Mallorca hoteliers are putting up posters around the island welcoming tourists, following a series of overtoursim protests with signs telling visitors to “go home”.
Campaign groups in Mallorca have been urging tourists to stay home and not overwhelm the Spanish island, especially in the peak summer season, as they say it is damaging to infrastructure and detrimental to their daily lives.
The anti-overtourism attitudes have resulted in large-scale protests, such as one in the city of Palma in June, which saw thousands of residents take to the streets calling for limits on visitors and a better tourism strategy.
Signs and slogans such as “tourists go home” and “no to mass tourism” are often displayed during demonstrations.
Hotels in Mallorca have now taken a stand against what they describe as “tourismophobia”, with an initiative welcoming visitors to their holiday hotspot.
The Mallorca Hotel Business Federation (FEHM) has launched a series of posters on billboards and digital banners, and is encouraging other tourism companies and industry workers to use them.
The posters include slogans such as “Tourist, go home happy. Be happier returning to Mallorca soon”, a play on words of the anti-tourist signs.
“Tourist, go home safe and come back soon” as well as “tourist, don’t go home, stay longer with us”, have also been used.
The billboards will be up for two months over the busy summer season, as many tourists will start to flock to Mallorca for beach holidays.
The federation says that they are using the new slogans to remind tourists that the island is hospitable and proud of its tourism industry, “in contrast to the rejectionist rhetoric and actions that attempt to damage the image of tourism and its contribution to Balearic society”, it said.
The hotel group claims that the hostility towards visitors comes from a “vocal minority” that does not represent the rest of the Balearics.
However, FEHM says it advocates for getting the balance right between tourism, infrastructure, sustainability and a peaceful coexistence with residents – something that the campaigns against overtourism say they have also been fighting for.
One of the main driving points behind the initiative is to protect employment, as FEHM notes that tourism provides jobs for more than a third of the Balearic Islands’ working population.
It adds that the hotel sector is working to modernise its operations to improve its impact on society, with a 13.5 per cent wage increase over three years.
FEHM President Javier Vich emphasised that “without tourists, there are no jobs, and we must all take care of tourism”.
Meanwhile, campaigners against overtourism, such as Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) take a different stance, claiming that the tourist industry impoverishes people, makes it hard to access housing and diverts focus from the public sector.
The group said it stands in solidarity with hospitality workers in negotiations for better working environments during the high season, as there is usually an “exploitation” of the working class during this period.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
