Holidaymakers in Majorca are being warned as the next date for an anti-tourism protest has been set.
‘Less Tourism, More Life’, who was behind the July 21 demonstration in Palma where locals took to the streets to protest against overtourism, held its fourth open assembly yesterday, August 21.
Around 50 people attended the assembly in Lloseta, a small municipality in the district of Raiguer in Majorca.
A key date being considered for the next protest is September 27, the UN’s World Tourism Day.
First celebrated in 1980 World Tourism day highlights the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political, and economic value. Cala Millor is the only place in Majorca that recognises the day to any great extent.
To coincide with the day, there have been tourist fiestas in Cala Millor since 1983, however activists may have plans to disrupt the day by holding a huge protest as discontent grows about the impact of tourists on places people across the continent call home.
Activists say the current tourism model has stretched public services to breaking point, arguing it harms natural resources and makes local access to housing increasingly difficult.
During the assembly Jaume Pujol, a spokesperson for ‘Less Tourism, More Life’ called for efforts to continue in demanding measures to change the current tourism model and so for actions at a local level to influence town halls as well as mass protests.
There were also representatives from local groups who make up the platform. They spoke about the “small actions” that have been taken, this included a protest against the Sineu Wednesday market.
The market, which is the oldest in the island, attracts thousands of people every Wednesday who flock to explore the variety of stalls on offer.
News of a new protest comes days after TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel called for a “global strategy” to address the unrest in Majorca. He also defended package holidays where tourists stay in hotels as they do not take away houses from locals.
He told German paper Bild am Sonntag: “It is important to analyse what motivates people, how much tourism they want and how much they don’t.
“It is difficult there (in Majorca) if foreign tourists buy practically all the houses because they have 10,000 euros more. I always like to refer to the Danish model; a German cannot buy a house for private use in Denmark.”