the Balearics say “basta” to overtourism

A month after the historic demonstration in the Canary Islands, the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are mobilizing in turn to denounce the overtourism of which they are victims. Friday May 24, it was the island of Ibiza which said stop to “massive and selfish tourism” and Saturday May 25, it is in Palma de Mallorca that a demonstration will take place with cries of “Mallorca is not for sale”.

The Balearic Islands can’t take it anymore. They are not against tourism but against overtourism which has only increased over the years, causing a very negative impact. The environment is deteriorating, but also the living conditions of residents, faced with precarious tourist jobs, saturated infrastructure, increasingly expensive housing and a constantly rising cost of living.

This tourist model is harmful, residents judge. “Tourism was like a sort of colonizer of different territorial spaces, until the boom in vacation rentals came directly into our homes,” explains Margalida Ramis, president of the environmental association Gob in Mallorca.

“Tourist economic activity has therefore come into conflict with the development of our daily lives. Its ecological footprint is beastly. It requires enormous quantities of energy and materials that we do not produce here, and generates surpluses in the form of pollution and waste, which are difficult to cope with, not to mention the social tension it causes and which continues to grow., completes Margalida Ramis. Indeed, the number of tourists continues to break records in the Balearic Islands: 17.8 million last year, including 14 million foreign tourists, an increase of 9% compared to 2022. Local residents are demanding a change of model and urgent measures, before it is too late.