As summer tourist season approaches, protest groups across Spain, including the Mallorcan people, are preparing for another round of demonstrations against the country's overtourism issue. However, British tourists who have visited Mallorca's island at least twice a year for the past 30 years have written a letter from the dam criticizing the island's tourist status.
In a letter sent to Mallorca Daily Britain, Edward Fox said he noticed that “not only the prices of hotel/apartment accommodation, but also the rise in prices for restaurants, which have not been reflected in global inflation, have also been increasing in the last five years of the visit. He also described the tourism tax (proposed for an additional 10% tax of about 4 euros per night, an additional 10% tax) as “incredible” and “a reasonable price for most British tourists coming to Mallorca.” Fox accused the Balearic government and locals of the country were “anti-tourist” and wanted to control the number of visitors.
“So proceed to Mallorca, bite your hands (coming) to this island and put a lot of money in the pockets (…) of tourism, infrastructure, government, hoteliers, in the best parts of 40 years,” Fox wrote.
“Our tourists bit, and me and hundreds of thousands of tourists bite. As an experienced traveler to Mallorca, it becomes too expensive and not a tourist and isn't worth a visit or vacation on this island.
Britt added that Mallorca “is not affordable now for most Britons,” and that it is losing to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
About 50 residents of Solar near Mallorca's west coast recently held a flash protest in the overcrowded square, according to a local news outlet. Reading “Miris on Miris, Tott Thorn Gillis” (“Where are, they're all Gringos”), the T-shirt had a typical tourist image on display on the town's clothing line.
It is even said that some foreigners are called “racists” because they stand up to their residents and call tourists “Gillis.” The term “Guriri” technically applies to English-speaking foreigners like “Gringo”, but even all foreigners now apply to tourists in Northern Europe.
The campaign was published and sent to the media. In a statement, residents said, “We want to raise awareness about issues that affect us on a daily basis.
They argue that “it's not a visitor's phobia, it's a matter of survival. Large-scale tourism is driving us out of our homes. It's difficult to access homes, replace us from public spaces, overwhelm basic services, and change our daily lives beyond awareness.”
