Anti-tourism fanatics have continued to run rampant across Spain this summer, storming the Instagram-famous beaches of Mallorca.
Holidaymakers trying to secure early spots on the beach were turned away by Spanish police, leaving few with enough space to lay down their towels.
Anti-tourist protesters take over an Instagram-famous beach in Mallorca. Photo credit: Solarpix Locals laid out beach towels and took over every inch of the tiny cove. Photo credit: Solarpix Protesters in Calo des Moro held up an SOS banner during the demonstration. Photo credit: Solarpix Police were forced to deny entry to beachgoers. Photo credit: Solarpix
By about 10 a.m., the number of protesters had swelled to more than 300, at the same time that the first families arrived at Calo des Moro.
Tourists hurriedly left the beach after seeing hundreds of angry locals washed down the rocky shore.
At about the same time, about half a dozen security guards also showed up and asked the protest leaders to identify themselves.
Islanders kept their promise to “reclaim” their picture-postcard cove from foreigners by staking out every inch of the tiny 130-foot stretch of sand with beach towels.
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Calo des Moro is said to be dominated by influencer tourists who “only come to take photos”.
Pictures showed dozens of locals holding anti-tourist placards and waving banners reading “SOS for residents” and “Take action”.
One eyewitness said: “The first tourists to arrive seemed very surprised to see the place packed so early.
“However, once they were briefed, they seemed to understand what was going on and turned around and left without a fuss.”
The organiser of a historic anti-mass tourism protest in Mallorca has apologised for the abuse he caused holidaymakers. Sunbathers barely had time to swim as the crowds quickly piled in. Photo by Solarpix. Families and tourists already on the beach were chased away by police as the devout followers arrived. Photo by Solarpix. The protests prevented tourists from enjoying a day at the famous beach. Photo by Solarpix**ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS BY SOLARPIX.COM**. **UK online usage fees are £40 per photo and £20 for the second photo, including videography. – No price cap – Video rates are standard** .**Full copy by Natalia Penza**.- Tel: +34 659 567 821** .natypenza@gmail.com.Job number: 22812 ASA/NPZ/ Date: 16 June 2024.Caption:.**Commissioned for The Sun Online by Scott Cooper**.Activists have taken over a picture-postcard cove in Mallorca made famous around the world by Instagram influencers in Spain’s latest anti-mass tourism protest. Islanders took over every inch of the tiny 130 feet of sand with their beach towels just after 8am, making good on their promise to “reclaim” beautiful Calo des Moros from foreign holidaymakers. …In this photo: Police arriving at Calo des Moro Beach ..**Credit is required SOLARPIX.COM is a condition of publication**.**SOLARPIX Rights – Worldwide Distribution**.**Call us: +34 609568865 **.Email: alert@solarpix.com
An islander who supported the protest added: “If the aim of today’s action was to reclaim our beaches and condemn the massive influx of tourists, that has certainly been achieved.”
“Today Calo des Moro is undoubtedly Mallorca.”
Anti-tourism protesters are planning to shut down tourism to the Balearic Islands during peak season for British tourists.
Activists hope that thousands of people will take to the Spanish tourist spot in the biggest demonstrations to date on Sunday 21 July, when many British schools will be in the summer holidays and families will be heading out to enjoy the sun.
They blame the Spanish government for causing a housing and jobs crisis by allowing the construction of hotels and villas, and have called on thousands of residents of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera to take to the streets.
Organisers decided on the dates at a meeting held under the slogan “Less tourism, more life”.
Tourist measures sweep hot spots
Mallorca and Menorca are just a few of the European hotspots that have implemented restrictive measures for tourists.
Many popular tourist destinations across the continent are taking measures to prevent unwanted tourists from taking over towns and cities.
Locals feel they can no longer live in the iconic tourist destination as it has become overcrowded, unsafe and unwelcoming.
They say there are too many cars on the roads, traffic jams, crowded beaches, closed access roads, ruined beauty spots and too many holidaymakers on the island, which is expected to see record numbers this summer.
In April, thousands of people took to the streets in Tenerife, calling for restrictions on holidaymakers after urging Britons to “go home”.
Anti-tourist crowds filled a square in the capital, waving banners including one that read in English: “You enjoy, we suffer.”
Protests also took place around the same time in other popular Canary Islands, including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
The march was organised under the slogan “The Canary Islands have their limits”.
Hoteliers in Benidorm even admitted they were “very worried” about growing anger among islanders, who labelled the Spanish villas “the virus”.
More recently, the Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport Committee has reportedly approved a proposal to reintroduce restrictions on cruise ship access to Palma, the capital of Mallorca.
Politicians are keen to introduce a set of new cruise ship rules on taxation, the environment and the use of less polluting fuel in order to reduce the number of cruise ships coming to the Balearic Islands.
This was behind the protests that saw 15,000 people descend on Mallorca’s capital Palma on May 25, mocking tourists as they ate dinner.
“We are in contact with organisations on other islands,” said Margarida Ramis, head of affiliate GOB Mallorca.
“We hope that those who supported the recent protests in Mallorca and Ibiza will join us, along with others, including tourism workers.”
She said “tourist saturation” was causing “job and livelihood instability”, housing shortages and “environmental and ecological problems”.
Jaume Pujol, from Fridays for Future Mallorca, added: “We want to mobilise the island’s older people, who have seen first-hand how destroyed the island has been.”
Organizers hope the demonstration will have a similar impact to a protest that drew around 80,000 people on the Canary Island of Tenerife on April 20.
Fed up locals vowed to take Calo des Moro back from tourist influencers who come “just to take photos.” Photo credit: Solarpix Protesters also lifted rocks from the water’s edge. Photo credit: Solarpix The number of protesters swelled to more than 300 by about 10 a.m. Photo credit: Solarpix
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