Related news: Mallorca protests: No confidence in the government; "just the beginning"

Organisers of Sunday's protest in Palma, satisfied with its success, are stressing that it was "just the beginning". Further actions are being prepared for the coming months, the organisers having no confidence in the Balearic government's drive towards a pact for sustainability .

Margalida Ramis of the environmentalist group GOB, a key component of the Menys Turisme, Més Vida platform, says: "The truth is that we no longer need to campaign to raise people's awareness , but rather to take immediate and long-term measures. We have zero confidence in the roundtable for the pact as we can already see in which way it is heading."

In Ramis's view, likely government measures "will be very far from what we are proposing". Echoing a now familiar observation regarding a Partido Popular "change of discourse" on tourist overcrowding , Ramis attributes this to an attempt "to demobilise people, just as they were demobilised when there was a left-wing government".

This said, GOB and like-minded groups who took part in the gathering to launch the pact and are represented on the resultant working parties will maintain this participation: "It is one more tool to apply pressure."

The meetings of the 12 working parties that cover issues such as social sustainability started last week. They are intended to outline means of reformulating the tourism model and the economic-social strategy for the coming decades.

Ramis dismisses the idea that the protests will generate a significant decline in tourism demand. In her opinion, it is the overcrowding itself that is scaring tourists away . "Many people are already stopping coming when they see how saturated the island is. It is not we who are destroying tourism, it is they themselves." By this she means the hoteliers and, by extension, the entire tourism sector.

She emphasises that the intention is "not to play with anyone's future; the whole labour issue is of great concern to us". The chambermaids association and unions were present at the march on Sunday. For her, this was an indication of protest being across the board and of the negative impact that the current model of economic growth has on the working class .

To this end, one of the main unions, the CCOO, drew attention on Monday to what it described as chronic job insecurity among hospitality workers . Record tourist arrivals and business turnover this season "are not being translated into improvements in working and living conditions". The increased price of housing and cost of living have deterred seasonal workers, a situation that "minimises" the workforce and leads to "certain companies taking advantage to breach the law and the collective agreement".

There is work overload for which there is not adequate pay. "And there will be an increase in workplace accidents and sick leave due to illnesses brought about by the extra work."

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Tourism protesters, with no confidence in the government, say "this is just the beginning"

Thousands of people march through Palma calling for an end to mass tourism

Tourism professor says that Mallorca anti-tourism protests could have lasting impact

Global tourist industry calls for an end to anti tourism protests