Mallorca Residents Continue Anti-Tourism Protests

Residents of Mallorca took to the streets again on Saturday to protest the annual influx of huge numbers of tourists and the resulting housing crisis on this Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the DPA news agency.

The latest protest took place in the town of Sóller in the west of the island, two weeks after a large demonstration in the capital, Palma. Both rallies were organized by the citizens' initiative Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life).

According to authorities, approximately 1,000 people took part in the demonstration in the small town, which is popular among tourists. The German-language newspaper Mallorca Zeitung estimated the number of participants at 2,000, while the magazine Mallorca Magazin, which is also published in German, reported as many as 2,500 people.

During the demonstration, slogans were chanted against vacationers, whom locals derisively refer to as "guiris". Unlike the protest in Palma, however, there were no clashes with the police this time.

The Menys Turisme, Més Vida initiative first called for protests in 2024. It was responding to the ever-worsening housing crisis caused by mass tourism in Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands.

(luc)