"Tourist go home". The slogan daubed on a wall in the centre of Palma, the capital of Spain's holiday island of Mallorca, points to growing frustration with a rising tide of tourists. The largest island in the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean, which is home to one million people, expects to receive over 10 million visitors this year, a new record. The crowds have been so large that French tourist Mathilde Boudet, who visited Mallorca and its neighbouring island Menorca with her partner last month, found access to a popular cove closed off by police.
Spain is enjoying a surge in tourism in part as fears over terrorism drive wary travellers away from rival sunshine destinations in North Africa and Turkey and back to former favourites in southern Europe. But the rise in visitors has led to grumbling from locals in tourist hotspots like Palma who complain of soaring property prices and rents even as they welcome the jobs they help create.
The discomfort was reflected in graffiti messages which appeared in April in the historical heart of Palma which were quickly cleaned up by municipal workers. "Tourism is destroying our city" was among the slogans spray painted on city walls along with "Tourist go home, refugees welcome".
Roughly 80 percent of Mallorca's economy depends on tourism. The island has long been a popular beach destination, especially with visitors from Britain and Germany who favour all-inclusive package holidays and arrive on low-cost flights. Many foreigners move to Mallorca, drawn by its cove beaches and mild weather. Foreigners account for 40 percent of property sales in Mallorca, according to a German premium real estate agency.
"There is a percentage, which is not yet very high but which exists, of people who question the effects of tourism," said Biel Barcelo, the tourism minister in the regional government of the Balearic islands.The left-wing government in charge of the archipelago since 2015 began charging in July a tourism tax of up to two euros for overnight stays which is expected to bring in 60 million euros per year. The money will be used for environmental projects and to restore historical sights.
