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Mallorca environmentalists want ban on private jets, limit on cruise ships and no property sales to non-residents

GOB believe that there will be protests over tourist overcrowding

The last major protest was in September 2017. | Pilar Pellicer

| Palma |

Spokesperson for environmentalists GOB, Margalida Ramis, said on Thursday that "social mobilisation will be the key to denouncing tourist overcrowding". The summer is likely to see more people joining a social response.

Referring in particular to the current period of political office - the Partido Popular in government and also controlling the Council of Mallorca - Ramis added that there is inconsistency between public statements and real policies. There has been a "change in discourse", but Ramis was of the view that this has a "political objective". "If everything ends up just being a headline, there will be even more protests."

Announcing that there is to be a meeting in Sineu on Friday to discuss what measures should be taken, Ramis drew attention to the protests in the Canaries, where the situation is more stressed than in the Balearics. The challenge, she said, is for workers in the tourism sector to join protests. "They do not live off tourism, they depend on it."

Marusia López, a member of the GOB executive, argued that it is essential "to fight the story of fear" - that there are no other options than tourism. "Many families do not make a living from tourism; they make a poor living from it."

GOB have presented proposals they want the government to adopt, some of which could have an immediate effect in helping to reduce tourist pressure - maintaining the moratorium on new accommodation places and indeed eliminating the pool of accommodation places.

They are demanding tough action against illegal holiday lets and want the number of cars entering Mallorca and the other islands to be limited (Formentera already has a system and Ibiza is due to apply one).

They are calling for an end to all types of tourism promotion, a reduction in the number of flights, a ban on private jets, a limit on cruise ships (in Palma) to one a day, and improved regulation of workloads.

GOB object to the government's amnesty for properties that were built illegally on 'rustic' land and have restated a call for a ban on the sale of homes to non-residents.

In 2017, GOB were one of the main organisers of a protest against tourist 'massification' and have consistently called for measures to limit tourist numbers in Mallorca and the Balearics.

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