The Menys Turisme, Més Vida platform held its fourth open assembly on Wednesday. 'Less Tourism, More Life' was behind the July 21 protest in Palma against tourist overcrowding that either drew 20,000 people, according to the National Police, or 50,000 (the organisers' figure).
Around fifty people took part in the assembly in Lloseta. Future actions were on the agenda. A key date being considered is September 27, the UN's World Tourism Day*.
There were representatives of local groups who make up the platform. They spoke about the "small actions" that have been taken. These have included a protest against the Sineu Wednesday market having become focused on tourists and last Sunday's protest in Alcudia, when the main road in the town was blocked for a brief time.
There was also discussion of the popularisation of the platform's message. This was evident at last week's all-day 'Mucada' in Sineu, an annual event that is part of the summer fiestas. On Mallorca's music scene, the lead singer of the band Antònia Font, Pau Debon, and a rising star, Maria Hein, are among those to have spoken out against overtourism and its impacts.
The president of the environmentalists GOB, Margalida Ramis, drew attention to alliances with groups who highlight housing difficulties, evictions and job insecurity in the hospitality industry. These are not just in Mallorca and the Balearics, as the concerns have been expressed in the Canaries, Malaga, Barcelona, Cadiz and Cantabria.
Spokesperson for the platform, Jaume Pujol, called for efforts to continue in demanding measures to change the current tourism model and so for actions at a local level to influence town halls as well as mass protests.
* World Tourism Day was first celebrated in 1980. Cala Millor is the only place in Mallorca that recognises the day to any great extent. To coincide with the day, there have been tourist fiestas in Cala Millor since 1983.