UK tourists in Majorca issued chilling 'warning' which 'cannot wait any longer'
British holidaymakers have been hit with a stern warning as anti-tourist sentiment surges in the Balearic Islands, particularly affecting Majorca. The island has seen an upsurge in protests against tourism, with a stark message being broadcasted to UK visitors.
In Majorca, the Arran Mallorca movement, part of the youth wing of the pro-Catalan independence Arran Jovent, has released a video that delivers a direct message: "With tourism, locals are losing out. Young people: get organised."
Affiliated with a leftist Catalan independence party, the Arran movement is calling for action, stating: "It is no longer enough to just talk about limiting population while the Majorcan society continues to grow, it needs to decrease now and we cannot wait any longer."
They also expressed their dissatisfaction with the commercialisation of their home, saying, "We are not proud that our island has been sold to Escarrer, Barcelo or Fluxa," referencing prominent hoteliers Gabriel Escarrer, Simón Pedro Barceló, and Miguel Fluxà.
With mounting frustration, the group declared: "We are fed up and ready to face it! The political class is responsible for our misery. They have put economic interests above our lives and have given Majorca away to private capital. With tourism, local are losing out. Young people: get organised," reports Birmingham Live.
On X, which has taken over from Twitter, Arran Mallorca captioned their campaign video with a decisive call to action: "We demand change, we demand decrease!" They added further criticism: "We young women are being pushed into poverty while hoteliers are making a fortune thanks to the political class.
"We are fed up with our land being commercialised, while the working class is always the one who suffers the most."
Spain, which holds the title of the world's second-most favoured tourist hotspot after France, has clocked a record-breaking 21.8 million international visitors last summer, eclipsing previous tallies and coinciding with widespread anti-tourism demonstrations.
This spike represents a 7.3% uptick on 2023 figures, as reported by the national statistics body INE.
In the peak month of July alone, Spain played host to an astonishing 10.9 million tourists, a number matched by August's influx, underlining the magnitude of tourism drawn by this Iberian nation, INE detailed.
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