Authorities in MAJORCA are imploring anti-tourism fanatics to respect British holidaymakers, as more protests are set to rock Spain.
The warning comes after Barcelonans reportedly sprayed tourists in restaurants with water pistols earlier this month.
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Foreign tourists in Mallorca were also booed and jeered while eating at night on terraces during a protest on 25 May.
They also occupied a beach with umbrellas covered with the slogan “Ocupem Les Nostres Platges”, which translates to: “We occupy our beaches”.
Now regional authorities in the Balearic Islands have made it clear to the crowd that there must be no repeat of Barcelona and that locals must show “respect” to tourists.
Strangely, regional government spokesman Antoni Costa denied that there were protests on the island and said that people were already respectful.
He said: “But we saw a certain type of behavior in Barcelona which, as you can imagine, we don’t like.
“We ask for the utmost respect for those who have decided not to demonstrate, and we urge those protesting to do so peacefully and not to disrupt other citizens and visitors.”
Protesters flocked to Mallorca’s beaches last month, in yet another demonstration of locals’ discontent with tourists and mass tourism.
They were seen huddled together in the coastal resort of Colonia De Sant Jordi, east of the island’s capital, Palma.
A group called Mallorca Platja Tour – Mallorca Beach Tour – had already campaigned online for local residents to “occupy” the island’s beaches.
The group wrote on X: “I call on residents to fill Mallorca’s beaches in protest against overcrowding.
“We invite all residents who live near the beaches to come and restore our beaches and enjoy them as before.”
Spain’s tourism minister condemned protesters who doused tourists with water pistols during a July 6 protest in Barcelona city center.
Jordi Hereu, former mayor of Barcelona, described his actions as reprehensible and not representative of the country’s culture of hospitality.
He said: “I want to reaffirm the values of Spanish hospitality and the Spanish tourist model and one of its characteristics, which is security”.
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Some hoteliers on the peninsula said the protests had made some tourists think they were not welcome.
Gabriel Escarrer, president of the nonprofit group EXCELTUR, recently said, “It’s the worst thing that could happen.”
The organizers of this Sunday’s protest in Palma already predict that it will be “historic”.
Originally, people across the four Balearic Islands, including Ibiza and Menorca, would take to the streets of their respective capitals on the same day, before those plans were abandoned in favor of separate but coordinated actions during the summer.
The organizers of the Barcelona protest ended up making a public apology for the abuses committed.
In April, thousands of anti-tourist protesters took to the streets of Tenerife and demanded a freeze on tourists.
Anti-tourist hordes filled a square in the capital brandishing banners, including some that said “You like it, we suffer” in English.
More than 15,000 people waved Canary Island flags and blew horns to make a deafening noise in the capital Santa Cruz.
Protests also occurred at the same time on other popular Canary Islands, including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
Activists have tried to distance themselves from anti-tourist graffiti that has appeared on walls and benches in and around the south of Tenerife.
Anti-tourism measures sweep critical spots
A WAVE of anti-tourism measures is being implemented across Europe to curb mass tourism in popular holiday spots.
Overcrowding has become a major problem in many sun destinations, with authorities trying to find a solution to keep tourists and locals happy.
Authorities have attempted to reduce the impact of tourists by implementing additional taxes on tourists or banning new hotels.
Earlier this year, Venice became the first city in the world to charge tourists an entry fee, after it began charging day-trippers 5 euros (£4.30) if they visit the historic Italian center.
It was followed by an area in Barcelona that resorted to removing a heavily used bus route from Apple and Google Maps to stop crowds of tourists from using the bus.
Meanwhile, San Sebastián, in northern Spain, limited the maximum number of people on guided tours to 25 to avoid congestion, noise, inconvenience and overcrowding.
The city has already banned the construction of new hotels.
The Spanish government has allowed restaurants to charge customers more for sitting in the shade in Andalusia.
Benidorm has introduced time restrictions, as swimming in the sea between midnight and 7am can cost a staggering £1,000.
The Canary Islands are also considering adopting measures to regulate the number of visitors – and charging tourists a daily fee.
Greece has already applied a tourist tax during the high season (March to October) and visitors are expected to pay between €1 (£0.86) and €4 (£3.45) per night, depending on the accommodation booked. .
Authorities in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, want to introduce a traveler tax to remind people to be courteous during their travels.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
