Residents of Majorca have been made to feel like ‘second or third-class people’ on their own island. (Image: Getty)
An anti-mass tourism advocate, Jaume Garau, has slammed the Government’s social and political pact for sustainability aimed at tackling the negative consequences of .
A former member of the Balearic Parliament, vice-president of the Palma XXI citizens association and executive member of the Forum for Civil Society, Garau described the pact as “really cumbersome” and “very unproductive”.
“It’s very difficult to reach a consensus, which is what was theoretically intended,” he said. “There’s very little debate. We all say the same things we’re used to saying all the time. There’s no creativity.”
He argued that residents have become “second or third-class people” while the government prioritises and tour operators. He also said that the committee of experts that is supposed to supervise the pact “either doesn’t exist or is being kept secret”, according to the .
Every year more than 2.3 million British tourists enjoy holidaying on , which accounts for around 26 percent of the total tourist traffic.
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Garau insisted that the government doesn’t place the forum on the same level as the hoteliers or tour operators. (Image: Getty)
The Forum for Civil Society comprises associations like the Palma XXI as well as environmentalists, unions and businesses. In the spring, the forum presented its vision for the future of tourism in Majorca, which coincided with the government’s announcement of the pact.
This came at a time when scenes of appeared to mark a genuine shift in attitude on behalf of the Partido Popular (PP), the party of government and of the Council of Majorca. For the first time, the PP began to admit the potential need for limits.
“[The pact is] all supposed to be supervised by a committee of experts. This either doesn’t exist or is being kept secret. Emails are being sent but you don’t know what people are saying or what proposals are being made in order to be able to debate them,” Garau argued.
“We proposed that this committee should be made up of qualified people from the private and public sectors and from civil society who could present new ideas. But this has not been done. The debate is not well focused and we told the government this months ago.”
He added that hoteliers have never spoken directly with the citizens or their representatives, but through their own discussions with the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Riu Hotels and they had noticed an interest on their part to have the civil society participate in the tourism model debate.
The hoteliers consider the forum a valid “interlocutor” in the debate, but Garau insisted that the government doesn’t place the forum on the same level as the hoteliers or tour operators.
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Garau said that several phenomena came together, including Airbnb. (Image: Getty)
“There has only ever really been dialogue between hoteliers and political parties – not with civil society. But tourism has changed so much over the past ten years. There are the large ships, which have caused a disaster in the Bay of ; indiscriminate and illegal holiday rentals have grown, which do a great deal of harm to everyone.
“And there has also been an impossible growth in tourism in general. Yet hoteliers have changed their perception. They know that they cannot pilot a tourism that goes against residents. There is a awareness of this problem. Wherever you go, they talk about this conflict between tourism and residents.”
Garau said that several phenomena came together, including the huge youth discontent reflected in the 15-M movement, and the rapid growth of cruise ships.
“All of this has combined to create highly critical public awareness of tourism. Everything is linked to a kind of neo-tourism that is part of a savage international business controlled by large corporations and in which residents become second or third-class people.”
Garau accepts that holiday lets cannot be singled out as being the sole culprits. However, he pointed to the huge increase in in Majorca over the past decade – from 10,000 to 100,000. “The illegal offer must be done away with, just like obsolete hotels, which must be transformed into public housing for rent.”
He also said he was not against , “But we shouldn’t fantasise about its possibilities either. There are not that many people who pay 500 or 1,000 euros per night… If they come, that’s fine, but they are not a strategic target.
“The target is a responsible tourist who respects the and knows not to or electricity. An ecologist tourist – which is the least you can ask today.”
Express.co.uk has contacted the Balearic Government for comment.