9 hours ago
Good luck finding a spot at the beach! Majorca AXES 1,700 sunbeds from its beaches - to make room for locals
The island of Majorca will remove up to 1,700 sun loungers from its beaches in a bid to make room for locals who say they are being displaced by tourists.
Palma City Council has announced it will reduce the number of sunbeds available on four of the capital's beaches by 20 per cent, starting next year.
In Playa de Palma alone, which is one of the largest beaches in the Spanish holiday hotspot, there are over 6,000 sun loungers.
City planners are hoping to reduce the number of sunbeds there to 4,436.
The move comes amid increasing complaints from local residents who say that due to sunbed and parasol rentals for holidaymakers, there are hardly any free spaces left on the beaches to lay out their towels.
Efforts to remove sunbeds from Majorca's beaches are also in part due to sand erosion, which has set off by rising sea levels.
While efforts to remove sun loungers from Mallorcan beaches are not set to start until 2026, local cops yesterday prevented a group of tourists from setting up their sunbeds at Es Carbo beach in Ses Salines in the south of the island, Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
Spanish holiday hotspots like Majorca have been struggling to balance the promotion of tourism and addressing citizens' concerns.
Anti-tourism campaigners have long been contesting the current tourism model, claiming that many locals have been displaced by holidaymakers.
Last year, Spain saw a record-breaking number of tourists, with over 15 million visitors flocking to the island of Majorca alone.
In response, protesters took to the streets across Spain, leaving countless visitors fuming after paying hundreds of pounds to enjoy their holidays abroad.
Actions included marches on the street with protesters chanting 'tourists go home', as well as demonstrations on beaches which saw locals boo and jeer at sun-soaked tourists.
In one particular instance, up to 50,000 locals descended onto the streets of Palma.
Also last year, jeering Mallorcan protesters descended on an Instagram-famous beach called Calo des Moro and blocked visitors from entering in a bid to combat mass tourism.
More than 300 protesters descended on the cove last June as they unfurled a huge banner stretching across the beach which read: 'Let's occupy out beaches.'
Others stayed in a nearby car park and distributed leaflets in English and German informing tourists about the mobilisation - forcing tourists to turn back and leave the cove.
Footage from the demonstration shows a woman sitting across a path leading down to the popular Caló des Moro while a local shouted at would-be tourists to 'go, go, go!'
Another man sporting long hair and tattoos is seen explaining to disgruntled holidaymakers that 'tourists have taken over the beach... for one day, we're going to enjoy it', before gesturing at them to leave.
The impact of mass tourism on Caló des Moro sees six tonnes of sand disappear from the cove every three months - with 70kg disappearing in towels and footwear every day.
Locals say the cove, accessible by traversing down rocks and passing 120 steep steps, is used as a dumping ground by tourists who are too lazy to make the return journey with their possessions.
