Residents on the Balearic island of Ibiza will stage a mass rally tomorrow protesting overcrowding on the holiday destination. There has been growing backlash to over-tourism across the Balearic islands this year as locals complain that the islands are straining under the pressure.
The following day will see a similar protest rally against the influx of tourists in Majorca, just over a month after 120,000 took to the streets in Tenerife to hit back at overtourism.
Ibiza alone attracts three million tourists a year, including 800,000 Britons. Over 2.3 million British holidaymakers flock to Majorca every year.
This comes as Spain recently announced that it had broken a record for the number of tourists in the first quarter. More 16 million tourists have flocked to the country so far this year, marking a 17.7 percent rise in tourists, compared to the same period in 2023.
The rapid rise in tourist figures have left many locals furious, amid a struggle for basic services and housing.
A citizens platform known as Prou Ibiza will hold an anti-tourist rally tomorrow, Friday, May 24. They insist that the islanders “can’t take it anymore”.
In the lead-up to tomorrow’s protest, Prou stated: “We are fed up with selfish mass tourism that ignores the future of Ibiza.
“The overcrowding of Ibiza over the last five years in the hands of all kinds of speculators is exterminating the island.”
The protest will take place in front of the Consell de Ibiza at 8pm and urges all residents to take part “before it is too late”.
Prou spokeswoman Jacquie Perry laid out the group’s demands, which includes a limit on incoming vehicles, protection for residents and a reduction in hotel capacity.
She complained that more “super-rich” tourists are flooding the island and taking away more land from the people of Ibiza. Ms Perry added that the population on the island is no longer “sustainable”.
A statement from Prou on social media added: “The time has come to reverse this negative situation. We have to stop so much construction everywhere without anyone putting a stop to it or any kind of regulation.
“We Ibizans have to wake up and realise that we can no longer continue in this situation of total disaster that increasingly exterminates traditional customs and a way of family life that, in reality, has almost disappeared.”
“We Ibizans have to wake up and realise that we can no longer continue in this situation of total disaster that increasingly exterminates traditional customs and a way of family life that, in reality, has almost disappeared.”
A similar protest is also being held in Majorca the day after the Friday rally. Locals will march under the slogan ‘Majorca is not for sale’.
Last year, the Balearic archipelago set a record of 17.8 million tourists.
Most of the economy is also devoted to tourism, with the industry making up more than 45 percent of the Balearic GDP.