Spanish resorts popular with British tourists were “half empty” on Bank Holiday Monday, leading local bar and restaurant owners to express concern. Magaluf, one of Mallorca’s busiest resorts, is usually swarming with holidaymakers in early June.
But pictures taken on May 27 showed deserted sunbeds on the town’s beaches and rows of empty tables outside bars – just days after protesters marched through Mallorca’s capital, Palma, demanding that the government take “immediate measures” to address the island’s housing crisis and tourist overcrowding.
Local newspaper the Mallorca Daily Bulletin expressed concern that Magaluf was “quieter than usual” on Monday, “at most half empty”, and reported that while shopkeepers were worried about the lack of tourists, some insisted the area remained bustling over the weekend.
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Magaluf is known for its vibrant nightlife, but a decline in tourists could put the popular destination at risk – Credit: Getty
One bar owner suggested anti-tourism protesters’ “wishes have come true” with just days to go until the peak June holiday season. After thousands gathered in Palma on Saturday, protest organisers warned they would continue until the Balearic government took action.
“This is just the beginning. If reality is denied and action is still not taken, we will be in the streets until they act,” Javier Barbero, one of the protest leaders, told reporters, Birmingham Live reported.
He clarified that their position is not anti-tourism, but stressed that “we need to rethink our tourism model.”
Protesters are calling on the local government to put a cap on soaring rents – a measure the Balearic Islands’ President, Margareta Proens, has publicly refused to consider – and also for individuals to have lived on the island for at least five years before they can buy property there.
Tourism accounts for 45 percent of the island’s income, according to a report by Exceltur. The ongoing protests have led some British tourists to consider boycotting the island, with one regular visitor commenting online that “they should be careful what they wish for.”
Meanwhile, another traveller said: “If I stopped going to Spain for 12 months, they would ask me to come back.”
