Protesters block beach in Spanish hols hotspot spelling out message for tourists in sand in latest anti-tourism row
HUNDREDS of anti-tourism zealots in a popular Spanish resort have blocked an access to a beach in the latest staged protest.
The angry locals have spelled out their message for tourists with their own bodies in the picturesque Menorcan beach.
Protesters boasted that they had “residents’ cars” filling a parking lot near the lovely cove of Cala Turqueta on the southern coast of the island.
They then shaped the words “SOS Menorca” in the sand along the water’s edge using towels and their own bodies.
According to local sources, the surprise protest by environmental non-profit organisation GOB Menorca “blocked” the car park to tourists for almost six hours starting early Saturday morning.
In an effort to “hinder the arrival of tourists,” the demonstrators reportedly packed the first bus that was headed for Cala Turqueta.
GOB Menorca said overnight: “This was not a protest against tourism, but against massification and the degradation that brings.
“250 people gathered in Cala Turqueta to demand a change of direction for Menorca.
“They filled the car park with residents’ cars and created messages on the sand with their towels and other things.
“The images captured convey the concern of the Menorcan population about the massification of the island.”
A spokesperson claimed that by taking these steps, they were reaffirming the rights to adequate housing, the preservation of the island’s natural resources, a diverse economy, and the return of young people from abroad.
But despite the anti-tourism protests, more Brits are flocking to the Spanish islands to escape poor weather in the UK.
They are, however, facing massive queues at the Palma airport where there has frequently been just one police officer on duty to check passports.
British holidaymakers have vented their fury as they had to wait for more than an hour in a specific passport control line for non-EU passengers.
A video published by Spanish newspaper Diario de Mallorca shows well over 100 passengers in the very slow-moving passport queue whilst other arrivals pass through the checks quickly.
The backlog has also been overwhelmed by “constant breakdowns” in the computer verification system.
The police union SUP has backed the complaints of British tourists, saying that more workers are required at Palma airport to manage the high volume of people coming into or going out of Mallorca.
The current number of staff is insufficient to handle the large volume of passengers at the Son Sant Joan facility, SUP told Diario de Mallorca.
Another factor contributing to these lengthy lines is the concentration of aircraft leaving for the United Kingdom within a few-hour window.
The flights coming and departing from Mallorca are almost full due to more than 2.3million Brits who holiday on the isle every year.
British nationals must travel to Mallorca with a passport since the UK is no longer a member of the European Union.
Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots
A WAVE of anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe to curb mass tourism in popular holiday hotspots.
Overcrowding has become the main problem in many sunny destinations, with authorities trying to find a solution to keep tourists and locals happy.
Officials have attempted to reduce the impact of holidaymakers by implementing additional taxes on tourists, or banning new hotels.
Earlier this year Venice became the first city in the world to charge an entry fee for holidaymakers after it started charging day-trippers €5 (£4.30) if visiting the historical Italian centre.
It was followed by an area in Barcelona which resorted to removing a well-used bus route from Apple and Google Maps to stop crowds of tourists from using the bus.
Meanwhile, San Sebastián in the north of Spain, limited the maximum number of people on guided visits to 25 to avoid congestion, noise, nuisance and overcrowding.
The city has already banned the construction of new hotels.
The Spanish government has allowed restaurants to charge customers more for sitting in the shade in Andalucia.
Benidorm has introduced time restrictions, as swimming in the sea between midnight and 7am could cost a whopping £1,000.
The Canary Islands are also considering adopting measures to regulate the number of visitors – and charge tourists a daily tax.
Greece has already enforced a tourist tax during the high season (from March to October) with visitors expected to pay from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night, depending on the booked accommodation.
Officials in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia want to introduce a fee for travellers to remind people to be courteous during their trips.
Protesters organised another huge demonstration in Majorca only a week ago where they chanted: “We will plough the highways, the hotels will be empty and so the world will understand that there are too many tourists.”
Another said: “Goodbye rental cars, goodbye rat businesses. Houses will be cheap and we won’t see more cyclists.”
More than 20,000 protesters packing into capital Palma complained about hard-drinking revellers and soaring rents.
Banners demanded: “Take back your drunks — give back our homes” and “Your paradise, our nightmare.”
Slogans aimed at Brits mocked their Euros performance too after Spain beat them 2-1 in the quarter-final.
Placards read: “Out at the final. Get out of here.”
A few weeks ago almost 3,000 protestors took to the streets of Spain’s capital Barcelona and used water guns to attack tourists.
Some 2,800 locals marched along a waterfront district of the city with their furious slogan “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism”, plastered across banners and signs.
Two women were seen pointing their water pistols at tourists with stern looks on their faces.
Some unlucky holidaymakers were sprayed as they tried to enjoy their evening, with some eating their dinner outdoors at restaurants.
Footage then captured tourists fleeing from the spray.
One protester held up a disturbing sign which read: “Dear Tourist: Balconing is Fun!” – poking fun at holidaymakers who died falling from balconies.
The unprovoked attack on holidaymakers in the Catalan capital seems to have drawn inspiration from the anti-tourist organisation Balconing Balearic Federation, which keeps track of the deaths caused by “balconing” near island resorts.
A huge anti-tourist movement has also sprung up in neighbouring Ibiza and other Balearic Islands.
Reasons for the protests across Europe are largely the same – issues of overcrowding, housing, protecting the environment, congestion and resource allocation.
Residents across the board feel pushed out by mass tourism – and are concerned about the preservation of their beaches or beauty spots.
However, there have been warnings that putting off holidaymakers could be an act of economic suicide for a western Mediterranean island which has relied on the tourist trade for generations.
Tourism drives around 45 per cent of Majorca’s economy.
And a counter-protest group, made up of anonymous locals, were seen handing “we love you” stickers cards to holidaymakers.
A spokesman for We Love Tourism Mallorca said: “It makes no sense for us to bite the hand that feeds us.”