Short-term rental giant Airbnb has spoken out as massive protests across the Balearic Islands march through tourist hotspots and demand more action against the dire impact of mass tourism.
Many Sunday protesters pointed to holidays, such as Airbnb, who are responsible for some of the recent surge in rent costs for residents of popular Spanish holiday destinations. But as it affects everything from local medical services to traffic jams, Mallorca's protests wanted to chant “Tourists will go home.”
Thousands of strong protests on Sunday in Palma saw tourists trapped in cafes, angry Mallorcans waved placards and demanded the end of a wave of cruise ships and planes, bringing 15 million people to the island last year. At one point, police officers had to hold back the furious protesters as they tried to confuse people's dinner.
Airbnb's vice president of public policy, Theo Yedinsky, told Express that the outrage of the protesters was misguided, local authorities were unable to tackle the fundamental issues in the construction and supply of homes, and did not ignore the hotel's “overwhelming impact” on encouraging popular tourism.
Policy VP Yedinsky said: “If cities are serious about mitigating overtourism, they must deal with the overwhelming impact of hotels. Hotels have driven a 75% increase in guest nights in Europe's top 10 most visited cities between 2021 and 2023, accounting for nearly 80% of the total nights across the block in 2023 and 2024.”
Airbnb executives spiked rental prices facing residents at Spanish holiday hotspots, denounced the lack of home buildings and the lack of focus on the hotel industry. He said, “Europe needs more homes, not hotels, but cities are building more hotels because homes in the area are nearly 10 years old.”
In some areas, there is a lack of proper housing for local people, so they force them to move with their parents, but traditional neighborhoods have been transformed by outsiders. Local residents share it via email. “I'm protesting because I don't want 80% of my money to go to rent. I don't want to be forced to speak only English or German in my apartment block.
“We don't want our friends to have to go to the mainland when they have children to live a dignified life. Many of us are tired of them.”
Local officials quickly condemned the protest for disrupting tourist evenings on Sunday. “The Balearic government denounces and rejects the minority who have scorned tourists,” said government spokesman Toni Costa.
Officials added that “minorities” are engaged in shaming behavior in attempts to disrupt the holiday experience, and that “this type of behavior by minorities is unacceptable.”
Protesters called for action to reduce the number of tourists arriving in the Balearic Islands. Last year, they outperformed locals 14-1.
