The overcrowding of Mallorca's beaches, some of the island's idyllic coves in particular, is a complaint that has increased over the years along with the growth in tourist numbers. While there are more tourists, more people full stop than ten, twenty years ago, the beach saturation owes as much, if not more, to social media. Instagram and other platforms are full of images and videos. The paradisiacal beaches, the gushing assessments littered with their heavenly clichés of crystal-clear water and velvety white sands more often than not fail to reveal a true picture. All the people.
La Indis is a Mallorcan communications agency. It has wished to join the debate about 'massification', to give a new vision, as one of the causes of this overcrowding is social media.
The company has launched a campaign with the slogan 'Don't tag this beach, bitch!'. It explains that just one tag can result in millions of views on Instagram and that the problem isn't that people can't find space to lay their towels. It is a problem with very serious consequences for the local population.
Creative director Virginia Moll says: "As a creative agency, we think that tourists perhaps also feel cheated when visiting a paradise in which the photos have to be cropped in order to obtain 'likes' and to be Instagrammable. Instead of blaming tourists, you can ask them in a fun and fresh way to become sympathisers with the islanders."
Indis offers a link to free downloads of designs with the campaign slogan. "We have received a lot of support and one town hall has asked us for the design for one of its beaches."
"The campaign isn't only directed at tourists but also at local people. A tag can do a lot of damage. Our paradise can no longer give more of itself. Being sustainable is not just about not harming the environment but understanding that posting a beautiful photo has drastic consequences for the environment. We have lost perspective. We don't know how to discover a place if it's not on Google. We are encouraging tourists and locals to let go of the GPS."