"Mallorcan shops love tourism; we're tired of hearing messages that criminalize it."

PalmThe Mallorcan small and medium-sized business association, Pimeco, has launched the 'Mallorca's Shops Love Tourists' campaign to send a "clear, direct, and sincere" message: local businesses value and need tourism.

"The reality is that we want tourists, because we need them, and it's time to say it openly," said Carolina Domingo, president of Pimeco. "We are tired of hearing messages that criminalize tourism. It is not true that they are not wanted. Their presence is vital for our local and circular economy." As part of the campaign, Pimeco has distributed stickers with the message 'Mallorca's Shops Love Tourists' among associated businesses across the island, which have already hung them in their shop windows. With this gesture, the merchants demonstrate their support for tourism and its key role in the Mallorcan economy.

The initiative was born after the rise of campaigns against overcrowding and the consequences for residents. "We understand that management and regulation of tourist flows is necessary, but that is the responsibility of politicians. What we cannot allow is for the idea to spread that tourism is not welcome, because this puts thousands of businesses and jobs on the island at risk," Domingo stated.

Pimeco emphasizes that resident customers will always be "the most valuable for local commerce," but they also emphasize that local customers are not enough "to guarantee the economic sustainability of many businesses." "Many of our clients tell us that they themselves make a living, directly or indirectly, from tourism. Without tourists, many businesses would not survive," they noted.

Furthermore, the president wanted to highlight the positive impact that a tourist's visit to a local shop can have: "Every purchase is a commitment to sustainability. And today, every tourist who shares their experience on social media gives us free publicity that reaches the entire world." The "Mallorca's Shops Love Tourists" campaign is also a call for realism: "We can't expect to return to the 1960s. We must manage our infrastructure better, but we can't give up on tourism, because it is our main source of wealth and well-being," Domingo concluded.