Spain and the Balearics: protests in Mallorca spotlight sustainable tourism

Protests took place in the streets of Palma de Mallorca on 21-Jul-2024, when local residents called for limits on tourist numbers.

The organisers of the protest in the largest city in Spain's Balearic Islands, 'Menys Turisme, Mas Vida' (Less Tourism, More Life), claimed that around 50,000 people took part, while police figures were more like 12,000.

The core of the demonstrators' position is that tourism is impoverishing workers and enriching only a few people. They argue that mass tourism has increased the cost of housing, and limited its availability; also that it has weighed on public services and harmed the natural environment.

Other complaints raised by residents, both in the Balearic Islands and elsewhere in Spain, include unattractive new resorts, obnoxious behaviour by tourists, and too much use of water.

Spain ranks second in the world both for tourist arrivals and the value of tourism receipts. Its economy depends more on tourism than the European and global average - especially in the Balearics.

However, the future of tourism will depend increasingly on integrating the different strands of sustainable tourism: economic, environmental, cultural and social sustainability.