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At least 20,000 protest in Palma against overtourism

At least 20,000 people took to the streets of Palma in the latest protest against mass tourism in Spain.

Demonstrators filled the streets of of the Majorcan capital on Sunday demanding changes to a tourism model they say is harming the island.

According to The Times, they displayed slogans including: “Let’s change course and set limits on tourism.”

Other banners read: “Stop destroying Mallorca”; “Your luxury, our misery”; and “This isn’t tourismophobia, it’s numbers: 1,232,014 residents, 18 million tourists”. 

The organisers claimed that 50,000 protesters attended amid growing anger over the effects of overtourism.

Protesters said that tourism had stretched public services to breaking point, harmed natural resources and made local access to housing increasingly difficult. 

A record 17.8 million people visited the Balearic Islands in 2023 and the figures are expected to be higher this year.

A protest in Barcelona earlier this month saw protestors squirting tourists with water pistols and taping shut hotel and outdoor dining areas.

The Catalan city’s mayor has since proposed a hike in the €7 tax paid for day visitors from cruise ships in addition to a tourist tax of €4 per person per night for overnight visitors.

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