Representatives of the around 45 associations and organisations that are part of the Assemblea-23 umbrella group which is behind Saturday's demonstration in Palma unfurled a banner on the Born avenue on Tuesday in order to further publicise the rally against tourist "massification".
The main spokesperson for Assemblea-23 is Margalida Ramis of the environmentalists GOB. She said that society has begun to question the current tourism model and that not everyone has lived well because of tourism.
The demonstrators argue that there are alternatives to the "monoculture" economy of tourism and that the current government should lay the foundations for a debate about diversification. "It's time to start talking about limits and 'de-growth' and this government is the most sensitive to carrying out such initiatives. We want to give a voice to all the people who have been affected by the consequences of the 'sweet' story of tourism," added Ramis.
The demonstration will start at six o'clock on Saturday evening in the Plaça Espanya. It will demand protectionist measures for the environment and land use and denounce labour consequences of the tourism industry. With regard to this latter point, representatives from Las Kellys, the hotel chambermaids association, will play a key part as will other groups, such as the one against the Llucmajor-Campos dual carriageway development.