Mallorca under protest: Locals defend themselves against flood of tourism!

Mallorca under protest: Locals defend themselves against flood of tourism!

Sóller, Spanien - Mallorca, the popular holiday destination for many Germans, is currently fighting with the negative effects of mass tourism. More and more locals are showing their displeasure with the overcrowded beaches and the increasing cost of living. This protest movement began in Sóller and is increasingly developing into an island -wide movement. Places such as Alcúdia and Manacor are increasingly joining the protests. The “Welcome to Sollerland” campaign supports this resistance and uses creative means such as artificial intelligence to create provocative images that illustrate the problem. A particularly impressive picture shows an unsatisfied locals with the sign: "Manacor is not an adventure park".

The Instagram Canal @Welcometomanacorland spreads the campaign and complements it with biting comments that address the concerns of the residents about their identity, the overcrowding of public places and the increasing living costs. Protests also stimulated in Alcúdia and Santanyí, where the demands for reducing tourism and better protection of the quality of life of the locals are getting louder. This is part of a broader debate that increasingly also affects other popular travel destinations in Germans.

Mass protests against tourism

According to the police, around 20,000 people took part in a remarkable demonstration on July 22, 2024 in Palma de Mallorca, while organizers spoke of up to 50,000 participants - a number that observers consider exaggerated. The demonstration train moved from Park Ses Estacions through the old town. The protest content illustrated the Frustration of the population, with posters such as: "Your luxury, our misery" and "We do not want to be the pioneers when increasing housing costs".

The event was not isolated; A similar demonstration with up to 25,000 participants took place in Palma eight weeks earlier. There were protests not only in Mallorca, but also in cities such as Barcelona, ​​Málaga and the Canary Islands. A creative protest was organized by a youth who wore a model of a cruise ship to draw attention to the negative effects of cruise tourism.

The effects of tourism

The criticism of the demonstrators is diverse: they emphasize that only a minority benefits from tourism, while the majority in the industry suffers from low wages. In addition, the residents complain about high housing costs, noise, dirt, dirt and traffic jams that are generated by mass tourism. The Balearic Islands have a population of around 1.2 million, but last year 18 million tourists visited the island, which is 15 times the population. 4.6 million of these tourists alone came from Germany.

Tourism has a significant economic role, contributes to the economic output of the island and generates around 20 billion euros in income, but this economic benefit is increasingly being viewed by the citizens. Marga Prohens, the regional government head, has understood to demonstrate peacefully to the protesters, to demonstrate peacefully. The atmosphere during the demonstrations was mixed; Some vacationers were impressed and applauded, while others found the rally unpleasant.