Mallorca residents rally against mass tourism on popular beaches
Mallorca is a popular vacation island in Spain. The local population is increasingly protesting the mass influx of tourists, organizing pickets on the beaches.
As reported by the police in Palma de Mallorca on Monday, the main city of the Balearic island, demonstrations are increasingly being organized on Calo del Moro beach, in the south of Mallorca.
Picket with banners
On Sunday, the Spanish gendarmerie (Guardia Civil) supported by the national police (Policia Nacional) identified a group of several dozen island residents picketing with banners at the beach.
More than 300 participants in the demonstration blocked tourists' access to the beach and shouted hostile slogans at the local authorities.
The law enforcement services confirmed that similar protest actions against mass tourism have occurred in recent weeks at Calo del Moro and near other beaches on Mallorca.
According to a survey published on Monday by the newspaper "Diario de Mallorca," only 30% of foreign tourists consider the protests by Mallorca residents to be "unfair." Most view them with empathy and understanding.
Favorite tourist destination
In 2023, inhabited by 900,000 people, Mallorca was one of the leading destinations chosen by tourists travelling to Spain. 85 million foreigners visited the entire country, and an unprecedented number of 12 million came to the Balearic island.
This year is a record-breaking year for the number of foreign tourists in Spain, with more than 16 million arriving in the first quarter.
The Canary Islands, Catalonia, and Andalusia are Spain's most popular tourist destinations in 2024. In the first quarter, they received 4.3 million, 3.4 million, and 2.4 million vacationers from abroad, respectively, with the majority being British and Germans.
