‘We are not a theme park': Overtourism protestors plan huge Mallorca demonstration
A Spanish campaign group leading a movement against overtourism in Mallorca has announced a large-scale protest in June that will see 60 organisations stand in solidarity.
Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), an organisation which has led mass protests against the increasing number of tourists jetting off to the island each summer, has revealed it will yet again take to the streets on June 15 to demonstrate.
Mallorca, along with other Spanish destinations, is a popular summer hotspot for tourists seeking hot temperatures, sandy beach resorts and villages tucked away at the foothills of limestone mountains.
The group was behind a large anti-tourist protest that filled the streets of Palma de Mallorca last summer, demonstrating against skyrocketing housing prices in the wake of a tourist boom on the popular holiday island.
Around 10,000 protesters showed up to take part on 21 July 2024, with people walking carrying models of planes, cruise ships and posters reading 'no to mass tourism' and 'stop private jets'.
This year, Menys Turisme Més Vida said it will be holding another protest on 15 June, with 60 other anti-tourism groups, trade unions and environmental organisations taking part.
The group is calling on Mallorcan residents to join them on the streets at 6pm in Plaça Espanya on the day of the demonstration.
Speaking of the successful turnout of last year's mass protest, it said that it will again be protesting to make it 'clear that our territories are not for sale'.
The group has called for limits to be put on tourism and the need for a strategy that will not exploit 'the territory, its resources and the marginalisation of residents and their vital needs for the benefit of tourist capital'.
In a statement, the campaigners claimed that the tourist industry impoverishes people, makes it hard to access housing and diverts focus from the public sector.
The organisation also draws attention to the environmental impact of overtourism, including pollution and carbon emissions.
It called out the tourism sector for describing businesses as sustainable, stating that this is a 'manipulation' of language and a denial of the issues.
Areas such as Sóller, Artà and Palma are already being affected by tourists, the campaign group said, saying daily life has become 'unbearable'.
'Entire roads and paths cut off by tourist-sports events, record numbers of cruise passengers, streets, squares and markets saturated with tourists, occupied and commercialised, and the situation of the housing problem increasingly bloody and without solutions,' it said.
Menys Turisme Més Vida followed up with a statement on its social media that said while 'Mallorca is not against tourism', it cannot be a 'theme park open 24 hours a day'.
'Of course we want you to come. To get lost in the narrow streets of the old town, to sit by the sea in winter, to taste a freshly made ensaimada or listen to Mallorcan in a market. We want to share all that. But without meaning that we stop being who we are,' it said.
The group said it will be standing in solidarity with hospitality workers in negotiations for better working environments during the high season, as there is usually an 'exploitation' of the working class during this period.
'We are taking to the streets again to say 'enough', and we will do it as many times as necessary,' it concluded.
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