Police facing protesters in Palma (Image: Getty)
Police clashed with protesters in Majorca as residents took the streets this weekend. Over 25,000 people are estimated to have attended the protest in the capital of the Balearic Islands on Sunday which is popular with with British tourists.
Livid locals were out in force today to speak out against what they see as overwhelming mass tourism, as well as gentrification. Seven people people are reported to have been injured in the chaos, two of them seriously, as heaving, heated crowds decended on the town. Signs held up by protesters featured slogans like “save Majorca” and “tourists go home”, a sentiment echoed in various marches against overtourism in Spain in recent years.
A massive protest was held in Majorca this weekend. (Image: Getty)
According to reports, the march saw clashes as police cut off the planned end point the march over safety concerns.
Protestors jumped over barriers with police seen weilding batons in response, The Sun reports. Bottles were allegedly thrown at officers after cops hit a number of protestors with batons, as per the outlet. Police reportedly fired rubber bullets to get the heaving crowds under control.
The march was reportedly organised by Menys Turisme, Mes Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), a grassroots group based on the island.
In a post on social media, the activist group said residents are suffering “an unprecedented housing crisis and a progressive decline in living conditions”.
“We declare that Mallorca has reached its limit – its ecological, territorial and social limits; the limit of human pressure and the limit of what its residents can endure.”
Protesters believe sunseekers who have come to the island have had a negative impact on the cost-of-living of people who live there all year round.
A major sticking point is the rising cost of housing, which has been complained about in other Spanish holiday hotspots.
According to official statistics cited by local English language news outlet Majorca Daily Bulletin, the Balearic Islands population skyrocketed by 280,000 to 1.25million between 2005 and last year.
It came as the number of annual tourists more than doubled, reaching more than 19million. Meanwhile, The price of housing increased from from 2,207 euros (around £1,885) per square metre to 4,062 euros (£3,470).
It’s the first time streets in Majorca have been brought to a standstill by irate anti-tourism activists.
Tens of thousands attended a march last summer, with tourists to “go home”. Similar protests have been held in other popular Spanish travel destinations in the Balearics, the Canary Islands, Barcelona and Madrid.
However, not all locals are so firmly opposed. Last year The Mallorca Hotel Business Federation (FEHM) launched a campaign featuring billboards in English and German thanking tourists for visiting and voicing hopes that they return, as per the Spanish newspaper.
It also emphasised the importance of tourism to the islands.