Anti-tourism protesters vow to collapse Majorca's capital with 'historic' demonstration

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER and NATALIA PENZA Published: 09:09, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 09:13, 8 June 2026 Anti-tourism protesters have vowed to collapse a Spanish holiday hotspot with a 'historic' demonstration next month. Activists announced their intention to take to the streets of the Majorcan capital, Palma, on Sunday as they staged a mini-protest outside a cathedral in the city.   The new demo has been planned for 7pm on July 26 - just over a year after thousands marched in Palma on a day which ended with around 100 activists banging drums in the city centre after their protest finished.  Police were forced to move in to disperse them. Next month's protest is being organised by Menys Turisme Mes Vida, which in English translates to Less Tourism More Life. Ahead of last June's march, group activists held up a sightseeing bus. Announcing its plan for a fresh protest, a fortnight before the August 12 solar eclipse, which is expected to attract thousands more people than normal to the Balearic Islands, the group said: 'Majorca is at its limit.' Spokesman David Comas said: 'We can't cope with more tourists.' Activists announced their intention to take to the streets of the Majorcan capital, Palma, on Sunday as they staged a mini-protest outside a cathedral in the city File photo: Protesters harassing tourists in Palma de Mallorca last summer Thousands of people marched the streets of Spain holding up signs saying 'Majorca is not for sale' on May 25, 2024  He said his island had been turned into a 'theme park' where it was now 'impossible' for young people like him to 'become independent and manage to obtain decent housing.' Sources said the July 26 date had been picked so smaller protests, which haven't yet been fully publicised, could take place in the weeks leading up to the main march. The first anti-tourist demo in the Balearic Islands this year will take place this Saturday, in Menorca, which is hugely popular with British tourists. The Canary Islands and the Balearics have been at the forefront of anti-tourist protests over the past two years, although they have also taken place in cities like Barcelona and Malaga. Some foreign tourists have faced abuse during marches and protest actions in places like Majorca, where, in May 2024, booing and jeering of some holidaymakers as they ate evening meals in a square in the island capital Palma led to organisers making a public apology. An estimated 15,000 people took part in that protest, a day after around 1,000 people massed outside Ibiza Council's HQ to vent their anger over the effects of mass tourism. Demonstrators marched with the slogan 'Canarias tiene un limite' (The Canaries have a limit).  One placard read: 'Stop excessive tourism… this is our home,' while another said: 'My misery is your paradise'. Another sign was inscribed with the words: 'tourists swim in s***', referencing the large amount of sewage water that is dumped into the sea - the majority of it, activists say, coming from hotels and tourist accommodations. Similar protests were staged throughout the spring and summer elsewhere in Spain.  In April last year, locals fired water pistols at a tour bus outside Barcelona's Sagrada Familia.  Meanwhile, in 2024, anti-tourism protesters armed with banners and placards stormed a party beach in Mallorca.  Photos from the demonstration showed activists holding banners and placards adorned with slogans such as 'tourists go home' and 'let's occupy our beaches'. Protestors set off smoke and even fired water pistols at holidaymakers during protests in June last year Yesterday, it was reported that Spaniards in the Canary Islands had stepped up their war on holidaymakers by glueing shut Airbnb key boxes. Brits were also warned about activists using fake police tape to cordon off popular beauty spots, including beach access paths, to trick tourists into thinking they are closed. Menys Turisme Mes Vida's latest announcement comes just four months after they released a press release warning: 'The constant increase in overtourism in Mallorca can only be confronted through grassroots organisations.' A Majorca-based environmental group called GOB also said that a call for protests is justified given the forecast of a new record for tourist arrivals this summer, and a concern that the Spanish government 'has not done anything and will not do anything' to tackle mass tourism.  In 2024, Spain registered a record 94 million tourists. By August 2025, 66.8 million tourists had arrived, up 3.9 per cent from the same period a year ago. 'I don't know if we will reach' the 100 million tourists, Spanish Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said previously, adding, though, that he did not consider that as a cause for concern since tourist spending was still rising. The slowing growth is linked to weaker spending by tourists from Germany, France, Turkey and the United States, Exceltur said.  An increase in tourists from Britain, which accounts for 26.5 per cent of total visitors, as well as from China and Poland, helped offset the trend during the peak season, while the number of domestic tourists remained unchanged.  It was also revealed last year that holidaymakers were avoiding parts of Spain because they fear being 'shot with a water pistol' by anti-tourism fanatics, according to a travel agent boss.  Mark Meader, vice-president of the US ASTA travel association, told representatives at a summit in Jaén, Andalusia, earlier this year, that scenes of activists firing water pistols at tourists had even discouraged some Americans from visiting Barcelona. Combatting so-called 'tourism phobia' dominated discussions at the conference after Spain's travel industry recorded a sharp slump this year, following a wave of anti-tourism demonstrations that swept across the country last summer.  The downturn - fuelled by weaker spending from European and US visitors - has partly been blamed on the protests, which industry leaders say have 'scared off' potential travellers. The backlash has grown so significant that the UK-based travel body ABTA issued guidance for its members on how to reassure worried clients about travelling to Spain.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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