A couple who have been coming to Majorca for almost 40 years have decided not to return anymore. Karl and Monika Finken are from Mönchengladbach in Germany and first visited Majorca back in 1987 on a holiday.
They fell in love with the place and eventually ended up spending six months of every year on the island. Initially living in hotels, the couple started renting a small apartment in 2015, spending most of the winter and spring in Colonia Sant Jordi. They felt welcomed by locals and enjoyed the relative calm and natural beauty that surrounded them.
When they first started coming, the island had not yet become a destination for mass tourism and life was a lot calmer and more easy going.However, the couple say that the atmosphere on the island has changed and they no longer feel welcome.
“Now it is a definitive goodbye, marked by disappointment and a deep melancholy,” Karl told the Majorca Daily Bulletin. “In some ways, we no longer feel welcome.”
The ever increasing commercialisation of Majorca has led to a deterioration in the quality of life and a neglect of the environment, according to the couple. Karl noted that Es Trenc beach used to be in pristine condition, until the beach bars were demolished.
Owners of the bars used to ensure that litter and waste was cleaned up, but today the area has become “hygienic chaos”.
The couple also complained about the rowdy behaviour of tourists who now visit the island in ever increasing numbers. “Playa de Palma used to be for older people and quiet groups,” Monika said. “Now there’s only uncontrolled drunkenness.”
One of the main factors in their decision to quit Majorca is the ever increasing cost of daily life. The couple said they had been asked to pay double the amount for their rent, and that property owners were looking to cash in on the tourism bonazna.
“Many have seen a gold mine,” Karl said. “First they sold Majorca to the highest bidder, and now they want to squeeze every square metre.”
Karl and Monika admitted that recent protests against mass tourism had unsettled them, but sympathised with protesters’ complaints about affordable housing.
However, they blamed a failure of local government policy rather than tourism per se for the housing crisis on the island.
