A protest against mass murder is underway on the Spanish island tourism. Until now, demonstrations have mostly taken place in Palma, the capital of Majorca, but protesters are now moving to the beaches.
On Sunday, August 11, the island's residents occupied the beach at Balneari 6, which is particularly popular with German tourists. The Germans call it “Ballermann”, and the beach is synonymous with loud parties, drunk tourists and sangria – sipped from buckets on the beaches.
“Mallorca is crowded”
On Sunday, the beach was symbolically occupied by about 100 people. They wrote on posters, among other things, appeals to Germans: “Hey, Germans, saying that Majorca is your 17th federal state is an offensive,” one of the banners read. “This is about drawing attention to the fact that Majorca is simply too crowded right now,” “We must finally limit mass tourism on the island,” the protesters told local media.
The demonstrators first gathered on the beach and then ran into the sea, where they unfurled a banner reading: “Let's take over our beaches.”
High cost of living
German tourists observed the protest calmly, the island's media reported. The people they quoted said they were happy to come to the island, and its residents could also visit Germany. Some tourists played German hits louder as part of the “counter-demonstration.”
This is the third such action this year on the favorite holiday island of many Germans. Thousands of Mallorcans protested in the island's capital in May and June.
Protests are also taking place in other tourist resorts in Spain. Demonstrators are complaining primarily about the high cost of living and the lack of affordable housing, blaming the mass influx of holidaymakers.
Hate graffiti
The protests – so far – have been peaceful. In the worst case, and more as a joke, protesters in Barcelona sprayed tourists or locals they thought were tourists with water pistols. In Mallorca, some holidaymakers even supported and expressed solidarity with the protesters.
Now, however, slogans have appeared on the walls of the holiday paradise that are hard to digest, reports the German news agency DPA. “Kill a Tourist” was written in Manacor on Majorca, and in several places in Palma in German: “Tourismus macht frei” (Tourism makes you free), an apparent allusion to the Nazi slogan “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work makes free”) placed above the entrance gates to German Nazi concentration camps.
Tourist organisations on the island are concerned but say it is “a minority that is shouting very loudly”.
Opponents of mass tourism do not support such graffiti, but they are happy about its effect, which is to make tourists feel uneasy. “Less tourism, more life,” DPA quotes locals as saying to the island media.
Tourism is important for the island
In addition to the protests, the tourism industry has other problems. Although the Balearic Islands (of which Majorca is the main island) had seen about half a million more visitors by the end of June than during the same period in the record year of 2023, profits in many sectors have plummeted.
Savings from the coronavirus pandemic were spent last year, and now higher flight and hotel prices have hit holiday budgets. Taxis, rental companies are suffering carscatering industry, restaurantsshops and tour operators – writes “Mallorcamagazin”. These sectors have 15-20 percent lower turnover.
The Balearic Islands are home to almost 1.2 million people. According to data from the Spanish statistics office INE, they were visited by 18 million holidaymakers last year, including 4.6 million from Germany and 3.4 million from Great Britain.
For Mallorca, tourism is crucial and generates 45% of GDP. (DPA/home)
The article comes from the website German Welle