The Balearic Islands once again cry out against mass tourism on July 26th

A new call to fill Palma

The discontent against tourist overcrowding will return to the streets this summer. The platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) has called a new large demonstration in Palma for July 26 at 7:00 PM with the aim of repeating the massive mobilizations of recent years and placing the tourism model back at the center of political and social debate.

The call was presented this Sunday at the foot of the Cathedral, in one of the spaces most frequented by visitors arriving in Palma. The image was not accidental; the organizers wanted to symbolize that saturation is no longer a specific perception of the peak season months, but a reality that increasingly affects more areas of the daily lives of residents.

The platform has called to "collapse" Palma and has warned that this summer will again be especially complicated for Majorcans. Congested roads, full beaches, strained public services, a booming housing market, and growing difficulties in living in towns and neighborhoods are part of the problem that the entities have put on the table.

The eclipse and pressure on Mallorca

One of the elements that adds tension to the debate this year is the total solar eclipse predicted for August 12. Less Tourism, More Life warns that this astronomical phenomenon has already been incorporated into tourism promotion as a new business opportunity, in the middle of high season and with the island already usually at its limit. According to the platform, the arrival of visitors to see the eclipse could further increase pressure on hotels, roads, and public spaces. The organizers believe that this episode is another example of how any event ends up being absorbed by the logic of tourism, without taking into account the real capacity of the territory or the consequences for the resident population.

The movement has also railed against what it considers discourses of "false containment" by the administrations. They assure that many of the measures announced so far only propose moderating growth, but do not question the model. In this regard, they criticize both the Balearic Government and the Consell de Mallorca and the State for continuing to bet on tourism promotion and on policies that, as they denounce, favor the economic interests of the sector.

Housing and daily life

The protest is not solely focused on the number of tourists. The platform directly links overtourism with the housing crisis, the rising cost of rent, the pressure from investment funds, and the proliferation of tourist rentals. According to the organizers, Mallorca has reached a point where many people who work and sustain the island's economic activity cannot access decent housing.

They also report that saturation affects mobility, public services, the territory, and the possibility of building a stable life project on the island. Therefore, they insist that the problem is not just tourist-related, but also social, labor, and environmental.

At the same time, Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) has wanted to distance itself from discourses that point to migrants or other vulnerable groups as responsible for social unrest. The platform argues that the focus should be on the economic model and on the political and business leaders who, it claims, have turned tourism growth into an end in itself.

A summer of mobilizations

The demonstration on July 26 will not be an isolated action. The platform has announced a "more combative" summer and plans preliminary actions in different parts of Mallorca to maintain pressure before the big protest in Palma.

The call comes after two years of massive mobilizations against tourist saturation. In 2024 and 2025, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand limits on growth, more protection of the territory, and real measures to guarantee access to housing. Now, the platform wants to keep that momentum alive and turn this July's protest into a new demonstration of strength.

The discontent also extends to other islands. In Menorca, the GOB has called a mobilization against tourist overcrowding and in defense of the right to housing for June 13 in Maó, before the Consell de Menorca. Thus, the debate on the tourism model once again marks the start of the season in the Balearic Islands.