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TOURISM

Protesters threaten Mallorca airport ‘blockade’ ahead of another tourism demo in Spain

Activists on the Spanish island of Mallorca have warned of plans to 'collapse' Palma airport ahead of mass protests against overtourism scheduled across the Balearics in the upcoming days.

Published: 23 May 2024 09:14 CEST
Protesters threaten Mallorca airport 'blockade' ahead of another tourism demo in Spain
Mallorcans plan mass protests against overtourism. Photo: JAIME REINA / AFP

The Mallorcan activist group Menys Turisme, més vida, meaning ‘Less tourism, more life’ has threatened it would cause the “collapse” of the airport, during a recent meeting of protestors to gather ideas for concrete actions against overtourism on the island.

More than 300 people attended the meeting, where the most popular solution according to reports by local daily Ultima Hora was to create a blockade at Son Sant Joan Airport, just outside the capital of Palma, and the main entry point for visitors to the Balearics.

Members were warned of the dangers involved in such a demonstration and the legal consequences involved, so protestors have also proposed the creation of a resistance fund to pay for any possible fines.

Limiting the availability of rental cars, regulating access to housing, uniting unions and appropriating public spaces, were other actions that were proposed during the debate.

PP spokesperson in the Balearic Parliament Sebastiá Sagreras told local daily Diario de Mallorca that his right-wing party was against the blockade as “it would end up affecting people who aren’t at fault such as residents and tourists”, and that the Socialist party in the Balearics were responsible for not doing enough to stem the rise in illegal tourist apartments in recent years.

At the end of the assembly, the organisers also announced that a “massive” demonstration would be planned, although no further date was set.

This comes on the back several more anti-tourism demonstrations which are due to take place across the Balearic Islands over the next week.

On Saturday May 25th, the largest protest will take place at 7pm in Plaza de España in Palma, under the motto ‘Mallorca is not for sale’.

Menorcans will also be demonstrating on the same day and time at Plaza de la Constitución in Alaior to protest housing prices, in a rally orchestrated by ‘Menorca per un Habitatge Digne’ (‘Menorca for a Decent Home’).

Another rally against overcrowding in Menorca is scheduled for June 8th in the Plaza de la Biosfera in Mahón.

READ ALSO: Spain’s Balearics struggle to fill job vacancies due to exorbitant rents    

Ibiza, which has suffered the most from uncontrolled tourism, will also be holding its own event at the Insular Council headquarters on Friday, May 24th at 8pm, under the slogan ‘Eivissa can’t take it anymore’.

READ ALSO – ‘Ibiza can’t take it anymore’: Spanish island plans mass tourism protest

Islanders are protesting against overcrowding, the high prices derived from tourism and the environmental impact.

The idea came after several calls were made online to “imitate the protests that took place in the Canaries” in April, with many locals saying that the issues that Ibiza faces, as an island that welcomes the rich and famous, are even worse than those of the Atlantic Archipelago. 

The Balearic Islands received record numbers of visitors in 2023, with 17.8 million in total, and added to the fact that its population has also grown by 33.5 percent since 2001, it puts a strain on the management of its energy resources and its water consumption and housing, which continues to become more and more expensive.

READ ALSO – REVEALED: The places in Spain where rents have more than doubled in a decade

Tourism accounts for 45 percent of the GDP (€16 billion annually) of the Balearics and employs 200,000 people a year, so while it may be necessary, the sheer number and oversaturation of tourists is not.  

Locals argue that in addition to environmental problems, overtourism causes complications in daily life every year with traffic jams on the roads, fighting in the streets and noise that prevents them from leading a normal life.

It’s not just Spain’s islands that have been having issues with tourists, locals in Málaga on the Costa del Sol are also set to protest in June.

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TOURISM

Valencia to crackdown on tourist flats in historic old town

After news that Barcelona intends to phase out 10,000 tourist rental flats by 2029, the city of Valencia has started the process of banning new 'pisos turísticos' in the historic old town.

Published: 24 June 2024 10:25 CEST
Valencia to crackdown on tourist flats in historic old town

Valencia city council last week unanimously approved plans to crackdown on the use of residential properties as tourist housing in the historic centre, known as the Ciutat Vella or ‘old town’.

This includes the popular neighbourhoods of Velluters, Pilar, Mercat, Carmen, La Seu and part of La Xerea. These central areas have the greatest concentration of tourist rental flats in the city, and council estimates suggest that 10 percent of all residences there are now holiday homes.

This follows news last month that the council would stop issuing new licences to Airbnb-style lets for a year, with the possibility to extend the measure, as rents surge past €1,000 in the city.

According to figures reported by Spanish daily El País, more than 3,500 tourist flats have opened in Valencia in the last year alone. However, in Valencia and cities across Spain, there are also many thousands of unlicensed tourist properties. It is unclear how exactly these flats can be properly regulated.

READ ALSO: Barcelona to get rid of all tourist rental flats ‘by 2028’

In Valencia problem is such that all political parties in the city, including the right-wing Partido Popular and Vox, as well as left-wing parties Compromís and PSPV, voted in favour of starting the process, which will take more than a year.

It comes amid a wave of crackdown on tourist rentals across Spain. In Barcelona last week, city mayor Jaume Collboni shocked many by announcing that the local government intends to ‘eliminate’ 10,000 tourist apartments in the Catalan capital by 2029. These apartments, he said, would be converted into much needed affordable housing for locals.

Surging rent prices are a problem in cities across Spain. In Valencia, the council authorities seem to have taken inspiration from Barcelona and pledged to try and create “a model similar to that of Barcelona… so that, within four years, we can begin to eliminate all the tourist flats in our city and convert them into residential housing”.

The council also wants to ban tourist flats in residential buildings entirely in the old town. “We want it to be a residential neighbourhood,” said city councillor for urban planning, Juan Giner, “and for this reason we have proposed that it is not compatible and no new tourist flats will be opened in the buildings where locals live.”

The proposals, however, would not be a total ban and do include an important exception: that new tourist accommodation will still be allowed in the old town when it is an exclusive use building (that is to say, without any residential housing) and only in the San Francesc neighbourhood and in a small part of La Xerea.

Equally, tourist properties that already have the proper licences or authorisation will be able to continue to operate, but the council’s plans mean that no new licences will be issued in the near future and no new tourist flats will be opened in residential buildings in the old town.

READ ALSO: ‘It’s become unliveable’: Spain’s Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

Anti-tourism protests have gained momentum across the country in recent months, with locals taking to the streets in Barcelona, Madrid, the Canary and Balearic Islands, and further walkouts planned in Málaga at the end of June.

Locals complain that the increasing numbers of Airbnb-style rental accommodation decreases the supply of affordable, residential housing, drives up rental prices, gentrifies local neighbourhoods and prices out locals.

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