FOOTAGE showed the moment anti-tourism protesters in Majorca descended on holidaymakers as they dined out – booing and chanting “tourists go home”.
The 10,000-strong hoard of demonstrators took to the streets to vent their anger over tourist saturation as they chanted “Let’s save Majorca. Foreigners out”.
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The march through Palma’s capital reached a climax when protesters appeared to boo and jeer alongside tourists enjoying their evening meal in Weyler Square.
They were heard shouting “tourists go home” as they passed through on the 20-minute route from the park where the protest began to the iconic street Paseo del Borne.
The banners campaigners carried included one with the offensive message: “Salvem Mallorca, guiris arruix” which in Catalan Spanish means “Let’s save Majorca, foreigners out”.
It played on the colloquial Spanish expression Guiri which is used to portray northern European tourists like the British holidaymakers partying in Magaluf, usually in a mildly offensive way.
The Palma protest was organised by Banc del Temps, a group which hails from the inland Majorcan town of Sencelles and has claimed 25,000 people joined in the demo although government officials have put the figure at around 10,000.
But the organisers were later forced to apologise for the outburst directed at holidaymakers – but hit back, saying “this is just the start of things”.
Spokesman Javier Barbero said of the targeting of some visitors: “We didn’t want to have a go at tourists and it shouldn’t have happened.
“If measures aren’t taken we will continue taking to the streets until we see action.”
Another campaign group that took part in Saturday’s demo, held under the slogan “Majorca is not up for sale”, described the organisers afterwards as “heroes”.
The manifesto Banc del Temps made public when protestors had finished marching through Palma included the demand only people who had been living in the Balearic Islands for five years could buy property as well as a moratorium on holiday rentals.
One of its speakers said: “This island should be a place where our children can grow up with safety and dignity, with controlled tourism that doesn’t condition our lives.”
PALMA MARCH
The protest, the largest of its kind since last month’s Canary Islands’ demos against mass tourism, was the second in 24 hours in the Balearic Islands.
On Friday night around 1,000 protestors took part in a demo in Ibiza to vent their anger over the effects of mass tourism.
Campaigners held up banners saying “We don’t want an island of cement” and “Tourism, yes but not like this” as they massed outside Ibiza Council’s HQ.
The organisers of the demo, a group called Prou Eivissa, met with Ibiza’s president Vicent Mari before taking to the streets.
British tourists across the other side of the island in San Antonio however dismissed a street drinking ban which could see them hit with fines of up to £1,300 if caught.
The protestors’ demands included a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in summer and a ban on using taxpayers’ cash to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination.
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It’s feared that protesters could flood airports in a bid to be taken more seriously – a move that would spark travel chaos for Brits.
Anti-tourist graffiti has appeared across Spain, Tenerife and Greece in recent months with protests in the Canary Islands, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Venice.
In the Menora Brit hotspot of Binibeca, locals have resorted to restricting tourist access to streets after selfie-loving tourists caused havoc.
Images showed chains and ropes used to book out holidaymakers using private doorways and alleyways to take snaps in the area dubbed “Spain’s Mykonos”.
Some foreign holidaymakers have shown their support for the issues raised by campaigners but others have accused them of biting the hand that feeds them.
Locals say there are too many cars on the roads, traffic congestion, overcrowded beaches, blocked access roads, ruined beauty spots and just too many holidaymakers flocking to the island which expects record figures this summer.
Meanwhile, another holiday hotspot sparked fury over its anti-tourism plans, which include hunting “illegal” visitors and a “fascist” list of foreigners.
Residents and businesses in Girona, Spain, argue they have reached their limit with “overtourism” and called for urgent measures as “it is already too late”.
Locals in the Catalan town proposed increasing the number of patrols to find illegal tourist apartments and creating a list of all foreign residents living in Girona.
The controversial plans have left many expats fuming, with some slamming the proposals as “fascist”.
One user said: “Far-right nationalism in Girona. Looks like populism is taking a hold even in traditionally left-leaning liberal areas.”
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