Thousands protest in Spain's Mallorca against mass tourism

By Horaci Garcia

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (Reuters) - Thousands of anti-tourism activists protested in Spain's Palma de Mallorca on Sunday in the latest demonstration against a key industry for the Iberian nation.

Carrying makeshift models of planes and cruise ships, protesters walked through the streets of the capital of Mallorca with posters reading 'no to mass tourism' and 'stop private jets'.

Anti-tourism activists have staged a series of protests this year in Barcelona, and other popular holiday destinations like Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and the Canary Islands, saying visitors drive up housing costs and lead to residents being unable to afford to live in city centres.

About 10,000 protesters took part in the Mallorca demonstration on Sunday, police said.

Some tourists supported the march while others appeared uncomfortable.

Pere Joan Femenia, of Menys Turisme, Mas Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) which organised Sunday's protest in Mallorca, told Reuters protesters wanted less tourists on the island.

"Mass tourism is making it difficult for local people who cannot afford to live on their own island because tourist flats push up prices. Tourists fill up beaches and put a strain on public services in the summer," he said.

"We want to cut mass tourism and to ban non-residents from buying houses which are just used for a few months a year or for speculation."

After Catalonia, the Balearic Islands was the second most popular region of Spain for tourists last year, attracting 14.4 million holidaymakers, the Spanish National Statistics Institute said.

Tourism generates 45% of the Balearic Islands' gross domestic product, according to data from Exceltur, an industry organisation.

In the first quarter of this year, 16.1 million people visited Spain, an increase of 18% compared with the same period last year.

Visitors spent 109 billion euros ($118.56 billion) in Spain last year, versus 63.5 billion euros in France.

($1 = 0.9194 euros)

(Reporting by Graham Keeley, additional reporting by Catherine Macdonald and Horaci Garcia; Editing by Susan Fenton)