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6 months ago
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BRITS heading for Ibiza this bank holiday weekend could face major carnage as anti-tourist protests are set to flood the popular hotspot.
Hundreds of fuming demonstrators have taken to the Spanish paradise’s streets to vent their anger as others vowed to cause chaos at the busy Majorca airport.
Solarpix
Solarpix
Bav Media
Some 1,000 campaigners held up banners saying “We don’t want an island of cement” and “Tourism, yes but not like this” as they massed outside Ibiza Council’s HQ.
Last night’s noisy Ibiza town centre protest took place just hours before thousands more head over to Palma this evening in what is expected to become the largest protest in the Canary Islands.
The organisers of the Ibiza demo, a group called Prou Eivissa, met with Ibiza’s president Vicent Mari before taking to the streets, as British tourists across the other side of the island in San Antonio drank themselves silly and dismissed a street drinking ban which could see them hit with fines of up to £1,300 if caught.
The protestors’ demands include a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in summer and a ban on using taxpayers’ cash to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination.
A letter was read out at the end of the protest from an Ibiza-born woman who linked her decision to leave the island with her family and move to the Spanish mainland to a “destructive” tourist model that had led to “more cars, more tourists and more incivility.”
In the run-up to yesterday evening’s protest, organisers said: “We are completely fed up with the failure to properly address the complaints of so many citizens about the nefast consequences of a massive and selfish tourism which ignores the future of the island.
“Our beautiful island is in danger.
“Tourist crowds not only affect our quality of life, but also the beauty and authenticity that makes Ibiza such a special place.
“Tourist overcrowding makes the cost of living unattainable for many residents.
“We fight for an Ibiza where we can all live in dignity. It is time to raise our voices and protect our home.”
SolarpixAnti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots
IT isn't just Mallorca where anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe.
Many top holiday destinations across the continent are taking action to prevent unwanted travellers from taking over their towns and cities.
Locals feel they can no longer live in the iconic destinations because they have become overcrowded, unsafe and uncomfortable.
In April, thousands of people took to the streets in Tenerife to demand restrictions on holidaymakers after telling Brits to “go home”.
The anti-tourist hordes filled a square in the capital brandishing banners including some that read “You enjoy we suffer” in English.
Protests also took place at the same time on other popular Canary islands including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
The marches were organised under the slogan “The Canary Islands have a limit.”
Hotel bosses in Benidorm have even admitted they are “very worried” by the anger growing amongst island residents but branded holiday homes in Spain a “virus”.
More recently, the Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport reportedly approved an initiative to reintroduce a cap on cruise ships to Palma, Majorca’s capital.
Politicians are keen to implement a new set of rules on cruise ships in terms of taxation, the environment or the use of less polluting fuels to lower numbers coming into the Balearics.
The protest was the first of its kind since April 20 when thousands of people in the Canary Islands took to the streets of the Atlantic archipelago to demonstrate against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand their politicians take action.
Government officials in Tenerife, where protestors held up banners which said: ‘You enjoy we suffer’ and ‘Tourism moratorium now’, said around 30,000 people had taken part but organisers put the figure at 80,000.
This evening a platform called Banc del Temps has organised a separate protest against ‘tourist overcrowding’ in the centre of Palma under the slogan ‘Mallorca no se vende’ which is Spanish for ‘Majorca is not up for sale.’
The idea of an airport protest in the peak tourist season which involves collapsing Palma Airport with cars was discussed at a brain-storming session just over a week ago organised by association Menys Turisme, which translates into English as ‘Less Tourism, More Life.’
Mass protests outside hotels and on beaches were also put forward as proposals at a citizens’ assembly attended by more than 300 people.
Anti-tourist graffiti has appeared in both Majorca and Tenerife in recent months.
Some foreign holidaymakers have shown their support for the issues raised by campaigners but others have accused them of biting the hand that feeds them.
Overnight a British tourist celebrating her birthday in San Antonio’s raucous West End told the Daily Mail toughened-up regional government restrictions designed to promote responsible tourism were “stupid.”
They cover the party area as well as Magaluf’s party strip Punta Ballena and include a ban on street drinking as well as night-time closure orders for shops selling alcohol.
A Prou Eivissa spokesman told the paper: “We don’t want no tourism but we want a different tourism.
“We want some controls. We want our lovely island back.”
The popular holiday island is the latest Spanish destination to see demonstrations, following on from Tenerife and the other Canary Islands last month.
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