The Government responds, after the protest in Sóller, that it has already taken measures against overtourism
Estarellas expresses the "maximum respect" for the mobilization and assures that he shares the demands
PalmaThe second vice-president and Minister of the Presidency, Antònia Estarellas, evaluated this Monday the demonstration that last Saturday gathered thousands of people in Sóller against overtourism. In a press briefing collected by Europa Press, she assured that she shares the demands against the touristification of the municipality and expressed "maximum respect" for the protest. She also defended the Government's action in containment matters.
"This Government, from the very first moment, has been very aware that the Islands cannot continue to grow," he said: "They must have a limit." Thus, he defended measures of the Executive, such as the fight against illegal tourist rentals. Thus, he expressed his "maximum respect" for the demonstration in Soller, which took place with a "climate of tranquility, demand, and within a margin of coexistence".
Although in 2024 the Government promised "bold" measures, in this legislature no major restrictions have been applied to mass tourism. The Executive has deployed measures to regulate tourist rentals, but the fiscal initiatives for containment announced this legislature – such as the Sustainable Tourism Tax, the water levy and the car rental levy – have not materialized. Likewise, the containment advocated by the Executive is not reflected, for the moment, in the arrival figures: in 2025 a new record was broken with more than 19 million tourists in the Islands.
MÉS proposes eliminating 130,000 tourist places
The leader of MÉS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, has demanded more policies for tourist degrowth and has called for airport co-management, an increase in the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) and the water canon. In a statement, the party has proposed eliminating 130,000 tourist places, limiting rental cars, and legislating against real estate speculation.
In turn, the socialist group in the Consell de Mallorca has accused the island government of replacing tourism policy with "a succession of advertising campaigns." In a statement, it has considered that the PP's tourism model is a "failure" after three years of legislature "marked by summer saturation, lack of effective control, and management focused on slogans instead of decisions".