Thousands of people in Mallorca, a popular tourist island in Spain, recently held a protest against “over-tourism”. The protesters believe the current level of tourism is harming the island.
Organizers estimated around 50,000 people participated, while police reported a lower number of around 12,000.
Protesters carried signs with messages like “Your paradise, our nightmare” and “Less Tourism, More Life”. They demanded a limit on tourist numbers and a change in the tourism model.
According to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, the demonstration included around 110 groups and social movements.
People are getting worried due to the effects of tourism on public services in Spain.
The Balearic Islands, which include Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, recorded 14.4 million international tourists last year, as reported by the Spanish National Statistics Institute.
Recently, protestors in Barcelona expressed their opposition to mass tourism by spraying water on visitors and marching through the city with slogans Tourists go home.
Spain’s national tourism industry contributes around 12.4% to the GDP, but the locals want to impose limits on tourism.
Locals believe that mass tourism has resulted in an increased burden on public services like infrastructure and utilities. The tourist rush also caused damage to the natural environment & difficulty for residents to find affordable housing due to rising prices.
An expert in the field of tourism & business, Manuel de la Calle, said imposing a tourist tax could be part of the solution.
“It is one of the possible solutions that could be put in place. It will not reduce the flow of tourism, but it will generate resources that can be driven into tourism management or other avenues to help the local population,” he said.
Also Read: Barcelona will raise tourist tax for cruise passengers visiting for less than 12 hours
This protest is just one of the many protests that have been happening in Spain recently. Such protests have also happened in other popular tourist locations such as Barcelona and the Canary Islands.
