Thousands of protesters have gathered at one of Majorca’s most popular beaches to demand greater protection for the island’s coastline, warning it could become “another Magaluf”.
Around 10,000 people entered the sea at S’Arenal de sa Ràpita in a major demonstration against what campaigners describe as the threat of overtourism and excessive development.
The protest saw demonstrators form a huge human chain in the water as they called for stronger safeguards for natural areas and opposed changes to planning rules they fear could lead to new hotels, apartments, car parks, power lines and sand extraction.
Environmental groups including GOB, Terraferida and the Menys Turisme Menys Vida platform (“Less tourism, more life”) organised the event at the beach, which forms part of the Es Trenc natural area.
Campaigners say they are concerned new regulations could weaken protections around Es Trenc and allow large-scale tourism projects to spread.
They rejected assurances from politicians that the area would remain protected, with protesters chanting: “Who wants Majorca does not destroy it.”
They also called for “concrete and urgent measures for the common good” rather than what they described as empty promises.
Tonina Siquier, vice-president of GOB, said the demonstration had been a “resounding success” that exceeded expectations.
She said campaigners had gathered at Es Trenc to defend the natural environment and regretted having to stage protests of this kind, which she described as more typical of previous decades.
The demonstration echoed earlier campaigns held in 1977, 1983, 1990 and 2012.
Balearic government president Marga Prohens dismissed claims that the area lacked protection as “hoaxes”, while Agriculture Minister Joan Simonet recorded a video from the site promising the beach would remain protected, reported the Daily Mail.
However, protest groups maintained that the new legal framework could still allow increased construction and tourism activity.
In a manifesto, they said: “No matter how much Minister Simonet makes videos promising that not a single square metre of Es Trenc will be left unprotected, the reality is that this new legal framework is tailor-made to fill Es Trenc with constructions, beach bars, car parks, beach services and tourist uses of all kinds.”
The groups warned that allowing more flexibility in planning rules could eventually lead to apartments, hotels and other tourist facilities being built.
“A S’Arenal in Campos and a Magaluf in the south of the island. That is what they want,” they said.
The Menys Turisme Menys Vida movement has previously organised large-scale demonstrations, including a protest in Palma on July 21, 2024, which attracted around 50,000 people calling for limits on tourism growth.
Campaigners have used symbolic actions, including barricades, illuminated messages on buildings and models of planes and cruise ships, to highlight concerns about the impact of mass tourism.
The latest demonstration is part of a wider wave of anti-overtourism protests across Spain.
Earlier this year, activists announced plans to demonstrate in Palma, with campaigners also staging protests outside landmarks including the city’s cathedral.
A further march has been planned for July 26, following previous demonstrations that saw activists gather in the city centre with drums after rallies ended.
Menys Turisme Menys Vida spokesman David Comas said: “We can’t cope with more tourists.”
He claimed Majorca had become a “theme park” where young people were struggling to become independent because of difficulties finding affordable housing.
The Canary Islands and Balearic Islands have been among the main centres of anti-tourism protests over the past two years, although similar demonstrations have also taken place in Barcelona and Malaga.
Some foreign visitors have faced hostility during protests, including holidaymakers in Palma who were booed and jeered while eating in a local square in May 2024. Officials later apologised.
Other demonstrations have included activists spraying water at a tourist bus outside Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and protesters entering a party beach in Majorca while carrying anti-tourism banners.