The beaches of Spanish resorts are overcrowded with tourists
As reported by "Russkaya Germaniya", last weekend thousands of residents of Spanish Mallorca took to the streets of Palma with signs reading "Tourists, go home!" "The crowds of people who took to the streets in Palma lack space to express their national identity due to the inevitable globalization of Mallorca associated with mass tourism. They fear that Mallorca will turn into an amusement park," the director of the Institute of Sociology of the Balearic Islands told the publication.
"Currently there are too many people, too much garbage, and too little common sense on the part of visitors, as well as shops that profit from tourism," the demonstration participants stated.
In addition, the demonstrators are unhappy that due to the large number of tourists on Mallorca, rental prices are rising sharply, making housing unaffordable for locals. Moreover, the protesters are outraged by the behavior of tourists on the city streets.
The large number of tourists indeed negatively affects the environment and authenticity of Mallorca. Mass tourism impacts all daily aspects of the islanders' lives. Thus, according to 56% of surveyed residents of the Balearic Islands, the number of tourists in summer exceeds acceptable limits.
The number of dissatisfied residents has been steadily growing since 2013, reaching 53% last year. Furthermore, according to respondents, tourists cause traffic jams, and the quality of water and cleanliness of beaches suffer. The only thing surprising is why such mass protests are taking place after the end of the tourist season?
Mallorca, with a population of 1 million, is visited annually by 16 million tourists. Since 2012, Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Menorca, and Formentera have seen one record attendance after another. This year, from January to July, 7.9 million foreign tourists visited, which is 7.5% more than in the same period last year.