Despite a year of calls to curb over tourism, a senior hotel boss has controversially claimed the popular island of Majorca isn’t actually saturated with holidaymakers
The boss of a major hotel group in Spain has sparked backlash after seemingly snubbing fed-up locals. Last year, the Balearics (which consists of Ibiza, Menorca, and Majorca) witnessed a staggering 18.7 million holidaymakers flock to the trio of islands – clearly undeterred by a string of protests that erupted across the region.
Still, Javier Vich, President of the Mallorca Hotel Federation, has insisted the popular island is not an ‘overcrowded, saturated, or collapsed’ destination. In fact, speaking at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin, he said: “We have, like any destination in the world, specific places where we do have a tourist influx due to the popularity of the place. But we have to send a message that it is not possible to generalise when we talk about overcrowding, because it is not the reality, it is categorically false.”
Javier went on to say there are only around ‘four, five, or six areas’ that suffer with a large influx of sun-worshipping tourists – a stark contrast to the messages of swathes of activists demanding clamp down on holidaymakers. He argued tourism has been turned into a ‘punchbag’ and that ‘demagogic narratives’ that could put off holidaymakers should stop.
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“We know that Palma has a problem in certain areas, and perhaps it is more than four streets. But there are neighbourhoods in Palma that don’t have any problems,” the boss added, according to Majorca Daily Bulletin. “That’s why there is always a focus on the old town and certain months of the year, on cruise ship days.”
Javier went on to argue that the more pressing issue is the ‘unprecedented housing crisis’ which is being worsened by holiday lets in the area. The businessman states that registered holiday rentals in Majorca have skyrocketed by 115,000 since 2015, which has resulted in tourists ‘invading spaces’ intended to be purely residential.
His solution? To clamp down on illegal holiday lets and stop giving out licences for landlords to lease their properties to short-term visitors. “If 100,000 holiday rental beds were removed from the market and between two and three billion euros were invested in infrastructure, many of the problems we have would be solved.” Javier also slammed the idea of a tourist tax, arguing it won’t deter tourists – but will reduce the amount they spend in local businesses such as bars and restaurants.
The comments come after one man in Palma, the capital of Majorca, claims he was ‘harassed’ by property poaches who wanted to buy the apartment he lives in. The anonymous local, who is renting in the city, says he was approached by two men who reportedly offered cash to buy the property outright.
“When they insisted on asking for the contact information of the owner, I refused to give them it,” the man said. “They confirmed that there was a lot of demand for homes, but from foreign clients.”
This week (April 5) several Tenants’ Unions will take to the streets to demand rent prices in popular areas are discounted by a hefty 50 per cent. Activists are also calling for long-term contracts to help them ‘build a life’ without the looming threat of being kicked out by landlords wanting to turn the property into a holiday let.
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While much of Spain’s anger can be attributed to the housing sector as opposed to visitors, anti-tourist sentiment is on the rise. The group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (less tourism, more life) is ‘regrouping’ to discuss how it can ‘intensify’ actions ahead of the peak summer season.
Pere Joan, a spokesperson and organiser for the group, previously told the Mirror: “We hope to do the same as occupy the beaches in places that have a mass of tourists. There will also be one big day of protests, although we don’t know when this will be. It may be on 5 April when there will be national protests on housing prices. Our capacity to mobilise people was important last year. We had two protests of more than 20,000 persons and 40,000 in one of them.”
Has rising anti-tourist sentiment across Spain put you off from visiting this summer? Email liam.gilliver@reachplc.com for a chance to share your story
