While a group of around fifty Soller residents who claim to be independent from the platforms currently operating in Soller staged a flash protest in the square against overcrowding a Bulletin reader Edward Fox has written a damning letter to the Bulletin.
He states: “I am writing to you because I have been holidaying in Mallorca sometimes three times per year definitely twice per year for more than 30 years for approx three weeks every time I come over (I am a U.K. citizen ) Over the last five or six years of me coming to Mallorca I have noticed a drastic increase in not only hotel/apartment accommodation prices but also the increase in food, drink , restaurant prices which is not reflected in the global inflation increases, it is not in a real comparison on these increases , also the increase of the ‘ tourist tax’ up to approx €4 per person per night is subject to an addition 10 % tax ( proposed ) is incredible and unaffordable for most British tourists coming to Mallorca
“Also the fact that the Balearic government and local population is ‘ anti tourist’ and wants to control the amount of tourists coming into Mallorca therefore increasing the very high prices of accommodation for specific periods in the short summer months the season is open Mallorca is not affordable now for most Brits and losing out to south east Asia countries i.e. , Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia etc. where accommodation is on comparison with hotels in Mallorca in fact I would say in south Asian countries it is much cheaper by as much at 60-70 % per night and also a higher standard in south Asian countries who are an emerging tourist market
“So go ahead Mallorca, bite the hand that has came to this island put so much money into your tourism, infrastructure, government , hoteliers pockets etc etc for the best part of 40 years, us tourists Do Bite Back, and me personally and many hundreds of thousands of tourists have bitten back. As a seasoned traveller to Mallorca it is getting far to expensive and non tourist friendly and every thing is so not worth visiting or holidaying in this island until your Balearic Government and the people of Mallorca realise this.”
That said, although the protest in Soller went largely unnoticed, some foreigners apparently confronted the residents and even called them ‘racist’ for referring to tourists as ‘guiris’. The campaign consists of T-shirts with the slogan ‘Miris on miris, tot són guiris’ (Wherever you look, they’re all gringos*), which includes the image of a typical tourist, leading some to describe the initiative as ‘tourism-phobic’.
The campaign was publicised and sent to the media. In a statement, the residents said that ‘we want to raise awareness of the problems that affect us on a daily basis, with a touch of provocation: we don’t want to have to leave Soller to be able to live with dignity’. They claim that ‘it is not a phobia of visitors, but a matter of survival. Mass tourism is driving us out of our homes. It makes it difficult for us to access housing, displaces us from public spaces, overwhelms basic services and transforms everyday life beyond recognition.’
* Guiri is a word that strictly speaking applies to English-speaking foreigners. It is like 'gringo', but has come to also be applied to northern European tourists or even all foreigners.
