outlet, 14.4 million tourists visited Mallorca and the Balearic Islands area to which it belongs in 2023, and generated 45 percent of the region's gross domestic product.
