As the first cruise ships of the season dock in Palma, hundreds of tourists are once again pouring into the city’s historic centre. Visitors, many moving around in large guided groups, weave through the narrow streets carrying hats, backpacks and bottles of sun cream as they make their way between landmarks, hotels and cafés using public transport, taxis and ride-hailing apps.
But while tourists admire some of Palma’s best-known streets and squares, many appear oblivious to the anti-tourism graffiti scrawled across walls nearby — messages reflecting growing frustration among locals over the impact of mass tourism on the island. Some of the slogans also offer advice on how to behave respectfully while visiting Mallorca. One message reads: “Germans, Germans everywhere.”
Standing in Plaza Cort with her husband, Deborah, a tourist from London who has been on the island for three days, said she had not noticed any anti-tourism messages. Asked about calls to restrict visitor numbers, she said: “It would be impossible to limit tourism because it would require a police state and we must have the right to free movement.”
She added that one of Palma’s main attractions is its atmosphere. “It’s very clean and very peaceful. There’s not much traffic noise or car horns — it’s nothing like living in New York,” she said.
Guided tours clog city streets
The short walk from Palma’s central square to the Cathedral — normally no more than five minutes — can take twice as long as crowds of guided tour groups move through the streets behind umbrella-carrying guides.
Tourists stopping suddenly to take photographs or admire the architecture frequently block narrow passageways, often passing anti-tourism messages painted on nearby walls without noticing them.
Outside Palma Cathedral, one of the island’s busiest tourist hotspots, cruise passengers and day-trippers gather in large numbers. Among them was a group of six German women — Rina, Anke, Karin, Guida, Kerin and Anja — who said they had experienced no hostility from local residents during their stay.
“People have been kind,” they said. The group said debates around tourism in Mallorca are widely discussed on German social media, particularly concerns about rising housing costs and the growing pressure mass tourism places on local communities. Still, they admitted: “There are too many tourists.”
They also pointed to a familiar pattern in Palma, where large numbers of passengers disembark from the same cruise ships and head towards the same landmarks at the same time, particularly the Cathedral.
‘We understand their frustration’
Watching a cruise ship depart from Palma’s port, German couple Aleksandra and Patrick Lukosz, from Cologne, reflected on the growing backlash against tourism after spending three days on the island.
“When life becomes more expensive for local people, we understand their frustration,” they said, comparing the situation in Mallorca with similar tensions in the Canary Islands. The couple said they deliberately choose hotels over Airbnb accommodation because of concerns about the impact short-term holiday rentals have on housing availability and rising rents for residents.