For some time now, the main European media outlets have been regularly reporting on the environmental and social situation in the Balearic Islands. Interest in what's happening in the archipelago has shifted from the tabloids to recognized influential publications and programs. Local public opinion and that published on the mainland are converging in the same direction. This development heralds a new and unusual scenario. The Catalan government's double standard—sustainability on the left, and urban development and expansion of public squares on the right—is being publicly called into question. Deceiving citizens and visitors at the same time is beyond the reach of the conservative government.
The climate crisis is weighing heavily. The Balearic Islands, on climate forecast maps, appear as one of the most vulnerable areas on the planet. Currently, they have already recorded a temperature increase higher than the global and European average (the Mediterranean is warming 20% faster than the rest of the world). Longer and more frequent heat waves are expected to reduce climate comfort in summer and directly affect tourism appeal. Given that the islands' model is almost a tourism monoculture, experts believe that the climate shock will have a more direct impact on the economy than in other, more diverse regions. Let's be bold and provocative: "Uniformity is death; diversity is life" (Mikhail Bakunin).
The risk of losing visitors during the peak season is more than plausible. In this regard, the first alarm bells have been raised among local businesses. In theory, activity could be extended into spring and autumn, but BBVA Research and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission warn that the net visitor balance will remain negative. For now, the paradox is that airport and port figures continue to grow, while revenue may decline (according to The Vanguard(Some hoteliers estimate that the drop in revenue will be significant this peak season.) We'll have to wait and see how this is reflected in the overall figures. In any case, it's an incontestable certainty that the social, economic, and media debate is inextricably linked to the climate.
We could be on the brink of a type of decline that no one wanted: a fall in GDP, which specialized reports already predict for next year. Furthermore, in the short and medium term, if supply (hotels, residential, and real estate) isn't able to adjust to the new reality, the market contraction could fuel a future price war. A downward spiral of degradation. It's curious to think how the neoliberal-conservatives of our country can fail market theory and the laws of supply and demand.
They are determined to find an impossible narrative that will allow the system to continue as it is and cover up the contradictions and weaknesses that are emerging in the system. The double discourse of the Government and the greenwashing business are insufficient to dispel criticism and doubts. It is not easy, the "Tourist, go home happy. Well happy returning to Mallorca. Thanks!"It could have been the latest example of how complicated and ridiculous it can be to attempt it. The particular corporate "advertisement outside the city" has passed without much fanfare, beyond confirming an already known attitude.
Let's remember that, according to the promoters, the billboard campaign was intended to counter the message of the citizen mobilizations and dispel the sham they call "tourismophobia." A sham used to fuel a false debate. The slogan fabricated for this purpose contained little tourism science and much ideology. They cultivate the theory of the "internal enemy" (a cardinal falsehood), spurred—oh! What a coincidence—by the global new right. An old classic, with unfortunate memories in history. Indeed, there are some striking coincidences; however, it is illusory to think that chasing "mopias" can overcome the problems.
By focusing on the contradictions of traditional tourism, international media ignore another, even more shocking reality: real estate. Years go by, and it seems the cement remains invisible. Netflix has just released the German film Fall for Me, one thriller about the real estate world in Mallorca, which responds to a vision of the island as a global paradise for investment. From a polluted perspective, the island is transformed into a spatial hub for doing business, and all the mystique of the surroundings disappears. It's reminiscent of the controversial advertisement "Game of Homes"of the Kensington real estate agency. In the film's plot, the crime to be committed is a large-scale housing development on a cliff (the location of the images is Cala sa Nau). Not a single reference to urban development pressure, nor to the social and historical context. Zero sense of criticism, no depth of field, once again: Mallorca for Export.
The narrative (in the film and in reality) is reduced to a police and criminal plot, with a culprit and a criminal organization. Once again, an "enemy" to blame. The rest is simply German minimalism, seemingly harmless, to render everything white and shiny. Denial (of reality) is the key word. Many intertwined omissions, such as the nature of the crisis, the citizens of the sovereign country, and the unsustainability of economic extractivism. On the contrary, they cater to an ideological war that a good portion of potential visitors and customers won't share. Perhaps ignoring the opinions of the public and the media is like the Peix frit business, which sold for four and bought for six.
