Thousands of local residents protested in Spain’s popular and scenic Balearic Islands over the weekend. The prtoests were against mass tourism just ahead of the summer season, which typically sees a mass influx of foreign tourists.
Reason for Protest
The residents were holding posters which read “SOS Residents”, “Enough Mass Tourism.” The protesters marched through Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the largest Balearic Island. About 10,000 demonstrators took part, a Spanish National police spokesperson said.
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A little away, a smaller protest with a few hundred people was staged in nearby Menorca. “We want the authorities to stop people who have not lived here more than five years from buying properties and to put more controls on holiday accommodation,” said Carme Reines, from a collective which organised the protest in Palma de Mallorca.
Javier Carbonell, a real estate agent, said over half of rental properties were used for holiday rents and were not affordable for locals. “We want less mass tourism and more sustainable tourism,” Carbonell said.
The Numbers
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The Balearic Islands is the second most popular region of Spain for tourists last year after Catalonia. The islands attracted 14.4 million holidaymakers, the Spanish National Statistics Institute said. Some 18 million tourists visited Catalonia and 13.9 million people visited the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago off Western Africa.
Tourism generates 45% of the Balearic Islands’ gross domestic product, according to data from Exceltur, an industry organisation.
