Mallorca protesters say ‘this has only just begun’

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. Read our privacy policy Protesters demonstrating on the streets of Palma de Mallorca say that marches against overtourism will continue until the Balearic government introduces measures to counter the housing emergency on the island. Banc del Temps spokesperson Javier Barbero, one organiser of the large demonstration in Palma, said: “This has only just begun”, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports. “They take us from our home and the island to benefit tourism because we can’t pay.” Protest demands to the Ministry of Housing include preventing tourists from buying properties on the island if they have not lived there for more than five years, regulations on holiday accommodation rental prices, and measures to declare the Balearics are experiencing a housing emergency. Similar protests at Palma de Mallorca’s airport in peak season could bring air travel on the holiday hotspot to a halt if measures are not introduced to protect the island from overcrowding.