Majorca issues ‘clear’ message despite spate of anti-tourism protests as Spanish director warns island ‘lives off tourism’

In recent months, locals across Spain have staged anti-tourism protests, with 15,000 protesters taking to the streets in Palma, Majorca in May.

Another recent protest took place on June 16, organised by Mallorca Platja Tour, which encouraged locals to take back their beaches by going swimming and to “enjoy them as before”.

More than 250 people took over a tourist hotspot in protest, with the group stating: “For one day Calo des Moro will belong to the Majorcans.”

Sciacovelli, the Director of Tourism Demand and Hospitality for the council of Majorca, told a local outlet that whilst the system needs to change due to “limited resources”, there was no doubt that the island “lives off tourism”.

She told the Majorca Daily Bulletin: “Let’s be clear that we live off tourism: currently 87 per cent of GDP and 40 per cent of employment.

“Many destinations would kill to have what we have. In the same day, you can enjoy a round of golf, play tennis, relax at the beach, go to work, dine in a restaurant – it’s such a privilege. And, if we didn’t have tourism, where would we be?

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“Taxes paid by hoteliers, business owners, employees, plus the money spent by tourists, help build our hospitals, our schools. It’s a circular economy that gives locals their quality of life.”

However, she said that on such a small island, bringing in more and more tourists was not feasible and limits are now needed.

“Resources are limited and this is why we are now debating the ‘Island of tomorrow,” she said.

“For the first time in our history, we’re talking more to the residents than to the tourists and learning so much.

She said they are trying to create a tourism industry that benefits everyone, and that going forward, they need to work on their messaging.

Around 44 per cent of people will now think twice before booking a holiday to the island, a recent poll by Majorca Daily Bulletin revealed.

One holidaymaker has dismissed the demonstrations on the island, which receives about 40 per cent of its income from tourism, as “completely hypocritical”.

Speaking to The Sun, Zoe Kemp said: “They rely on tourists to survive. If you look around, everything is based on tourists.

“Places like Magaluf are advertised as cheap drinking holidays. We help the economy.”

However, residents across Spain are claiming that they are being outpriced out of their neighbourhoods by expats who earn more money, as they demand the end of “touristification”.