Panic on popular Spanish holiday island as bookings down and tourists 'stay away'

Daily Record

5 days ago

Workers in one resort have spoken about fears that tourism protests have had a huge impact on visitor numbers this year
Worried locals in a once heaving Spanish tourism town have admitted they fear tourists have been 'scared away' over tourism protests. The popular Soller Valley in Majorca has long been a draw for visitors with tourism contributing a big chunk to the local economy.
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But now residents in the town, who rely on tourists for their income, say they are scared the message to 'go home' has been heeded. Like many parts of Spain, demonstrations over growing resentment towards the tourist industry have had an affect on visitor numbers.
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One hotel owner admitted to the Majorca Daily Bulletin: "We've scared the tourists away.
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"I wouldn't want to spend my holidays in a place where I don't feel welcome."
The lack of custom was backed up by a waiter in a local restaurant who says the peak summer season has shown people are staying away and visitor numbers are lower than in previous years.
The staff member said: "Except on weekends or rainy days, there's not much going on here; we're just waiting around, and it's been like this since May," reports The Express.
Majorcan officials admit there has been a drop in tourist numbers across the Balearic islands in the wake of protests.
The Mallorca Hotel Business Federation (FEHM), said municipalities such as Soller are seeing noticeable declines in tourist activity whilst the Majorca Daily Bulletin says industry representatives across the hotel, hospitality and transport sectors have reported a decrease in tourist footfall.
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Pedro Oliver, the president of the College of Tour Guides, said his excursion sales have fallen 20% this summer, with the worst-affected areas being Valldemossa, Palma, and Port Soller.
He said: "The anti-tourism messages are resonating. If you generate negative news, which has repercussions in other countries, tourists opt for other destinations when choosing their holidays.
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"We are sending the message that we don't want tourists and that everything is too crowded."
Juanmi Ferrer, the leader of the Restaurants Association in Mallorca (CAEB), has warned that fewer visitors could lead to restaurants across the island being forced to close this year.
Some areas are seeing up to a 40% drop in customers, and in a highly unusual move, restaurants in traditionally busy tourist towns like Soller are granting holiday leave to staff in the middle of peak season - a time when staff would usually work flat out to cope with demand.
In June, as many as 10,000 people took to the streets of Palma to demand an end to the 'touristification' of the region.
They called on local authorities to do more to combat the impact of tourism whilst also telling potential visitors to stay away.
It was mirrored by a smaller rally in Ibiza, and the protesters disturbed visitors' evening dinner with chants of "tourists go home" and placards proclaiming "Majorca is not for sale," along with "Your vacations, our anxiety".
Some expressed their anger towards "guiris", the local slang for Brits or foreigners, but the central issue remained the rise of Airbnb-style rentals which have transformed considerable parts of residential housing into holiday lets, leading to soaring rents.