'SOS Menorca' - Hundreds of anti tourism protesters launch 'surprise action' on idyllic beach

The protestors are also said to have filled the first bus heading for Cala Turqueta to "impede the arrival of tourists."

A spokesperson from GOB Menorca said overnight: "This was not a protest against tourism, but against massification and the degradation that it brings."

A spokesperson from the group said: "'250 people gathered in Cala Turqueta to demand a change of direction for Menorca. They filled the car park with residents' cars and created messages on the sand with their towels and other things. The images captured convey the concern of the Menorcan population."

They added they are calling for "decent housing, the protection of the island's natural resources, a diversified economy and the return of young people from abroad."

It comes after around 10,000 protesters took part in a rally against mass tourism in Palma de Mallorca.

Carrying makeshift models of planes and cruise ships, protesters walked through the streets of the capital of Mallorca with posters reading 'no to mass tourism' and 'stop private jets'.

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Pere Joan Femenia, of Menys Turisme, Mas Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) which organised the protest in Mallorca, told reporters that protesters wanted less tourists on the island.

He said: "Mass tourism is making it difficult for local people who cannot afford to live on their own island because tourist flats push up prices. Tourists fill up beaches and put a strain on public services in the summer.

"We want to cut mass tourism and to ban non-residents from buying houses which are just used for a few months a year or for speculation."

Anti-tourism activists have staged a series of protests this year in Barcelona, and other popular holiday destinations like Malaga and the Canary Islands, saying visitors drive up housing costs and lead to residents being unable to afford to live in city centres.

After Catalonia, the Balearic Islands was the second most popular region of Spain for tourists last year, attracting 14.4 million holidaymakers, the Spanish National Statistics Institute said.

Tourism generates 45 per cent of the Balearic Islands' gross domestic product, according to data from Exceltur, an industry organisation.

In the first quarter of this year, 16.1 million people visited Spain, an increase of 18 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Visitors spent 109 billion euros ($118.56 billion) in Spain last year, versus 63.5 billion euros in France.