Mass tourism in Spain: drowning the Balearic Islands?

"Go home!", cries out a man in swimming togs, frantically waving at a group of bewildered tourists trying to access the Caló des Moro, one of Majorca’s most famous and picturesque beaches. He is one of the dozens of residents who had come early that Sunday to occupy the site, in protest againsst the "massification" of tourism, which they say has "devastating effects" on their island, and their lives.

“We have cruises [cruise ships] every day with thousands of people. We have a flight every minute! It’s cars, it’s pollution. Beaches, restaurants are full of the streets are full of people! We’re fed up!” exclaims Joana Maria Estrany Vallespir, from “SOS Residents”, a protest collective.

 “TOURISM IS KILLING US”

"In one day, up to one million people come here! It’s unbearable!” storms Sara, a young protester. “They’re erasing our identity, they’re pushing us out, because they bought everything! They say Majorca lives off tourism? No, tourism lives off us, and it’s killing us!”

Majorca, the largest of the archipelago, has a population of just under a million. It expects to host some 20 million visitors this year. An all-time record.

Tourism represents nearly half of the GDP of the Balearic Islands. An economic windfall which does not benefit everyone.

The all-inclusive packages from major hotel chains, or ferry companies whose giant ships dock every day in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital, even have the opposite effect, for part of the local commerce.

“There are lots of people, but their financial means are much lower, since the pandemic” says Kristina, who works in a bodega in the city centre. “There are more all-inclusive hotel offers, more holiday rentals. People prefer to stay in a flat and prepare their own food. At