Spain tourist protest: Anti-tourism protestors storm Balneario 6 beach in Palma de Mallorca holding 'tourists go home' banners

Demonstrators on the beach yesterday (Sunday 11 August) held banners and placards with slogans such as 'tourists go home' and 'let's occupy our beaches'. The group of around 100 activists addressed the protest towards beachgoers who were sunbathing on the shore.

The protest was organised by campaign group Majorca Platja Tour and took place on the beach Balneario 6, which is located in Playa de Palma. The activist group said they chose the area because it is infamous for drunkenness and disorder. 

They warned more marches are on the horizon over the next few weeks, including in popular holiday and clubbing town Magaluf. The group said they were protesting against “a tourism model that we think is doing us a lot of harm”. They added: “We want to be the voice that reminds our political representatives that they do not work only for the great elites but for all the citizens of this land”.

One protester said: “40 years ago, when I was young, I used to come here to swim, then people started coming to drink and it has deteriorated”. Another added: “We are trying, for a moment, for a few hours, to remember that these sandbanks are the property of all Majorcans not just tourists, we can all enjoy them too.”

The demonstration comes after some 20,000 protesters filled the streets of Palma de Mallorca holding posters targeting British and German tourists alike at the end of last month. Locals were seen holding placards with one reading: "Take Back Your Drunks, Give Back Our Homes”. The regional government of the Balearic Islands has urged protesters against using the same tactics adopted in Barcelona earlier last month, when demonstrators squirted tourists with water pistols in the streets of the Catalan capital.