AS the tourist season gets underway in Mallorca, residents and businesses are taking steps to discourage visitors from lingering in the streets to sit and eat ice-cream.
Finding a place to sit and enjoy ice-cream from the many shops along Palma’s cruise ship route – from Parc de la Mar to Sant Miquel – may become more difficult this summer.Â
Locals and business owners are putting up posters to discourage tourists from blocking pavements and shop entrances while snacking.
In the case of the Palma City Council, security guards are on hand to discourage visitors who block the entrance to the Citizen Service Office (OAC) in Plaza Santa Eulalia.
Meanwhile, businesses in the Old Town – such as the clothing shop Xino’s – have put up signs asking visitors not to sit on window ledges or stairs.
With measures to deter tourist disruption in the Balearics already underway well ahead of the summer season, tensions between visitors and residents are beginning to surface early.
It follows widespread anti-tourism protests on the island.
In July 2024, approximately 20,000 protesters took to the streets of the Mallorcan capital, Palma, in a major demonstration against mass tourism.
Less than a year later, in June 2025, around 8,000 residents again marched through Palma to protest the ongoing situation.
The recent measures aimed at deterring loitering in the streets suggest that local frustration is already mounting ahead of the peak tourist season.
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