Majorca’s government is planning to remove hundreds of sun loungers from its beaches after pressure from locals to stop crowding the sandy stretches with foreign holidaymakers. Four beaches in the island’s capital city of Palma will see a significant reduction in the number of sunbeds available on them, with officials pledging to cut the available amount by 20% by 2026. While the move will be partially driven by concerns around sand erosion linked to rising sea levels, the decision has also been linked to frustration from residents who have no space to sunbathe because of the region’s well-documented overtourism problem.
Around 1,644 loungers will be removed from the city’s central beaches, including a drop from more than 6,000 to just 4,436 on its longest sandy stretch, Playa de Palma, the German-language newspaper Mallorca Zeitung reports. It comes ahead of a series of co-ordinated protests across Spain, including in Majorca, Ibiza, Barcelona and Tenerife, calling for further action against the strain of large visitor numbers on the country’s services and infrastructure.
The new regulations will also see the number of sunbeds on Cala Major drop from 300 to 250, while available loungers at Ciutat Jardi will be cut from 300 to 288 and Cala Stancia will see a decrease from 150 to 132.
As local discontent with rising numbers of international holidaymakers has grown, Balearic authorities have announced a series of measures aimed at reducing footfall, including limiting short-term lets and introducing a tourist tax.
Palma’s council is reportedly planning to invest €300million (£254k) into improving the Playa de Palma over the next 10 years, including a ban on new tourist hotels and a scheme to upgrade existing hotels or turn them into residential apartments.
Fresh demonstrations highlighting issues caused by overtourism, including a struggling housing market and job insecurity, have been scheduled for this summer, however, with the next protest planned for Sunday, June 15.
This weekend’s action has been organised by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification, and will see locals taking to the streets in cities across Spain as well as Venice in Italy and Lisbon in Portugal.
Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), the group behind last year’s Majorca-based protests, has also vowed to demonstrate again this year.
In a statement the group said the renewed campaign was in response to “the Balearic government’s new tourist campaign, the announcements of billion-dollar investments, the boom in property speculation and luxury tourism while the housing problem worsens”.