A demonstration has been called in Palma for next Sunday under the slogan "Less tourism, more life," which will begin in Plaza Espanya and end in Parque del Mar. The mobilization is being organized in coordination with other southern European regions suffering from touristification, such as Lisbon, Naples, and Barcelona.
I visited Mallorca a few days ago to participate in the Book Fair and I have been able to see firsthand that, with June just beginning, in Ciutat de Mallorca, and I imagine in the rest of the island, daily life has become almost unbearable.
Chatting with taxi drivers, or booksellers, or anyone else, a small, superficial conversation is enough to realize that if there is one thing that unites Mallorcans right now, it is the outcry against a situation that has become unbearable.
One of the most serious problems, of course, is housing. While the alliance between the Popular Party and Vox promotes a new wave of territorial destruction, the rising cost of housing makes things very difficult for locals who want to rent or buy an apartment or a house. The sky-high prices also apply to restaurants and shopping.
"I have to work like a horse to be able to afford to rent a small apartment to live in," said a young Mallorcan taxi driver. "And this is no life," he added, with a profound sadness.
Not to mention the sector's hours, which have completely adapted to the habits of European tourism, making it impossible to do something as simple as sit on a terrace at seven in the evening to have a beer or a soft drink. "Only for dinner," they reply, in English, German, or French.
Many establishments—restaurants, bars, and shops—had signs asking for staff. But of course: who can afford rent in Palma on the salary of a hospitality worker or a shop assistant?
The National Institute of Statistics has just published that tourism grew by 7.1% in the first four months of the year—low season—compared to the previous year. The Balearic Islands, with an area of approximately 5,000 km², receive the same number of tourists as Andalusia, which has more than 87,000.
Last week, a report published by Nomad eSIM ranked Barcelona as the most crowded tourist city in the world. According to the study, which takes into account data on visitor influx and density and local perceptions, there would be more than 200,000 tourists per square kilometer in the Catalan capital.
These figures make it abundantly clear that this progression is unsustainable, not only for preserving the country's environment, language, and customs, but also for ensuring a decent quality of life for the local inhabitants.
So, given this information, the slogan of this Sunday's demonstration in Mallorca seems perfectly true to life: "Less tourism, more life." It's a matter of survival, and I believe that, finally, this idea has even penetrated the sectors that have earned the most from tourism in recent decades. Never before has the expression "dying of success" made so much sense.
What will we do if we become richer if we have no country left to live in—I won't say better, but with dignity? Isn't this, living with dignity, the greatest success we can aspire to?
