On Sunday, on the island of Mallorca, thousands of residents took to the streets to protest against mass tourism.
According to the DPA news agency, demonstrators gathered at Plaza de España in the center of Palma, from where they marched to the cathedral. There, they were later to read a manifesto reflecting their views.
The initiative “Menys Turisme, Més Vida” (Less Tourism, More Life), which operates under the slogan “Mallorca at the Brink,” has been organizing such protests for the third consecutive year. The island, popular among tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom, is facing problems of overcrowding.
According to police, about 25,000 people took part in the protest. The organizers emphasized that the protest took place on the eve of regional elections in the Balearic Islands to draw attention to these issues.
Protesters voiced their dissatisfaction with the housing shortage, traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and excessive noise levels. Their main demand was to limit the number of tourists in Mallorca. According to the protesters, the growing number of visitors and the rental of vacation homes are the causes of the shortage of affordable housing on the island.
