RESTAURANTS and bar owners in Majorca have admitted to suffering all summer due to a major plunge in visitors caused by anti-tourism protests at the holiday hot-spot.
Spain’s Balearic islands have experienced yet another summer of hostile protests which originally gained momentum in 2023 when a group put up fake danger signs at beaches.
AlamyThe empty streets of Majorca – once a buzzing and popular holiday retreat for people across Europe[/caption]
AlamyThis year the activist groups have caused the most damage with an uprising of protests across the Baelerics, the Canaries and mainland Spain.[/caption]
Majorca is now begging tourists to return amid claims that the economy is at a dangerous decline.
CAEB, the leading employer organisation in Spain’s Balearic Islands, said it hopes September will “save the season” following a set-back in performance since May.
This follows after it was revealed last month that beach bars, parasol hire companies, and water activity operators suffered a blow of around 20 per cent in July compared to last summer.
As exposed by the Association of Temporary Services Concessions and Operations in the Maritime-Terrestrial Public Domain of Mallorca (Adopuma), the escalating hostility caused by anti-tourism campaigners has pushed the island’s economy to the point of collapse.
Apoduma’s president Onofre Fornes has blamed the ‘irresponsible negative messages against tourism’ for the slump.
As outlined by the Association, restaurants are under performing, beach bar revenue is at an all time low and occupancy rates are at an extreme decline even in the busy month of August.
Adopuma has desperately urged the government to act quickly to resolve the economy’s downfall by capping prices, controlling extreme anti-tourism attitudes and keeping Majorca affordable.
The organisation issued its warning following the statement from Spanish officials admitting that the persistent and damaging anti-tourism campaigners are “scaring away visitors”.
It seems it is mainly British holiday-makers who are turning their back on the once popular holiday destination – leaving Majorca’s tourism in panic mode as officials warned guests no longer feel “welcomed”.
Manuel Pozueco, manager of British bar Linekers said: “Under the recent laws, we can’t do happy hours or give away free shots.
“We can’t do any drink deals, as they see it as promoting excessive alcohol consumption, and of course, this turns away traditional customers like the Britons.”
Businesses now fear that with its prime time being over and Europeans “not spending the same”, it could result in their bars and restaurants being forced to shut down.
Miguel Pérez-Marsá, head of the nightlife association, told Majorca Daily Bulletin: “The tourists we’re interested in are being driven away; they don’t feel welcome and are going to other destinations.”
Although protests began in 2023, this year the activist groups have caused the most damage with an uprising of protests across the Baelerics, the Canaries and mainland Spain.
Lesley Johnson, 66, from Leicester, has lived on the island for more than 30 years.
She said: “This area used to have a lot of British bars and pubs, and they would hold quiz leagues and dance leagues.
“Back then, if you went along this street at 7pm at night, you couldn’t walk up, it would be full of tourists,, but now it’;s completely dead.
A lot of Germans and Brits, they’ve just gone home”.
Earlier this year, tens of thousands marched through Palma Majorca in July, holding banners that read “ Your luxury, our misery” and calling for limits on tourist numbers.
It comes after a record-breaking 15 million tourists visited the island of Mallorca alone last year.
This prompted major backlash as over 50,000 protestors marched the streets demanding a new economic model that would reduce the amount of tourists visiting each year.
The anti-tourist movement targeted local businesses with stickers quoting, “tourists go home”, blocked roads, and placed fake warning signs on beaches.
Barcelona saw protestors using water pistols to spray visitors caught off-guard in the city centre.
In one of the most shocking stunts yet,activists blocked all access to hotels and squared-up to tourists dining at restaurants.
Tensions erupted in Palma when a British tourist was swarmed at a restaurant by angry protestors who yelled “go home and go to hell” at them.
One raging activist was seen swinging around an axe at a restaurant in an attempt to threaten the tourists resulting in police interference.
The daring and violent scenes have been heavily criticised by politicians however activists continue to fight back as a result of years of frustration caused from overcrowding and a rise in prices.
SolarpixThe anti-tourist movement targeted local businesses with stickers quoting, “tourists go home”[/caption]
AlamyA once over- crowded beach has become derelict[/caption]
Avalon.redMajor backlash as over 50,000 protestors marched the streets demanding a decrease in tourism[/caption]