Spain holiday warning: Palma in Majorca to hold anti-tourist protest as locals 'say enough' to 'overcrowding'

Another popular holiday destination is set to be rocked by anti tourism protests later this month. The demonstration is set to happen on Saturday, May 25 in Palma, Majorca’s capital, Majorca Daily Bulletin reports. 

The newspaper says that the organisers have called for the protest to “say ENOUGH to tourist overcrowding”. The organisers said: “On the 25th of May we have to take to the streets. To say ENOUGH to tourist overcrowding, to say ENOUGH to the destruction of the territory, to say ENOUGH to the lack of protection suffered by the people who live on the islands.

"We have to go out to demand accountability from the institutions, because we want to live in our home, to protect our lives and because we do not want Mallorca [Majorca] to become a luxury resort. For the right to housing, for the protection of the territory, of our own language and culture.”

On Wednesday, May 8, President of the Balearic Islands Marga Prohens responded to media questions about the protests. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, she said: “This government understands that limits are necessary, we must make possible coexistence between tourist activity and the well-being of the residents of the Balearic Islands.”

It comes after demonstrations were held in the Spanish Canary Islands in April as locals fumed over overtourism. Demonstrations took place across the group of islands, which include Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and La Palma, holding placards saying ‘Canaries have a limit’. 

Over the weekend new laws have come into force in the Balearic Islands including in popular hotspots including Playa de Palma, Magaluf in Majorca and Sant Antoni in Ibiza. Under the new law, people caught drinking outside of authorised areas will be fined between €500-1,500 (£430-1290).