Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
The Calo des Moro cove in Mallorca is breathtaking and, by inevitable extension, insta-famous. Last year, tourists formed three-hour queues to get a spot (and a snapshot). Mayor Maria Pons acknowledged the area had become an “obsession”, with some tourists bringing changes of swimwear to take a series of photos, suggesting multiple trips. On Sunday, resident campaigners “occupied” the beach, covering every inch of rock and sand with their beach towels from 8am. An initially modest group of 20 locals soon swelled to near 300, with protesters wielding banners reading ‘SOS Residents’ and handing out leaflets in English and German (Brits and Germans make up the majority of tourists to the island). Others dressed in hotel-style bathrobes, cosplaying the tourists they seek to fend off. The demonstration is the latest in a rising tide of protests in Mallorca, which locals insist are not anti-tourist but against over-tourism, which erodes both their beaches and quality of life.
With the exception of isolated chants of “tourists go home”, leading to police intervention, the demonstration was peaceful and pitched as a gathering of the local community. But the action has earned mixed responses. Some social media users accused Mallorcans of biting the hand that feeds them, and local business owners feared that if the protests go too far, the tourists – and the wealth they generate – will dry up, meaning “all we will be left with are the beaches”.
