A POLITICAL storm has erupted in Mallorca after officials blasted a controversial airport billboard accused of turning the holiday island into a ‘playground for excess.’
The giant advert by payment app Wero, originally written in German and draped across the airport’s main terminal building, carried the slogan: “What happens in Mallorca stays in Mallorca.”
The Balearic Islands’ tourism minister, Jaume Bauza, launched a scathing attack on airport operator Aena on Wednesday, accusing the company of allowing a campaign that glorifies binge drinking and Mallorca’s infamous party culture.
“It is unacceptable that, as we try to promote a more responsible, sustainable tourism model compatible with residents’ lives, Aena should allow campaigns like this on the facade of our airport,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
In the original German, the banner refers to Mallorca as ‘Malle,’ a slang term closely associated with heavy partying on the island.
For years, locals have complained that mass tourism is overwhelming Mallorca, driving up housing costs, crowding beaches and turning some resort areas into around-the-clock party zones.
Anti-tourism protests have surged across Spain in recent summers, with Mallorca becoming one of the movement’s main flashpoint.
Some of the larger protests saw 10,000 demonstrators marching down the island’s streets in May 2024, while another rally in July last year attracted between 12,000 and 50,000 people, according to organisers and officials.
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Protesters carried signs reading ‘Less tourism, more life’ and demanded limits on cruise ships and holiday rentals.
Protest groups also say mass tourism and short-term rentals are driving locals out of the market, with some residents forced to live in caravans or leave the island entirely.
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