Walter Finch
AROUND 100 protesters surrounded tourists dining at an outdoor terrace in Palma for nearly an hour yesterday evening, harassing them with chants and banging pots.
The confrontation occurred at the Born promenade and Plaza de las Tortugas as a larger demonstration against tourism saturation was going on nearby.
Protesters, armed with whistles and makeshift drums, moved through the pedestrian areas chanting Fora turistes dels nostres carrers (Tourists out of our streets) and Guiris go home in English.
Many startled tourists abandoned their meals and drinks as the crowd approached, though stubbornly some remained seated and refused to be intimidated.
READ MORE: Return of the water pistols: Anti-tourism protests grip Barcelona, Mallorca and other cities
The hostile actions forced police to rush over and establish a security cordon to prevent any physical incidents between locals and tourists.
Confused tourists were heard asking what was happening as the protest unfolded around them.
Police officers positioned themselves strategically throughout the area, and the only serious incident occurred when some protesters threw water at officers.
READ MORE: Malaga continues to hand out new tourist apartment permits despite housing backlash
The terrace incident was part of a larger demonstration that drew approximately 8,000 people through Palma’s streets, demanding action against tourism oversaturation and housing problems affecting locals.
The broader march proceeded in a largely festive atmosphere, with the terrace incidents representing the most confrontational moments of the evening.
The protests reflect growing tensions in the Balearic Islands over mass tourism’s impact on local communities, with residents increasingly vocal about overcrowding and housing shortages they attribute to the tourism boom.
After more than an hour of demonstrations at the dining areas, the protesters eventually dispersed, allowing normal service to resume at the affected establishments.
The incidents have drawn sharp criticism from the Catalan Government, with Vice President Antoni Costa condemning the harassment of tourists on IB3 Ràdio’s Al Dia programme.
READ MORE: Shock for Spain’s Costa del Sol as 30% of British tourists say they won’t be going back
“The Catalan government condemns and rejects the minority that harassed the tourists,” Costa said, emphasising that whilst the behaviour was from a small group, it was ‘unacceptable’ for participants to heckle ‘tourists or residents’ who were peacefully dining.
Costa stressed that the vast majority of protesters demonstrated peacefully and expressed the government’s ‘total and absolute respect’ for their right to protest.
However, he defended the administration’s tourism policies, claiming it had approved ‘the most restrictive tourism decree-law in history’ by freezing tourist accommodation spaces and prohibiting tourist rentals in residential buildings.
The vice president acknowledged that some may consider the measures ‘insufficient’ but insisted his government had taken more action than its predecessor, which he claimed had authorised 115,000 tourist accommodation spaces whilst giving ‘free rein’ to illegal rentals.
READ MORE: Spain is on course to receive 100 MILLION tourists this year – driving prices ever higher
Despite the protests calling for tourism restrictions, Costa maintained that ‘abandoning tourism would be madness’ for the Balearic Islands.
“We are a tourist community and we are proud of it,” he argued, noting that it would be ‘self-deception’ to think the islands could survive without tourism.
He admitted not everything had been done well, pointing to a decline in Balearic GDP over the past 20 years, but insisted the government aimed to change the growth pattern ‘but not the model’.
The controversy has also drawn criticism from hoteliers, who believe the purpose of Sunday’s march ‘has been blurred’ by the confrontational incidents involving tourists.
Click here to read more Mallorca News from The Olive Press.
