People take part in a demonstration to protest against overtourism on the island of Mallorca in Palma de Mallorca (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
As overtourism continues to threaten the quality of life for local residents, the Spanish activist group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) is rallying its troops for a renewed fight.
They have summoned their members to gather strength and strategise at an important assembly on February 15 at a school in Mallorca.
Here, they plan to run training sessions and workshops, all aimed at gearing up for the imminent season.
The clarion call to “reorganise” and “strengthen” their movement comes in response to the Spanish authorities unveiling a colossal billion-euro investment into the tourism industry.
Voicing strong opposition to the burgeoning luxury tourism and the escalating crisis in housing due to real estate speculation, Menys Turisme, Més Vida are steadfast in their resistance.
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A Spanish campaign group has summoned their members to gather strength and strategise at an important assembly (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“Together, trained, organized, we will have the strength to stand up and defeat this criminal system,” declared the campaign group on social media platform X.
This very group orchestrated a significant anti-tourism demonstration last summer in Palma de Mallorca that captured widespread attention.
On July 21, streets were awash with approximately 10,000 dissenters brandishing models of planes and cruise ships alongside emphatic slogans such as “no to mass tourism” and “stop private jets”, reports
The sentiments of frustration were plain to see during the march, with bold banners embodying the island inhabitants’ exasperation over the relentless influx of tourists, including scores of British holidaymakers, flooding into Majorca each year.
Hundreds of protestors brandished placards and banners, urging tourists to leave and declaring them unwelcome on the island.
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Spain’s anti-tourist protesters announce training session as holiday season approaches (Image: Getty)
Government officials at the time cautioned the demonstrators to maintain decorum, in order to avoid a repeat of incidents in Barcelona where tourists were targeted with water from toy guns.
The group has now criticised the Balearic authorities for prioritising tourism investment over infrastructure projects that would benefit the local population.
“While the Balearic Government exceeds the billionaire investments of 1.12bn euros to defend tourist interests, the public infrastructure, healthcare, the territory… is on the verge of collapse,” the group declared in a translated statement on social media.
Last month, Marga Prohens, President of the Balearic Islands, announced that 1.12bn euros would be allocated towards making tourism more sustainable and modern in the Balearics, as reported by .
The protest group continued their criticism, stating: “While the tourist lobby continues to get rich and prices skyrocket, wages are stagnant and the living conditions of the working class continue to become more precarious. The extraordinary measures of the state are nothing more than anaesthetics to not solve the problem.”
They further dismissed the sustainability pact as a mere time-wasting strategy.
The group highlighted that tourism companies’ profits are growing at double the rate of workers’ wages.
A growing counter-movement is challenging the anti-tourist sentiment. Last summer, a faction of residents, primarily from Palma, sought to counteract the protestors by demonstrating their support for tourists.
These pro-tourism advocates undermined the anti-tourism campaigners’ banners by plastering them with their own stickers, expressing that holidaymakers are welcome in Majorca and the other Balearic islands including Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.