Residents of Playa de Palma are rarely surprised by anything nowadays, but the use of the beach as accommodation is something of a new one for them. This summer it has not been uncommon to encounter young tourists who sleep on the beach. These aren't the usual German tourists who have had too much to drink but visitors who specifically seem to set up camp on the beach.
There are different theories as to why. The high price of hotels, the ban on holiday apartment rentals are put forward. The president of the Ciutat de s'Arenal association, Biel Barceló, says that tourists use the beach especially at weekends. They come to the resort without having booked a hotel, go out partying and then sleep on the beach, he reckons.
There is another aspect, that they are young people who have been turfed out of hotels because of bad behaviour.