Menorca village chains off alleyways to keep out trespassing tourists

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The 195 homeowners in Menorcan village Binibeca Vell have put up ropes and chains with keep-out imagery to stop a parade of tourists from crossing the line into private properties. Messages on the Binibeca Vell Community Owners website warn tourists “we are a private property” with designated visiting hours in the interior streets, and to “visit us in silence”. In August, the 500 permanent residents are due to vote on whether to ban tourists from Binibeca Vell altogether – an estimated 800,000 holidaymakers visit the Spanish village annually. “We pay dearly for being the most potent tourist attraction in Menorca.” Mr Monge added: “It’s outrageous that the politicians who run local tourism are telling us that the only alternatives we have to keep the place clean are to close it, privatise it or start charging.” The concern surrounding excessive tourist footfall comes amid a string of protests on Spanish islands, including Tenerife and Mallorca.