Tourist islanders in Spain protest to chase away tourists

Mallorca residents protest on May 26

Javier, 51, is a leader of the protests against overtourism in Mallorca, which have attracted tens of thousands of people. The protests culminated on 26 May when Spanish national police confirmed that around 10,000 people had taken to the streets of Palma to protest against overtourism. A smaller protest was also held in Menorca.

Angry residents held up signs reading “Tourists Go Home” after Javier released a video protesting rising housing prices caused by tourism. Javier was surprised by the impact his video had, and warned that the protests would not end until he achieved his goals.

Mallorca or Majorca is an island in the Balearic Islands, located in the Mediterranean Sea, with Palma as its capital. As one of Europe's top holiday destinations, Mallorca attracts more than 4 million visitors each year - 10 times the island's population.

Javier said the protests would have a short-term impact on the economy , but that it was a price worth paying for the long-term future of the people. He said the tourists were causing property prices to rise and the cost of living to rise.

Another protest group, Mallorca Platja Tour, is calling on locals to occupy beaches throughout the summer, in response to a local official saying that "people should not dream of going to the beaches in July and August because of tourism".

Last week, the group occupied a beach in Sa Rapita and they plan to occupy Calo des Moro in the coming days. As they marched through the central square, they chanted "tourists go home" and used unfriendly language towards Nordic tourists during their demonstration.

Protesters used some bad words like "guiri" to target tourists on May 27.

However, Javier insists the protests are not against tourists. Protesters simply believe that mass tourism is impacting the lives of local people and is “not sustainable at all”. Javier argues that this model is also harmful to the environment as the tourist season lasts for many months.

He added that most locals cannot afford to buy houses on the island because they are rented out to foreigners. Javier is a worker with an average salary of around 1,550 euros (over 42 million VND) but the cost of renting a property in Mallorca is around 1,700 euros (nearly 47 million VND) per month.

"The current overcrowding is harmful to both residents and tourists," he said, asking what visitors would think if they saw crowded beaches, broken roads, planes appearing every few minutes and uncontrolled cruise ships.

According to Javier, at the end of the day, locals still want to welcome tourists, but based on sustainability and quality rather than quantity.

Richie Prior, a 57-year-old British businessman who has worked in Mallorca for 34 years, said he sympathized with the locals and saw both sides of the story. However, Prior hoped people could calmly find a solution because tourists are important to businesses.

Last year, the Balearic Islands were the second most popular tourist destination in Spain, attracting 14.4 million people, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute, behind only Catalonia, which hosted around 18 million visitors. According to tourism agency Exceltur, tourism generates 45% of the Balearic Islands' gross domestic product (GDP).

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/dan-dao-du-lich-o-tay-ban-nha-bieu-tinh-duoi-khach-384097.html