Mallorcans demand tourist accommodation cuts by 40 per cent on Spanish island
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A Mallorcan political party plans to “degrow” tourism on the Balearic Islands with a 40 per cent cut on tourist accommodation.
Més per Majorca proposed strict new measures to the Balearic government on Monday (28 October) to significantly reduce overall tourist numbers on the popular set of Spanish islands.
In a “regressive policy”, the proposal to parliament outlined a 40 per cent reduction in tourist housing alongside an annual cap on the number of holidaymakers permitted to visit the islands.
The group said that the weight of tourism on the economy is “excessive” and insisted that tourist numbers have exceeded capacity.
Més per Majorca also asked that the government annually allocate part of the collection of the Sustainable Tourism Tax to acquire tourist accommodation and return them to the rental market in municipalities where residents are outnumbered by visitors.
Additional measures include an end to any government tourism promotion and attendance at trade events such as Fitur, the World Travel Market in London and the Internationale Tourismus-Borse in Berlin.
A ban on private jets at Balearic airports, a reduction of flights and passengers in the summer months and a maximum of one cruise ship carrying 4,000 passengers per day in the port of Palma were also proposed in the filed motion.
Més for Mallorca spokesperson Lluís Apesteguia said: “The containment measures announced by [president of the Balearic Islands] Prohens are insufficient in the face of the collapse situation we are living in, it is essential to make policies to reduce tourism and economic diversification.”
The non-legislative proposal is yet to be debated in parliament but follows a wave of overtourism protests across Spanish holiday hotspots since April.
Last Sunday, hundreds of locals protested against “suffocating” tourism on the streets of San Sebastian amid growing anti-tourist sentiment in Spain.
Under the banner “We are in danger; degrow tourism!”, groups in the Basque city marched through the historic centre to protest against the current tourism model and increasing rental prices for residents.
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