'Tourist, go home happy': Hoteliers want happy tourists and are considering action against Arran

PalmThe Mallorca Hotel Federation (FEHM) has launched the "Tourist, go home happy" gratitude campaign, installing around twenty billboards with a message of gratitude toward tourists, who, according to the association's president, Javier Vich, "are the ones who pay the 235,000." This slogan serves as a counter to the classic "Tourist, go home," a common slogan used at demonstrations against overcrowding.

In statements to the media, Vich explained that, in addition to the billboards, the campaign will include online banners, posters, and brochures that will be distributed in the island's 870 hotel establishments. The initiative, which was presented just days after the Arran protest in which photos of politicians and hoteliers were burned, has been in the works for two months and has now been made public, coinciding with the signing of the hospitality agreement, "the best agreement in Spain in terms of remuneration," Vich stated.

The president of the FEHM emphasized that they are aware of "the housing access crisis and the lack of mobility infrastructure," but warned that this cannot turn tourism into a "punching bag" to which all problems are attributed. "We cannot resolve the infrastructure investment deficit accumulated over the last 20 or 25 years in just two or three years," he added.

Regarding Arran's protest action, shared on social media, several young people can be seen painting the phrase "Guilty of our misery" on a wall on Montenegro Street in Palma, where the headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism is located. They also daubed the Ministry's sign with paint and protested against mass tourism: "We are tired of our land being constantly commodified, while the working class always suffers the most." "It's time to stand up to them and defend ourselves as a class!" they state in the post.

At the end of the video, they burn a photo of Prime Minister Marga Prohens and leading hoteliers.

In response to this action, Vich expressed its rejection of the "radical" behavior of a "minority" and announced that the FEHM's legal department is analyzing the burning of photographs to determine possible legal action.

Vacation home

Regarding saturation, Vich also criticized the growth in the supply of vacation homes and noted that "there is a portion of demand that is not coming from hotels." He estimated that in recent years, vacation homes have experienced a 176% growth, and hotels, a 6% growth.

He also noted that the current slowdown in bookings could be related to "a reorientation of markets" and "a complex geopolitical situation," especially in markets such as Germany and the United States.