The leader of a protest group that rallied 25,000 islanders in Majorca to demonstrate against over-tourism has vowed the demos will go on throughout the summer.
Tourists were shocked by the march through the capital Palma last month. Angry protesters brandished banners demanding “Tourists Go Home”, after Javier Barbero had posted a “Not For Sale” video calling for action to stop the rising house prices caused by tourism.
The Mirror tracked Javier, a 51-year-old care worker, down to Sencelles, a town in the centre of Majorca. He said he had been stunned by the impact his video had, as it struck a nerve with locals fed-up of mass tourism and rampaging Brits in resorts like Magaluf.
Another demo is planned for June 16 in Palma, with plans being discussed for protests across the Balearic Islands – Majorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera – on July 21.
Nearly 25,000 locals took to the streets of the capital Palma (AFP via Getty Images)Javier warned the protests would not stop until action was taken to help local people. He told the Mirror: “We’re not going anywhere until we get what we want.
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“If that means the economy will take a hit in the short term, I think it’s a price worth paying for the long-term future of the people who live here. Protests will continue until our demands are met.”
Protesters blame tourists for inflating property prices and driving up the cost of living. Another group, Mallorca Platja Tour, is calling on islanders to occupy beaches throughout the summer in protest at comments from a local politician who said Majorcans could not expect to go to beaches in July and August, as they did in the past, due to tourism.
Last week the group occupied a beach in Sa Rapita, and they plan to take over Caló des Moro on the same day as the next big protest in the capital. In the first protest in Palma, marchers chanted “Tourists go home” as they passed through the central square.
Banners used the colloquial Spanish word “guiri”, a mildly offensive term for northern European tourists, such as the British. One slogan translated as “Where you look they’re all guiris”. But Javier insisted the protests were not anti-tourist.
He said: “We are not anti-tourist, it would be a mistake to think so. But we do believe the mass tourism model is affecting us, both the lives of the people who live on the island and other areas. This model is not sustainable in any way.
“Environmentally, it is very damaging, it does not give us time to recover our landscapes, our sea, our geography because the tourist seasons increasingly cover more months of the year.”
Javier Barbero and other group members called for a protest in their home town of Sencelles in Mallorca (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)The key issue for many was that most locals could not afford a house on the island, squeezed out by foreign rentals. He said: “I don’t plan to buy a house, simply because I can’t afford it. I am a worker earning an average salary.
“For example, the average rent for a property on this island is €1,700 a month (£1,433), the average salary of a worker in Spain is €1,550 (£1,316) a month. With these figures it is impossible to calculate the cost of buying a property in Majorca. Overcrowding is harmful both for the citizens and for the people who come to see us.
“What quality of tourism can we give to the people who come to see us if they find overcrowded beaches, roads collapsed, our Mediterranean waters invaded by boats, the presence of aeroplanes every two minutes, the arrival of uncontrolled cruise ships.
“No, this model of tourism is not what we want, neither for us nor for the people who come to visit us. We want them to continue coming to our island to see us and get to know us, based on sustainability, kindness and quality. We want there to be tourism of quality and not of quantity.”
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Spanish government figures show tourist spending in the Balearics was €4.5billion (£3.82bn) over the first five months of 2023, with British tourists visiting Spain spending close to €17.2bn (£14.62bn) in total.
In Majorca, it has been estimated British holidaymakers spend €153 (£130) per day.
Britain is the second biggest market for tourism in Majorca, with more than 750,000 visiting each year, but there are worries the protests could put tourists off as we head into the school holidays. Some resorts have already reported being “unusually quiet” for this time of year.
An ABTA spokesperson said: "The protests in the Balearic Islands were not against tourism to the islands, nor targeted at tourists, rather protestors were raising their personal concerns about how tourism is managed."
British businessman Richie Prior, 57, boss of Pirates Adventure in Magaluf, has lived and worked in Majorca for 34 years. He said: “I see both sides of the story and feel for Majorcans. We just need to get everyone round the table and work on a solution because tourism is so important to us.”
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