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Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Britons boycotting Majorca? The island has never been busier
It's early morning and a tour bus disgorges a large group of day trippers in the mountain village of Fornalutx in the north-west of Majorca. Locals sipping coffee in the atmospheric plaça shrug resignedly as throngs of tourists crowd the cobbled lanes, iPhone cameras at the ready. Meanwhile, in the town of Soller and its port, guides with gaudy umbrellas march their wards through the packed streets on whistle-stop tours before catching buses, or the vintage tram and train, back to Palma. The majority of visitors, though, arrive in hired cars, and like ravenous sharks, circle the car parks in the Soller valley, snapping up every available space. It's a similar story in the arty village of Deià and other popular enclaves. The island has never been busier. Yet recent media headlines have told a very different story. Amidst the alarmist reports about wide-scale anti-tourist sentiment, chaotic traffic jams and impending strikes in the hospitality sector, it has been suggested that a boycott of Majorca is underway, with British holidaymakers in particular said to be steering clear. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hamlet Ramirez Marquéz, owner of Café Soller and La Sal Port Soller restaurant, said: 'Trust me, there are many happy British holidaymakers currently here in Soller.' He added that recent headlines about traffic and parking problems were 'way off the mark. Last year, we had problems but now we have three new car parks, and residents have exclusive parking zones.' His views are corroborated by Emese Juhasz, proprietor of the Grøenk restaurants in Deià and Fornalutx: 'We have a lot of British guests and it's evident from their comments that the island still holds its charm. The British love affair with Majorca is unwavering.' Rubén Zamora, Managing Director of Nybau hotels in Majorca, added: 'Earlier this year, perhaps due to economic conditions, occupancy was lower in our hotels in Pollença, Palma and Montuïri, but all in all we expect a similar or better season than in 2024. Still, we cannot be complacent, and need to maintain high standards, but the gloomy forecasts have been greatly exaggerated.' The data supports their assertions. For the first three months of 2025, there was a 3.4 per cent increase in the number of international visitors to the Balearic islands, and a bumper 18 million tourists are expected in the archipelago this year. Will tourists be welcome this summer? Can these holidaymakers expect a laid-back summer free from the anti-tourism demonstrations and flash-mobs on beaches that plagued Majorca last year? Not quite. This weekend, on June 15, a large-scale rally will be held in Palma by Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), a united platform of different island action groups. It will form part of a coordinated initiative by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification (SET) which will hold demonstrations in regions it perceives to be particularly badly affected by excessive tourism, such as Barcelona, Venice and Lisbon. Menys Turisme, Més Vida believes over-tourism adversely impacts the environment, drains natural resources, and sends long-term rents spiralling, making homes unaffordable for locals. Margalida Ramis, its spokesperson, commented: 'We need to keep up the pressure because we're looking for political decisions that go to the root of the problem, and of course this won't be achieved in one day.' Meanwhile, a 'Welcome to Sollerland' satirical Instagram campaign, that uses stark AI imagery to paint a picture of a saturated Soller in the next decade, has been emulated by several towns across the island, which have set up similar social media profiles. A spokesperson opined: 'We have lived largely off tourism for 80 years, but things have now accelerated. Sollerland uses humour to offer a graphic vision of the drama we live through every day.' So far, local island activists have kept their powder dry about plans for further disruption, but it is likely that there will be a flutter of flash-mobs on a few beaches this summer, plus peaceful demonstrations in Palma. Is a visitor limit on the horizon? For holidaymakers, it seems Majorca's allure remains undiminished, but with unrest amongst residents growing, what might the regional government do to placate them? With tourism providing an estimated GDP of between 40 and 75 per cent, it would be difficult to put the genie back in the bottle, a view backed by Maribel Quirós, owner of Moll restaurant in Port Soller. 'We can't sell Majorca and then complain about it,' she said. 'We have to be coherent.' Marga Prohens, President of the Balearic islands, insists that her party was the first to acknowledge that the archipelago has reached its limits. It is for this reason, she states, that the regional government has created 'a decree to contain tourism that sets limits and prevents further growth in visitor numbers.' Following Spain's demand that Airbnb remove 65,000 illegal short-term holiday rentals from its site, Jaume Bauzà, Minister for Tourism in the Balearics, has pledged to 'continue doing everything possible to combat illegal rentals, which is what truly overwhelms tourism.' Tougher measures will see more inspectors on the beat, with rogue landlords who rent via word of mouth facing huge fines. On the issue of overcrowding during the summer months, the new decree aims to encourage year-round tourism to ease saturation of much-visited haunts. Some are calling for more radical action, however, such as a restriction on the number of arrivals at Palma Airport, a tax and limit on rental cars, and a further decrease in cruise liners docking in the capital. The projection for 2025 is 541 vessels, already a reduction from 2019 when 592 cruise liners were given access. However, the Platform Against Megacruisers would like the current daily limit of three ships and 8,000 passengers reduced further to just one large cruise ship and no more than 4,000 passengers per day. While the polemic continues, Maria del Carmen Peñas de Haro, Director General of Tourism for Calvia Council, Majorca's second largest municipality, which includes Magaluf, remains upbeat: 'Here in Calvia, we welcome countless British visitors, and this year is no exception. 'Tourism is the driving force of the Balearic economy, and we want our holidaymakers to feel completely at home.'
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Telegraph
Don't believe what you hear – Spain still loves British tourists
While tucking into a huge sea bass and looking out across the bustling beach in Port de Sóller, Majorca, the hum of the famous tram in the background, it was hard to believe we're in a country that reportedly does not welcome tourists – and a town within it which made anti-tourism headlines all of its own recently. It was the last week of April and, despite already being busy (the AI images got one thing right: getting on the tram was like taking the Tube in rush hour), all the locals we met and everyone we encountered working in hospitality was pleasant and personable. In fact, lots of the staff we met were tourists themselves. We spent a few nights in the achingly pretty Fornalutx – rather like the Cotswolds of Spain – where we met a lovely hotel manager from the Midlands. She told us that the hostility stems from the fact that, like many popular hotspots in the UK, locals are being priced out of the property market due to a rise in holiday lets and second homes. Majorca's population has risen by a third, from 727,000 to 960,000, in the last two decades and the hotel manager said that Fornalutx, in particular, had become ridiculously expensive. Nevertheless, all the locals we encountered there were friendly and helpful. One of the Spanish waitresses in the café we went to on our first night spent much of her precious time gladly explaining best way to get to Sóller, and even gave us a few restaurant recommendations. When we arrived in Sóller (which is akin to the French Alps' Chamonix in spring, with mountains, wide skies and shuttered houses) and stopped to ask directions to our hotel, a kind local showed us the way. Later that evening we spotted one of the waiters who served us the day before. He told us he was from Buenos Aires and his colleague, also Argentinian, said that most of the people they work with love the Brits. When we returned home from our trip, I posted in a few social media groups asking about other people's experiences in Spain – and was inundated with positive responses. Holly Gaffney, a marketing manager currently holidaying and working in Alicante, said everyone she had encountered had been kind and friendly. 'One of my favourite moments so far was joining a walking tour, where the guide actually thanked tourists and spoke about how much they've contributed to the city's growth throughout history. It was a thoughtful moment that added even more meaning to the experience.' However, she admitted that she had also noticed a few signs of the reported anti-tourism sentiment. 'I've spotted a few posters here and there,' she said. 'But it seems to be aimed more at the housing situation than at individual travellers. It's a reminder of the broader impact of travel and how important it is to be a respectful, thoughtful visitor.' Editor Georgia Lewis, who visited Majorca in January and last September with her husband Paul, said that even though she only speaks basic 'Spanglish', she always finds staff in restaurants to be patient and polite. 'I've found people across all the Spanish places we've visited to be super-friendly and welcoming. By the end of our trip to Barcelona – for my birthday in March 2024 – we felt like we'd made friends with the people at the cafe where we had breakfast every morning, as well as the guy behind the counter at the grocery store where my husband bought his beer.' Lewis was also in Majorca when the Queen died in September 2022, and said all the front pages on Spanish newspapers paid tribute to her. 'At the petrol station that morning, the guy filling up the car clocked my husband's Geordie accent and said, 'Sorry about your Queen'. My husband was a bit taken aback, but thanked him for his kind words and they had a chat that ended in a handshake. It was a lovely moment.' Meanwhile, therapist Rhian Kivits, who visited Malaga in March with her husband Rens, said they usually travel by Uber and have always found the drivers to be friendly and helpful. 'Most drivers chat about their own holidays (interestingly, they seem to like Spanish destinations – and who can blame them?), their favourite recommendations for day-trips and what life in Spain is like. Those who haven't spoken English always offer a greeting and a smile. And we are always wished 'safe travels' when we are dropped off at the airport.' Kivits says they often stay in Benalmadena, where they have a few favourite places to eat and a hotel where they regularly stay. 'Staff have remembered us over the years and usually remember our favourite drinks and meals, too. Some even refer to us as 'family'.' Writer Anna-Louise Dearden, who just returned from Malaga and Andalusia, said that although travelling solo in Malaga made her feel a bit like Shirley Valentine at times, most Spanish people were friendly. 'I think if you have a smattering of the local language, you get on much better,' she said. 'When I was in Andalusia with a group, the guy who spoke good Spanish had a whale of a time chatting to the locals.' So what's the truth of it? Have the Spanish really turned on tourists, or are visitors still mostly received with that traditional warmth that's kept us coming back for decades. Ultimately, it comes down to the old adage: treat others as you wish to be treated, says Kivits. 'Smile, make basic conversation, say thank you in Spanish and show them you appreciate Spain.' And with this simple ethos, there's certainly no reason to avoid this long-loved destination. With a bit of mutual respect, a Spanish holiday can remain a beloved British break.
