Police officers posted to one of the most famous islands in the Balearics are forced to live in vans or caravans by the lack of affordable housing, it has been claimed.
Ibiza is known as a stunning Spanish island with a vibrant party scene.
The millions of arrivals it records every year confirm its popularity among tourists – many of whom are UK nationals.
The Balearic island has also become more and more sought-after by digital nomads who, able to work from anywhere in the world, relocate to Ibiza from colder nations in northern Europe.
A similar influx creates more jobs in public services and hospitality – but also raises the number of homes needed to accommodate workers alongside locals and tourists.
Given the limited space for homes to be built on the island and the rise in illegal tourist lets, a similar pressure on the housing market has led to rents skyrocketing and becoming unaffordable to most locals.
Iván Fidalgo, a Guardia Civil officer and local coordinator for the Spanish Association of Civil Guards, noted his police force is struggling to attract new officers to the island.
He told the Guardian: “No one wants to be posted here. No one in their right mind is going to want to come to live and work in Ibiza because they won’t find anywhere to live.”
While some locals and workers opt to share small homes with several other people to share the burden of rent, others end up living in vans and caravans.
Speaking about drastic housing solutions sometimes adopted also by police officers, Mr Fidalgo added: “Come summer, there will be colleagues who are living in vans or caravans as they did last year or in previous years. We just feel powerless.”
Rafael Jimenez, a spokesperson for the activist group Prou Ibiza and police officer, told Euronews Travel: “A side effect of mass tourism is that house prices are rising. Everyone feels that everything is collapsing.
“More restaurants require more workers but these workers require places to live and there are ten looking for every place. There are nurses and police who live in caravans.”
On May 24, anger reached boiling point for many, as around a 1000 people took to the streets of Ibiza’s capital to demand limits on the number of tourist arrivals.