Organizers of Mallorca’s anti-tourism protest have released a bizarre video exulting at the thought of empty hotels, no tourists on bikes or car rentals ahead of tonight’s massive demonstration.
Protesters also talk about plowing the holiday island’s road network in the promotional video for the Palma demonstration.
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The protest scene video in Mallorca characteristics images including queues to reach the island’s iconic Calo des Moro cove and a group of foreign cyclists.
It begins with the lyrics: “There will be no more regattas, tomorrow is the last cruise”.
It then continues: “Goodbye car rentals, goodbye rat companies. Houses will be cheap and we won’t see cyclists anymore.”
It ends with an islander singing in Catalan: “Let’s plow the roads, the hotels it will be empty and so the world will understand that there are many tourists.”
But Toni Perez, mayor of Benidorm, a holiday destination in Britain, alluded to the fact that anti-tourism protesters do not understand how fewer visitors could lead to the country’s economic suicide.
He told local media: “Has anyone ever considered that in a European country where its great strength is the automobile industry, the population demonstrates against it?”
Around 100 different organizations have pledged to support tonight’s demonstration in Palma – the second in two months.
The number of protesters is expected to surpass a staggering 10,000 people.
Regional government spokesman Antoni Costa has already demonstrated anguish among Mallorcan politicians by imploring protesters to leave British tourists alone.
Costa said: “There is no fear because this has not happened here and people have always been respectful.
“But we have seen 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.”
Foreign tourists were booed and booed by some locals as they dined on the terraces of Palma’s Weyler Square during the latest protest in the Mallorcan capital on May 25.
The organizers ended up publicly apologizing for the bad behavior shown.
Earlier this month, tourists were sprayed with water pistols in Barcelona by demonstrators during a protest against mass tourism.
Residents marched along a seaside neighborhood of the city with their furious slogan “Enough is enough! Let’s put limits on tourism.”
Last night, the Melia Palma Bay Hotel was one of several buildings in Palma lit up with messages of support for tonight’s protest.
A neon message in front of the hotel, which appeared around 10pm, said: “We will put limits on tourism.”
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
