Someone had to make a stand because the anti-tourist rhetoric in the Balearics is getting out of hand, helped in no small part by the silence from the Balearic government.
The hoteliers launched a campaign this week underlining that tourists were more than welcome and urging them to return next year. It was the right message at the right time. But why just the hoteliers and not other business organisations or even the local authorities? The local ministry for tourism was quick to welcome the campaign but surely it is the organisation which should be fronting the pro-tourism message?
There are plenty of mixed messages about overtourism at the moment and all this is doing is helping to fuel the fires of discontent. I don’t believe that the island is overcrowded but I am willing to listen to those who say that we should receive fewer tourists. But please do it in a polite and nice manner, not “tourists get lost” or even “don’t come back”.
Tourists have little or no fault in this sorry state of affairs. They just pay their cash and hope for a happy holiday. The people who are to blame are the local authorities who have allowed the industry to grow so much that it has led to protests. Their silence is rather amazing. What is more amazing is that they didn’t launch the campaign.