Antoni Font Gelabert is a marine conservationist. He is a member of the Marilles Foundation, which focuses on conservation of the Balearic Sea, a member of the board of the environmentalists GOB, and a one-time member of the board of Greenpeace International.
As an observer of tourism over many years, his CV clearly gives an indication of his opinions. For instance, tourism is a phenomenon that resembles "a monster that should be kept caged and fed in moderation".
"Subjugation to tourism can only be avoided by taking action from the outset. I don't know of a single case where tourism has been designed, scaled, and put at the service of the common good. Once it runs rampant, its players seize control of the economic narrative with lines like 'you only live off tourism'."
This subjugation, he notes, usually comes from outside. "In the Balearics it was because of tour operators from northern Europe who provided loans to dictate where to build hotels on the coast. It's not the locals who initially provoke it, but external agents." He knows the situation on the Greek island of Lesbos well. "There's a tiny, quaint little port, like something out of a folk tale, where I looked to rent a room above a taverna. The person in charge was English. On principle, I didn't want to feed the beast because, after having coffee with him, I saw that he was operating under a specific logic that I considered detrimental to the place."
In the Greek islands there are certain examples of how it is possible to coexist with tourism without the islands losing their essence. "What I've observed is the varying extent of the damage depending on how long tourism has been present on an island. Proximity to large cities or the presence of an international airport robs islands of their soul. Losing their essence is a direct function of how long the system has been in place. I won't tell you which Greek island I know is least impacted by tourism, of course.
"If there isn't conscious management, it's an unstoppable process. Look at Menorca. We thought it would be the only one spared from the destruction because we saw the Menorcans as more intelligent, but it's clear that's not the case. They're at the mercy of everything that happens here. The island has been left until last, like we do with the prawn in a paella.
"The market decides what gets eaten first. You have to be incredibly spiteful, determined, and wilful to destroy an island like Mallorca. That doesn't happen unintentionally. The same goes for Lesbos. It doesn't deteriorate in two days; it requires years of intensive effort."
On the ever-increasing population and foreign property investment in the Balearics, Font says of possible taxes to address this foreign buying: "We pay a lot of attention to tourism (we're all tourism experts!) and we've started deploying instruments that are supposed to control it, such as ecotax and limits. However, the construction companies and financial intermediaries who use the Balearics as a stock exchange get away scot-free. They are the main attractors of population because they need labour, and they also don't accept any restrictions, because they present themselves as the ones who are going to solve the housing crisis."
Will the current mass tourism model on the islands inevitably go into gradual decline? Font doesn't believe so. "Tourism is born of desire. However scarce jet fuel may be and however bleak the environmental outlook for tourism is, desire is a major factor in prioritising spending. Why isn't everything collapsing due to scarcity, as has been predicted? Because priorities shift according to people's desires. Travelling is one of the best things we can do because it broadens our horizons and connects us with others. People are willing to pay whatever it takes."