Huge overtourism protest as Spain’s second most popular region calls for change

Carrying makeshift models, protesters walked through the streets with posters reading ‘no to mass tourism’

Two people do a performance as they take part in a demonstration to protest against overtourism and housing prices on the island of Mallorca in Palma de Mallorca on July 21, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands protested in Spain’s Palma de Mallorca on Sunday in the latest demonstration against over-tourism.

About 10,000 protesters took part in the Mallorca demonstration on Sunday, police said. Tourism is a key industry for the Iberian nation.

Anti-tourism activists have staged a series of protests this year in Barcelona, and other popular holiday destinations like Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and the Canary Islands, saying visitors drive up housing costs and lead to residents being unable to afford to live in city centres.

Carrying makeshift models of planes and cruise ships, protesters walked through the streets of the capital of Mallorca with posters reading ‘no to mass tourism’ and ‘stop private jets’.

Some tourists supported the march while others appeared uncomfortable.

Pere Joan Femenia, of Menys Turisme, Mas Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) which organised Sunday’s protest in Mallorca, told Reuters protesters wanted less tourists on the island.

“Mass tourism is making it difficult for local people who cannot afford to live on their own island because tourist flats push up prices. Tourists fill up beaches and put a strain on public services in the summer,” he said.

“We want to cut mass tourism and to ban non-residents from buying houses which are just used for a few months a year or for speculation.”

People take part in a demonstration to protest against overtourism and housing prices on the island of Mallorca in Palma de Mallorca on July 21, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

After Catalonia, the Balearic Islands was the second most popular region of Spain for tourists last year, attracting 14.4 million holidaymakers, the Spanish National Statistics Institute said.

Tourism generates 45% of the Balearic Islands’ gross domestic product, according to data from Exceltur, an industry organisation.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers visiting the city for less than 12 hours, the mayor said in an interview on Sunday.

People hold a placard which reads as ‘Tourism yes, but not like this’ during a demonstration to protest against overtourism and housing prices on the island of Mallorca in Palma de Mallorca on July 21, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

Jaume Collboni said the current tourist tax for stopover cruise passengers was 7 euros ($7.61) per day. He did not say by how much the tax would be increased.

“We are going to propose..substantially increasing the tax for stopover cruise passengers,” he told El Pais newspaper.

“In the case of stopover cruise passengers (less than 12 hours) there is intensive use of public space without any benefit for the city and a feeling of occupation and saturation. We want to have tourism that is respectful of the destination.”

He said tourists, not local tax payers, should pay for local projects like air-conditioning schools.

The proposal will have to be agreed with the Catalan regional government, Collboni said.

In the first quarter of this year, 16.1 million people visited Spain, an increase of 18% compared with the same period last year.

Visitors spent 109 billion euros ($118.56 billion) in Spain last year, versus 63.5 billion euros in France.