Indeed, among the demands mooted by activists, affordable housing topped the list, with a desire to clamp down on illegal holiday lets and Airbnb-style rentals. However, the regional government has already placed a moratorium on new tourist beds until 2026. Campaigners also want to curtail foreign property speculation and to restrict purchases to those with at least five years residency in the region, seemingly unaware that this would prove unenforceable under EU law.
Javier Barbero, one of the organisers of the Palma demonstration, wants a declaration of a housing emergency in Mallorca. He adds: “We are not saying no to tourism, but we want to denounce the existing housing situation and also to rethink the current tourism model.”
‘Locals must shoulder some of the blame’
Salaries are uniformly low in the Balearic islands, with even tiny rental apartments in rural areas priced well beyond the reach of many locals, especially the young. According to a study conducted by real estate company Fotocasa, property rental prices have increased by 158 per cent in the past decade in the Balearics, and by 12 per cent in the past year alone. But Hamlet Ramirez, owner of popular Café Soller and La Sal restaurants in Soller, says Mallorcans must shoulder some of the blame: “It’s really sad that young people cannot find affordable housing, but an uncomfortable truth is that many locals have pushed up the prices of property and land, selling to the highest foreign bidder for personal profit.”
Traffic congestion is another bone of contention, with Ibestat suggesting that the Balearics has the largest concentration of vehicles in Spain, with 900,000 on the road, exacerbated by 80,000 hire cars. Maria Frontera, the president of the Mallorca Federation of Hoteliers (FEHM), has pointed out that as there is nearly one car per resident, locals need to rely more on public transport while conceding that this too needs improvement.
To cope with the sheer volume of hire cars this summer, Soller Council has hastily created resident-only parking zones and temporary car parks. Many locals don’t feel it has gone far enough, with some suggesting restricting the number of hire cars or reinstating the erstwhile toll tunnel with fees charged to non-residents entering the valley. Others have called for a park-and-ride scheme and the creation of low-emission zones for environmental reasons.
Finding peace on a crowded isle
While areas such as the Soller valley and Palma have become saturated with tourist traffic, Es Pla, the agricultural heartland of the island, remains blissfully calm. All the same, luxury boutique hotels have been shooting up like bamboo in the past few years, attracting increasing interest from affluent travellers. Björn Wild, the general manager of Barefoot Hotel in the east of the island, said: “Thankfully, unlike some coastal neighbourhoods, Portocolom has remained a simple fishing village without tourism issues. Parking is easy and free, and we have no traffic problems. Our British clients love the peace here.”