Residents of Mallorca huddled together on a Balearic beach on Saturday (1 June) to symbolise the crowding that “Mallorcans suffer” due to overtourism in peak season. Video footage of the movement shows dozens of Mallorcans crammed under one parasol on Sa Rapita beach in Campos, with locals saying they feel smothered at their favourite beaches in summer. The demonstration was organised by social media group Mallorca Platja Tour (MPT) in response to Vox spokesperson Manuela Cañadas who said that Mallorcans should resign themselves to not going to the beach during the summer months.
Previously, the anti-tourism group had estimated that at least 500 locals would “fill the beaches” . In a statement posted on 31 May, the Mallorca Platja Tour group said: “We have to occupy the Mallorcan beaches as we have done since we were children. Go there to read, to take a nap, to sunbathe, to spend the day with a watermelon.
“There is NOTHING more Mallorcan than enjoying our beaches in the summer.” Crammed together under one umbrella, the movement aimed to illustrate the lack of towel space due to an influx of tourists in July and August. The MPT called for residents who could not make it to Sa Rapita on Saturday to “go to your favourite beach” under the slogan #OcupemLesNostresPlatges or ‘let’s occupy our beaches’ in Catalan.
“MPT is a horizontal movement that was born to reveal the situation of the residents during the summer months and also that some politicians .
