Thousands of people took to the streets of Mallorca at the weekend to protest against mass tourism and its impact on life on the Spanish island, at the height of the summer season.
According to the demonstration's organisers, Mallorca has developed an economic model over recent decades that has spiralled completely out of control.
Demonstrating under the slogan "Mallorca at breaking point", they called for limits on the number of visitors to the island, with the housing situation singled out as particularly serious.
The protest was organised by the platform Less Tourism, More Life. Participants argued that tourism had long since exceeded the island's limits.
"We locals need to be able to live on our own island too", demonstrators said, pointing to traffic, climate change, pollution, and wasted resources as reasons to take to the streets and declare that "enough is enough".
Protesters carried signs reading "Tourists go home", "Mallorca overbooked", "No capacity left", and "The tourism tsunami is wiping us out".
Organisers said Mallorca had built an economic model over recent decades that had become completely unmanageable. They called for tourism to be reduced overall and for visitor numbers to be capped, arguing that the island needed a different model in which quality took precedence over sheer numbers.
Clashes with police were also reported during the protests.
Mallorca's housing market is under particularly severe pressure. Many people working in tourism, retail, or healthcare can now afford little more than a room in a shared flat.
Others have been forced to turn to alternatives such as caravans or accommodation in extremely poor areas. More than 100,000 properties on the island are reportedly used exclusively for tourists, both legally and illegally.
For many residents, measures such as banning holiday rentals in residential buildings or the government's planned limits on cars do not go far enough.
According to residents, overcrowding in some areas has made it difficult for residents even to visit the beach, with some saying this is often only possible during the winter months.
More than 13 million tourists visited the relatively small island in 2025, the highest number ever recorded. Another major influx of visitors is expected for the solar eclipse on 12 August.
