Many of Majorca’s residents are considering leaving the island as locals tell tourists to stop visiting. Seven bodies, such as the environmental protection association GOB, and campaigners Menys Turisme, Més Vida, which organised a large anti-tourist protest in the streets of Palma de Mallorca last summer, signed an open letter in March discouraging tourists from coming to the Spanish enclave. It read: “The island has been exploited to unimaginable limits, leading to the collapse we are now suffering.”
The letter added: “Mallorca is not the paradise they are selling you. The local population is angry and no longer hospitable because the land we love is being destroyed, and many of us have to leave the island because it is uninhabitable. Put yourselves in our place!” It ended with: “We do not need more tourists; in fact, you are the source of our problem. Locals say: ENOUGH. STAY HOME!”
Now, new figures have suggested that only 29% of locals would choose to remain in on the Balearic Islands if they were given the choice to relocate elsewhere within Spain.
Meanwhile, 12% are unsure about what they would do, according to the Mallorca Daily Bulletin.
Andalusia came out on top as the preferred alternative location to live in, with 9% of respondents choosing it.
This was followed by Asturias (6%), the Basque Country (5%), and the Canary Islands (5%).
The Canary Islands have themselves seen anti-tourism protests, during which locals told tourists to “get the f*** outta here”.
Residents claim that too many visitors are having damaging effects on rents, the environment, and local infrastructure.
A record 13million tourists visited Majorca in 2024, DW reported.
This is causing local resources to be strained, as, without Mallorca’s desalination plants, for instance, there would reputedly not be enough drinking water.
Moreover, during the summer, many beaches, roads and cities become overcrowded.
“The time has come to set limits, tourism cannot continue to grow endlessly,” President of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, said last year.
However, data suggests that holiday makers may have been deterred this year, as bars, restaurants and nightlife venues are reportedly seeing a slump.
Tour guides are also seeing the same downward trend, according to the MailOnline.