Professor Amanda Belarmino, Hospitality Professor and Expert on Consumer Behavior and Tourism at the University of Nevada Las Vegas was quoted as saying the following by the British media: “There is indeed a reason to believe that these protests will succeed in curbing tourism. In general, tourists try to stay away from areas with political upheaval and protests," she said. She added, however, that she believes "the damage is done, and many people will not choose these places for vacations."
So far the Balearic tourism industry has dismissed claims that the protests could hit holiday bookings although the Hotel Federation has warned that there had been a slowdown in bookings which it blamed on the European soccer championships and the poor Mallorca weather so far this summer.
The only alarm which has been raised about the summer season in Mallorca so far has come from the Bar and Restaurant Association which reported that their takings were down by 20 percent in June. The airport figures suggest that the island is heading for a good season.
It is unclear how many people will take part in Sunday's protest through the streets of Palma although organisers have said that there is solid support. They also stressed that it was not only against mass tourism but also over a lack of affordable housing.
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tranq tranquerWith all due respect I think you are missing the point. Just because they earn more doesn’t necessarily mean that they have more spare cash. Indeed, during my youth, I was earning substantially less than I do now, but never seemed to be without a bob or two and never thought twice about going out for a slap up meal with friends of either sex ( only two back then). Nowadays, my personal overheads plus social costs and taxes have increased dramatically, meaning that my “free spending” days are well and truly over. Re the working youth of today, your knowledge must be far more extensive than mine due to the, I think, 50 years that you have lived here. But the general opinion of a local I discussed this with was that the demand for labour, not only in the hospitality industry but also in the construction industry was so massive that the Mallorquines just couldn’t make up the difference, so “importing” labour from the mainland was essential. He also said that back then most jobs were filled by local women, and that yes local men climed the ladder faster than outsiders due to the fact that the companies were owned and run by their similars. It seems like the children and grandchildren of these imported workers are now at the top of the ladder as well, so they need to bring in people to do the job they used to do and are unwilling to carry on doing, but nonetheless making excellent money and due to knowing and speaking the local lingo and intermarriage are more or less indistinguishable from the original inhabitants. Anyway that’s what I have been told, and may not be the full story.
Richard PearsonSo if they earn more up there, which they do, they can afford to eat and drink down here without whinging can't they . As for younger generation locals, who used to live at home with their parents, and who no longer want to work in the hospitality industry , that brings up an interesting point. As far as I remember very few local Mallorcans ever worked in the service industry, at least nothing lower than management. The work was done by " foresteros" mainlanders who were brought over each year as cheap labour in their thousands from Andalucia and Extremadura. No doubt many of those stayed and had families who grew up here and so are " local" but are not wealthy and have more family ties on the mainland than here. ( Think second or third generation Carribean in the UK) So now there are two classes of local yoof. Mallorquin and non Mallorquin. Landed through countless aunts uncles cousins and parents, and non landed just getting by. A division that never used to exist and with ever increasing immigration will only get bigger as the Mallorquins withdraw into themselves as they have done over centuries of various invaders. And obviously the locals who are being priced out of the market are the second group, not the first. Answering Loadsamoney : I will bet on the fact almost all of the young in that tourist demo above are Mallorquin . As for being thick brain dead rednecks most will have a University degree or other qualification and will not be poor. They see what is happening to their island and are trying to do something about it. Judging by all the comments and news articles they are succeeding.
“It's not unlike the Trump phenomenon” You forgot to take your TDS pill again this morning.
“And if you look at the big picture, cost of living here is still well below that of most major metropolitan areas in Europe” Yeah, sure. Average wage Switzerland € 6.700 Average wage Germany € 4.200 Average wage Sweden € 4.000 Average wage Spain € 2.500 And UK and German visitors are telling me that food, restaurant, electricity, internet and fuel prices are higher or similar to those that they pay back home. Someone must be wrong.
Mike LammersYou're mostly right... however, the problem of "overtourism" is seasonal and regional, although like most who read the headlines - the activists naturally tend to generalise that everywhere is overcrowded, all year long, and all bad things are the result of tourism. Cost of living, for example, statistically and verifiably has little to do with tourism. And if you look at the big picture, cost of living here is still well below that of most major metropolitan areas in Europe. When the media over-hypes it, that rhetoric trickles down to the general population. It's not unlike the Trump phenomenon - for example, he always claimed the US economy is in the pits - worst in history - and lots of people believed him - yet statistically, the US economy has been pretty much running at historical highs for quite some time. Yes, recently he's had to tone that rhetoric down because it's completely contrary to reality, and people were beginning to notice. I suspect this anti-tourism thing may also cool down as the season winds up. But not without some damage - which you can blame on sensationalist media to a certain extent. Particularly in Britain, where the hyperbole has elevated to the twilight zone - now they're just making stuff up. But they always did. Still, if you don't live in one of these tourist-overcrowded regions such as the resorts or Palma, then you really don't see much of this overcrowding, and life is pretty attractive - and that explains why properties are being bought up at historically high prices. Retirees especially, from all over Europe (and increasingly, north America) find it very attractive. And they have the money. And that's not going to change. Anti-tourism or not. The problem is that many locals can't afford it, yet the other half the local population is literally getting rich from it - and they all vote. So don't expect politicians to cut their own throats by alienating one group of voters from another. But who knows - they might get stupid. We'll see. The morale of the story is that yes, there's surely some cause for tourist alarm in certain areas at certain times of the year, but it's much too easy to generalise about it, leading to the risk of recklessly using a chain saw to perform brain surgery, which can't possibly relieve the symptoms, and is more likely to kill the patient. But that still won't make buying property here any less attractive, and as even you elude to, may actually make it more attractive due to less crowding. And that won't lower the cost of housing one bit.
@Beachcomber. What a load of rubbish. Are people put off from going to non European countries that have the same fingerprint system 🤔 er no. As for unemployment, foreign hospitality staff (they mostly are) would head for the mainland where rents are cheaper. Please do some research instead of quoting directly from the Daily Mail.
The fact that a huge amount of younger generation locals, who used to live at home with their parents, and who no longer want to work in the hospitality industry has been substituted by legal immigrants from principally South America and some European nations who have no home base in the islands, hasn’t helped much either.
It is not a question that tourists are not welcome I think. The issues are that in many parts( almost all nowadays ) it is just too much and not pleasant to live as a local ( which I am not but can surely understand ) and not related to Mallorca only These people have equal rights as tourists and this is not the case ( housing, dodgy working contracts, artificially raise of food prices etc ) That there is less income from bars and restaurants has nothing to with the protest but with quality and price .Its all about healthy balance .We love a certain part of the island , but how can you enjoy a holiday with overcrowding around you?
And with the new EU entry/exit system planed for October this year (unless postponed yet again) affecting Brits and other 1st world countries, word is that most Majorca resorts are expected to close on 5th October this year as the half term Brit visitors will not be coming this year owing to the unwanted and cumbersome new entry system. Brit tourists will go elsewhere where they feel more welcome. Lots of unemployment heading Majorca’s way and self inflicted.
Utter rubbish, a few thick rednecks who couldn't get a job even if there were full employment won't stop any tourists. These people are like the Just Stop Oil thickos. Literally brain dead and not intellectually capable of living a normal life.