PROTESTERS are preparing to take over Mallorca’s beaches in a new stance against mass tourism to “squeeze” foreign tourists.
Saturday’s march in Palma involved around 15,000 people – and organizers promised: “This is just the beginning of things.”
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A group calling itself Mallorca Platja Tour – Mallorca Beach Tour in Catalan – has now started an online campaign calling on locals to “occupy” the island’s beaches.
A first show of force is being organized for this Saturday on Sa Rapita beach, on the south coast of the island, to promote a “big event” on June 16th with the motto: “We fill the beach with Mallorcans”.
The latest campaign appears to have been triggered by comments from Manuela Canadas, spokeswoman for the far-right Vox party in the regional Balearic Islands. parliament.
She responded to Saturday’s protest by saying: “I understand the discontent, but we Mallorcans, who live directly or indirectly from tourism, cannot expect to go to the beach in July and August as we did years ago.”
Claiming that protests like Saturday’s demonstration sent tourism-phobic messages, she added: “There are other more attractive destinations and we could end up going hungry because there is a lack of jobs.”
The Mallorca Platja Tour already has more than 1,100 followers on X – despite only opening an account on Tuesday with a link to a local newspaper article about the Vox politician’s comments.
One of them, commenting on the idea of a protest on the beach, said: “I think it’s a great idea for a local resident to arrive at their beach or cove earlier than a foreigner after a night of revelry.”
Mallorca Platja Tour uses the hashtag #OcupemLesNostresPlatges – Catalan for “Let’s occupy our beaches”.
They said: “We invite all residents close to the beaches to take a swim, restore our beaches and enjoy them as before.
“Prepare the trampoline, healthy pineapple and apricots to spend the day there.”
The group added: “We want to make it clear that we are not organizing this to protest, but to take a dip in the sea in response to Vox’s words.
“This Saturday, June 1st, we will meet to organize the big event on Sunday, June 16th.”
The campaign began when the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, said he would propose measures to deal with the number of tourists entering the island’s capital.
He said he was considering measures to limit or ban party boats and amend legislation so that when bars and nightclubs closed they could not reopen with the same type of license.
This is just the beginning of things. If action is not taken, we will continue to take to the streets until we see action
Javier Barbero
“Tourist Go Home” graffiti reappeared in Mallorca this week following Saturday’s protest in Palma – prompting organizers to apologize for the abuse foreign tourists received.
The words “Go Home Tourist” were scrawled last month on a wall beneath a property promotion billboard in Nou Llevant, near the island’s capital, Palma.
The island’s newspaper, Diario de Mallorca, described it at the time as the first example of tourist phobia in the neighborhood.
It stated that the target was “new foreign residents” following the purchase of newly built properties by Germans.
Yesterday it was discovered that more graffiti had been scrawled on the access signs to the Tramontana mountain range.
Local media said the same messages were left on the entrance signs of villages such as Valldemossa or Deia – which have been flooded with visitors since the afternoon. spring on.
Foreign visitors were booed and booed by some local residents among the thousands who joined Saturday’s demonstration as they dined on the terraces of Weyler Square in the island’s capital, Palma.
Protesters were heard shouting “tourists go home” as they passed through the central square on the 20-minute journey from the park where the protest began to the iconic Paseo del Borne street.
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The Palma protest was organized by the Banc del Temps, a group from the city of Sencelles, in the interior of Mallorca.
It claimed that 25,000 people joined the demonstration, although government officials estimated the number at around 10,000.
After some tourists were targeted, spokesman Javier Barbero said: “We didn’t want to attack tourists and that shouldn’t have happened.”
But promising a repeat of Saturday’s action, he said: “This is just the start of things.
“If measures are not taken, we will continue to take to the streets until we see action.”
The Banc del Temps demanded that only people who have lived in the Balearic Islands for five years be allowed to buy property.
They also called for a moratorium on vacation rentals.
One of its speakers said: “This island must be a place where our children can grow up in safety and dignity, with controlled tourism that does not condition our lives”.
The protest, the largest of its kind since last month’s demonstrations in the Canary Islands against mass tourism, was the second in 24 hours in the Balearic Islands.
This island must be a place where our children can grow up in safety and dignity, with controlled tourism that does not condition our lives
Anti-tourist activist
Last Friday night, around 1,000 protesters took part in a demonstration in Ibiza to vent their anger at the effects of mass tourism.
Activists held up signs saying “we don’t want a cement island” and “tourism, yes, but not like this” as they gathered in front of the Ibiza Council headquarters.
The organizers of the Ibiza demonstration, a group called Prou Eivissa, met with Ibiza president Vicent Mari before taking to the streets.
Their demands include a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in summer and a ban on using taxpayers’ money to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination.
Another association based in Mallorca, called Menys Turisme, which translates into English as “Less Tourism, More Life”, is currently accepting proposals for another more radical protest, which could involve mass gatherings outside hotels or on an iconic beach in an island.
The idea of an airport protest during the peak tourist season, which involves cars collapsing Palma Airport, was also discussed.
Some foreign tourists showed their support for the issues raised by the activists – but others accused them of biting the hand that feeds them.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
