International Summer, sun, stink: protest against tourism on Mallorca

On the poster announcing the major demonstration against mass tourism on Mallorca, vacation planes, private jets, cruise ships and luxury yachts circle the small island like a swarm of flies. "Let's change course" (Canviem el rumb) is written above the photomontage for the demonstration announced for Sunday evening in the island's capital Palma. It is about "setting limits to tourism", the poster says in slightly smaller print.

There are 15 holidaymakers for every local

Easier said than done. Almost 1.2 million locals live on the Balearic Islands, of which Mallorca is the main island. Last year, they were visited by 18 million holidaymakers, 4.6 million of them from Germany and 3.4 million from the UK. Or rather haunted, as more and more locals are finding.

The rally was called by a group called "Less Tourism, More Life". According to Marga Ramis, one of the brains behind the movement, 100 associations and organizations have joined, as reported by the "Mallorca Zeitung". Eight weeks ago, up to 25,000 people demonstrated in Palma under the slogans "Let's say basta!" and "Mallorca is not for sale!".

There is also resentment in other Spanish tourist cities such as Barcelona and Málaga, as well as in the Canary Islands. This time, the demonstrators want to get even closer to the holidaymakers so that there is no doubt who is meant. The march will go through the narrow streets of Palma's old town, where there are always lots of tourists.

Don't saw at the branch you're sitting on

Tourism is vital for Mallorca's survival. The industry accounts for 45 percent of the island's economic output. And the tourism industry warns against sawing at the branch on which many are sitting. Around 20 billion euros flow into the island's coffers.

But protesters complain that only a minority benefit, while the vast majority get jobs with low salaries in the tourism industry, which are not enough to pay for increasingly expensive housing. In addition, traffic jams, noise and dirt are grating on the nerves of the islanders, who are beginning to feel alienated in their homeland in the face of so many foreigners.

"Ibiza hell"

Meanwhile, there are more and more reports in the Spanish media about the precarious working and living conditions of employees in the tourism industry. "I work in the maintenance of a luxury villa owned by English people and earn between 1,500 and 1,800 euros a month," a 37-year-old in Ibiza tells the newspaper El País. In February, he was evicted from his apartment due to a rent increase.

He could not afford the prices of around 1,000 euros per month for just one room and has been sleeping in a caravan on the outskirts of a Swedish furniture store ever since. He could shower at a friend's house.

His "neighbors", also in rickety caravans, all earn between 1,000 and 1,500 euros a month. "Welcome to Ibiza" with the two worlds of high-end nightclubs and a life in the parking lot, wrote the country's most important newspaper.

But no one can really imagine what would happen if the demonstrators were successful and many holidaymakers were put off. "I understand the discomfort of many residents, but I ask that such demonstrations do not degenerate into vandalism against vacationers and residents, as happened in Barcelona," said the conservative regional government leader of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, to the "Mallorca Zeitung".

At the beginning of the month, several thousand demonstrators in the Mediterranean metropolis of Barcelona called for restrictions on the tourism industry in view of the ever-increasing cost of living there too. Guests at restaurants, which are particularly popular with holidaymakers, were sprayed with water pistols.

"Tourists go home. You are not welcome" was written on posters they carried. The socialist mayor Jaume Collboni wants to increase the tax on cruise tourists and no longer renew the licenses for vacation apartments.

The issue has even reached German politics

The CDU/CSU in the Bundestag warned of the potential impact of the protests on tourism in Spain. "Holidaymakers, including those from Germany, secure jobs and generate tax revenues, which in turn flow into investments in local infrastructure," CDU tourism expert Anja Karliczek told the Rheinische Post newspaper. Tourism is an "important part of the economy, not only in Mallorca".

Karliczek also showed understanding for the displeasure of locals. "But of course overtourism also causes problems." The Greens in the Bundestag expressed similar sentiments. The parliamentary group's tourism expert, Matthias Gastel, told the newspaper: "If a lack of living space, water shortages and mountains of garbage are the consequences of island tourism that is characterized by quantity rather than quality, then action is needed in the interests of people and nature."

Head of government: "Holidaymakers remain welcome"

Island boss Prohens agrees. "We want to make a social and political pact to make the islands more sustainable," she said. The tourism industry has created hundreds of thousands of jobs and prosperity, but it must also be socially acceptable and people must feel comfortable with it, she says. "Holidaymakers are welcome on the Balearic Islands, and that will remain the case," assures Prohens.

SDA