Mallorca has “come to the table” to show its neighbours’ fatigue and exhaustion from the overcrowding of tourists. And the quotation marks are literal in this case; it is one of the many expressions used by the thousands of people who took to the streets yesterday to demand “limits” to the influx of visitors. The support the march has received is important, its message is important, but above all, where and when it takes place is important: the mobilisation was organised in the middle of high season and in one of the country’s most touristic hotspots. The extent to which the overcrowding of tourists has become a challenge for the sector.

And Mallorca is not the only example.

The “limits” of tourism. That’s what thousands of people demanded yesterday on the streets of Palma. As is usually the case, the number of participants varies depending on the source consulted, but the readings left by some and others are quite impressive: ‘The march organised by Menys Turisme Més Vida, with the support of more than a hundred groups, has achieved remarkable success in support on the island.

Those responsible speak of 50,000 participants. 50,000-strong National Police. In any case, the media are following with increasing interest the mobilization taking place in Spain against the mass influx of visitors and examples of “anti-anti-tourism”.

“A turning point”. The demonstration read banners and posters demanding “limits” to tourism and the search for a “sustainable” model that does not conflict with the daily lives of the islanders. “Tourism yes, but not like this!” read one of the cardboards held up by the protesters as they marched through the streets of the city. But the clearest message was left by the spokesperson of the organizing platform, Pere Joan Femenía: the aim of the march is to create a “turning point” that marks “the beginning of actions not only in Mallorca, but on the four islands” that will extend beyond the summer.

Yesterday’s event was not the first such demonstration in Palma. In late May, neighbours criticising overcrowding made their first show of force by calling thousands of people onto the streets in a speech similar to yesterday’s. Mobilisation is not entirely new. In September 2017, the Balearic capital also hosted a march criticising tourist saturation, led mainly by environmental groups.

But… What do they demand? “The aim of this protest is to change the course; people are tired of an economic model that does not take into account the problems that tourism creates for the residents,” Femenía emphasizes. As the spokesperson explained to Efe, beyond the complaint, the group also offers “concrete” proposals to stop overcrowding: limiting flights, cruises, car rentals and vacation rentals, as well as “controlling” home purchases by people who do not reside on the island. At least one of the options advocated is that the buyer must show a minimum period of residence.

“Uninhabitable”“There are 13 tourists coming to the islands for every inhabitant. We continue to claim that we live from tourism, but this is not true because for years the income from this activity has been accumulated in large capitals and poverty has reached 21 percent.” “Fifty percent of the population,” Femenía assures CountryThe following double message was insisted on during the march: to seek solutions to ensure that Palma ceases to be “completely uninhabitable” and, at the same time, to protect the “goose that lays the golden eggs” represented by the beaches and landscapes.

What do the numbers say? Femenía warns that it would be “unsustainable” for the islands to reach 20 million tourists, a figure that some estimates could be reached in the Balearic Islands this year, or at least close to it. Between January and May, the islands welcomed around 3.1 million tourists, compared with 2.7 in 2023, according to INE’s hotel occupancy records.

As for the rise in housing prices, another of the complaints that prompted thousands to criticise the effects of the tourist rush on the streets of Palma yesterday, the Balearic Islands are clearly experiencing a price increase. In April, Tinsa published a report concluding that housing prices in the Balearic Islands were currently 7.1% above the property boom values, and the Idealista portal attributed this to the biggest annual increase in rental prices in the country. It rose to 21.5%.

Beyond the Balearic Islands. If this weekend’s demonstration is interesting, it is because it does not represent an isolated and specific mobilization. And not just because the city hosted a similar event in May. Beyond the Balearic Islands, protests against overcrowding have also been recorded in the Canaries, Madrid, Andalusia and Valencia… In Cantabria, the prospect of becoming the “Ibiza of the north” with an ambitious real estate development has mobilized thousands of residents. In Barcelona, ​​perhaps the most obvious example was the recent shooting of tourists with water guns during a demonstration.

The trend continues beyond Spain, with moves to limit the flow of tourists in the Netherlands, Italy, South Korea or Japan, which have recorded record numbers of travellers. Measures have also been adopted in Spain, with proposals to impose a moratorium on holiday rental licences and limit the number of cruises or increase tourism taxes. Aware of the problem, work has also been carried out in the Balearic Islands to mitigate its effects.

Image | Yves Alarie

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