Mallorca braces for second anti-tourism protest after police fired rubber bullets in Palma

The demonstration is due to take place in the town of Sóller on the northwest coast (Picture: Getty Images) Two weeks ago, on July 25, over 30,000 protestors marched through the streets of Mallorca holding placards declaring that mass tourism had pushed the island to ‘its limit’. In sunny Palma, residents are making their position abundantly clear: Mallorca’s infrastructure cannot sustain the volume of tourists that descend each year. And it appears they’re not finished with their crusade. Tomorrow (Saturday, August 8), demonstrators will once again take to the streets – this time in Sóller, one of the most popular tourist towns on Mallorca’s northwest coast. On Instagram, the organisers, grassroots collective Menys Turisme, Mes Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), called for a ‘new mobilisation against tourism.’ Europe has seen several overtourism protests in recent years (Picture: Getty Images) Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. On what is typically the busiest day for the town, businesses will remove terraces, market stalls, and commercial displays ahead of the protest. The route will have an immediate impact on some of the town’s most crowded areas including Carrer de sa Lluna, Plaça d’Espanya, and Plaça del Mercat. The Town Hall has informed residents that between 10am and 2pm, no objects will be permitted on public streets within the demonstration area. Any locals living along the march route have also been instructed to remove parked vehicles before the demonstration begins. While outdoor public spaces will be off-limits, businesses will be allowed to operate indoors. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, some traders had asked organisers to change the route in order to reduce disruption to businesses, but the request was rejected. The popular beach town will be impacted by tomorrow’s protest (Picture: Getty Images) The timing is also a slight issue. Mallorca is exceedingly busy right now – partially due to the upcoming total solar eclipse, expected on Wednesday August 12. Due to its positioning, the Balearic Islands will be home to some of the best views in the house. As a result, experts have warned that Mallorca could experience ‘pandemonium’ as tourists and residents attempt to witness the spectacular sight. On the evening itself, Mallorca is predicted to be at peak occupancy – hosting around 400,000 foreign tourists. How bad is mass tourism in Mallorca? Overtourism protests have become a familiar sight across Europe, with tensions escalating each year. In summer 2024, Mallorcans marched through bustling squares telling holidaymakers to ‘go home’ and brandishing signs declaring: ‘Everywhere you look, everyone is foreign’. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, protesters were seen in 2024 using water pistols to spray outdoor diners. But demonstrators and tourism experts agree that holidaymakers aren’t the problem. The real enemy, they say, are the people profiting from it. As one organiser in the Basque city of San Sebastián says, ‘people who go on vacation to one place or another are not our enemies…our enemies are those who speculate on housing, who exploit workers and those who are profiting handsomely from the touristification of our cities.’ Tourism is a massive issue across both the Balearic Islands, as well as the Canary Islands (Picture: Getty) And, given the pressures Mallorca is currently facing, it’s little surprise that the amount of demonstrations continue to grow in numbers. Between 2005 and 2025, the population of the Balearic Islands increased by 280,000 to 1.25 million, according to statistics published by the Majorca Daily Bulletin. The number of tourists per year increased by 7.5 million to just over 19 million, the outlet reports, while the number of airport passengers (the figure for Palma alone) rose from 21.2 million to 33.8 million. The outlet says that the price of housing, meanwhile, rose from €2,207 per square metre to €4,062. In the days leading up to the most recent demonstration in July, Menys Turisme, Mes Vida issued a declaration on social media criticising the government for prioritising tourism while ‘the resident population suffers an unprecedented housing crisis and a progressive decline in living conditions.’ The recent protest in Palma ended with demonstrators clashing with local police (Picture: Getty) Galvanising support online, the organisers shared: ‘After two mass demonstrations in which tens of thousands of people filled the streets to demand a change of course and the right to a dignified life, we can confirm that those demands have not only gone unheard, but the situation has continued to worsen. ‘We declare that Mallorca has reached its limit – its ecological, territorial and social limits; the limit of human pressure and the limit of what its residents can endure.’ Overtourism protest ends in clash with the police While July’s march was mostly peaceful, a small number of protestors ended up clashing with local police. According to local news reports, tensions arose at the end of the demonstration when protestors attempted to gather at Ses Voltes – an open-air plaza located right next to the cathedral in Palma, where the protest’s manifesto was to be read. Due to police crowd control, many were unable to gain access. Then, as the group continued their march to Parc de la Mar, a waterfront public park, dozens of officers, some equipped with shields and rubber bullet guns, positioned themselves around the entrance. Some protestors were recorded chanting things like ‘I’d be ashamed to be a police officer’ and ‘Out with the occupying forces’. And, shortly after, a small group of demonstrators began throwing objects, mainly plastic bottles. In response, some twenty rubber bullets were fired and there were baton charges. 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