More than 10,000 people took to the streets of Palma, Majorca, on Sunday to demonstrate against the rising numbers of tourists one the islands but they were interrupted by pro-tourism campaigners
British tourists visiting Majorca for their holidays have been defended during a massive protest march in the island’s capital.
Police and the Balearic Government have confirmed that around 10,000 protestors took to the streets of Palma from 7 pm on Sunday 21 July, to demonstrate about mass tourism and its effects on their homes and livelihoods.
During the one-hour march, protestors displayed angry banners, making it very clear that they were not happy with the number of holidaymakers – including Brits – who pour into Majorca each year. They carried hundreds of placards and banners, telling tourists to go home and that they were not welcome on the island.
Government officials had warned the campaigners to watch their behaviour so that repeats of scenes in the country’s capital, Barcelona, when tourists were sprayed with water from toy guns, would not be seen in Majorca.
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However, a group of residents, mainly from Palma itself, tried to turn the tables on the protestors by showing they are in support of tourists. Pro-tourism supporters sabotaged anti-tourism campaigners’ banners by slapping them with their own stickers, saying that holidaymakers were welcome in Majorca and the other Balearic islands of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
“Why bite the hand that feeds you?” asked the pro-tourism campaignters. This was Palma’s second major demonstration this year against tourist saturation under the slogan ‘Canviem el rumb. Posem lÃmits al turisme’, and organised by the same group “Menys Turisme, Més Vida”.
To avoid any trouble, the police roped off the open-air terraces of bars and restaurants along the route so there could be no confrontations. Other businesses took matters into their own hands by closing their terraces themselves.
Holidaymakers seemed to take all the protests in their stride, however, and even took photos of the march and approached campaigners to ask what was going on. One of them asked: “What are you complaining about? Without tourism, you would die of hunger.”
The pro-tourist campaigners, said to have gone ‘under-cover’ during the protest, handed out cards to holidaymakers. Each card read: “We love you!”
The welovetourismmallorca.com platform is made up of individuals who say they do not share the “hostility that has been unleashed against tourists. Especially because we must not forget that Majorcans have been living from tourism for a long time.”
On their website, they indicate that “From WeLoveTourismMallorca, we understand that Majorca is facing a problem of saturation but we firmly believe that it is not only the responsibility of tourists, nor the solution is to close the entrance to our island.
“The situation is complex and many variables come into play, so we cannot demonise only tourism, which is also the main engine of the economy of our islands. It would be useful to analyse more parameters and take into account other perspectives. That is why we want to send a message of support and affection to all our visitors in the face of the demonstrations of the last few days”.
The group’s proposals include the following: “We want to find solutions and we propose to society that they share their opinions and suggestions on how to address these problems. Together we can find the path to a better future for all.
“We invite anyone who wants to write proposals in this form so that we can send them to a negotiating table. All the ideas contributed will be delivered to the dialogue table that is being organised by the Balearic Government. This is an initiative of civil society, without any type of political link.”
Spokesman for the platform ‘Menys turisme, més vida’, Pere Joan Femenia, in statements to the media, said: “The objective of this Sunday’s demonstration is to change course because the population is fed up with an economic model that does not take into account the problems it generates in residents. We have been demonstrating and taking action against the tourism model for years.”
“It is now, after more than two years of tourist records, that the population has said enough, that it wants to put an end to this growth and concrete measures to limit and decrease the number of tourists who come to the island, as well as improve the well-being of the local population,” he stressed.
The main measures demanded by citizens include decreasing the number of tourists, regulating and limiting the entry of cruise ships and planes, putting a temporary suspension in place until the issue is resolved and decreasing the number of tourist venues.”
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