With protests and demonstrations against overtourism continuing in Mallorca, now residents are being urged to occupy the beaches this weekend.
The protests against mass tourism in Mallorca will move from the streets to the coastline this weekend, with the anti-tourism movement Mallorca Platja Tour urging residents to protest by occupying the beaches of the Spanish island.
In a post on Twitter/X, the team announced: “This Saturday, the first of June, we will swim in Platja de Sa Ràpita (in front of CN) at 10:00 am. The beaches belong to everyone.”
Using the hashtag #OcupemLesNostresPlatges, or “let’s understand our beaches,” the Mallorca Platja Tour “invites all residents near the beaches to go swimming, reclaim the beaches and enjoy them as before.”
The move will precede a large protest planned for Sunday, June 16, on the beach of Sa Ràpita.
The movement was triggered by statements by Manuela Cañadas, spokeswoman for the right-wing Vox party, who said Mallorca residents “cannot wait to go to the beach in July and August like years ago”.
Yesterday, Palma Mayor Jaime Martínez proposed a series of new measures to tackle the effects of mass tourism, which were voted down by the city council. These include limiting the number of cruise ships docking at the port of Palma or docking cruise ships that have Palma as their home port, imposing new taxes on passengers when disembarking, and restricting or banning parties on boats and cruises.
Last Saturday, thousands of locals marched in Palma, with banners reading “Mallorca is not for sale”.
Banc del Temps spokesman Javier Barbero, one of the organizers of the large demonstration, said: “If no measures are taken, we will continue to take to the streets until there is mobilization.”
