I think it funny that there’s an assumption in this thread that these posters are aimed at U.S. tourists when visitors from the U.K. outnumber the Americans by a factor of six to one.
this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2023
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People in this threat also don't seem to realize how the island of Mallorca is full of foreigners, even some just living there, but nobody speaking Spanish. In fact it's probably easier to get around with German or English in the touristic parts of Mallorca.
This is not about some poor US tourist who wasn't good enough in school back home to learn Spanish. It's about huge crowds of rowdy UK and German tourists who go to "Malle" every year for partying and getting piss drunk without any consideration of the locals.
To be fair, they spent years encouraging that kind of tourism and are no annoyed that they've got to popular. As the article points out it represents 75% of their economic activity so they'd be buggered if everyone just said, fine we'll go somewhere else then.
Nah, not really. They want to change from party tourism, which is concentrated on one small area to a more distributed culture tourism. Those tourist spend twice as much and not only in the big clubs but on small shops all around the island. So they have a plan and it makes sense.
Sounds like the role of the government to shape the tourist visa availability
Spain is in the EU, so no visa necessary for tourists.
Sounds like the government needs to reconsider that
So Spain should leave the EU?
Obviously not. Why would the only options be zero tourism controls or leave the EU?
So many people here can only consider black and white, it's such limited thinking.
How do you "control" tourism?
Visas, residency/rental restrictions, curfews, noise ordinances, non local surcharges, resident member beaches (membership fulfilled by residency), or a hundred other things
Edit: example: in palm springs, you cannot have any outdoor music or elevated noise as a non resident.
If you do, you can be evicted from your rental same day
Visas only work for UK tourists side they aren't in the EU; Spain and Germany are both in the Schengen Zone so there isn't even a border to check for passports. Also, because Spain is in the EU, it may not be legal for them to provide pricing that discriminates between locals and EU tourists.
You can try to restrict the rental supply or make the area not as fun for tourists, but you can't just put up a border unless you want to leave the EU.
Good thing I didn't say "put up a border" then huh 🤔.
How do visas work without a border?
Hotels and rentals require they are filled out, either there, or ahead of time.
Visas are the permission a government gives to non-citizens to enter their borders. This competency has been given to the EU to manage as part of the Schengen Area, which is a visa-free zone for all EU citizens.
How is a group of towns going to start restricting access to their communities without seeing up a border?
And why would a German doesn't need a visa to visit Spain, why would a hotel ask for something they don't have?
When I, as an American, arrive at a hotel or rental in Mexico, I must present, or at that time process a visa entry form. That and my passport are logged by the provider.
One can assume they file that form with the government.
If I try to book further stays, beyond the allowable limit, the booking would be blocked, and I would be in trouble with the government / informed I need to leave promptly.
Think more flexibly dude, other places are already handling this.
Because you are so rigid in your thinking, let's drop the word "visa" and construct a new idea (uh oh!) And call it a "tourism allowance"
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One time I went to a bar in Mallorca, asked "dos cervezas, por favor" and the guy went: "Was? Zwei bier??"
It was surreal to realise that nobody there actually spoke any Spanish. Outside of the tourist traps Mallorca still has some authenticity here and there but it's like the locals just hide in the shadows for the most part.
Are you counting by individuals or by volume?
(sorry)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Spain
No worries. There’s a chart on the Wikipedia page above. The U.K. boasts over 18 million tourists per year while the U.S. is just over 3 million.
I'm surprised there's that many Americans tbh, I wouldn't have thought it would be on their radar, I think of Mallorca as a package holiday destination for Western Europeans.
The tourism figures were for the totality of visitors to Spain, not to Mallorca specifically.
Ahhh ok that makes more sense. They probably tend to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Granada etc.
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Lol but the gap is closing, US is 36 % obese and uk 27%.
Seems a bit racist and xenophobic to me, not to mention the undermining of the societal trust that is required for warning signs to work at all.
Yea especially when tourists often don't know about the local risks. Warning signs are mostly for people who aren't from a particular area
Don't want a 'boy who cried wolf' situation
On the flip side tourists are making entire regions unlivable for the natives through exploitation of economical inequality.
The local government sought this out via policy, now they need to undo it.
If you tell people "this is a great place to party" they're gonna, and they're not gonna go home when you're ready for bed.
100% But that could certainly be ameliorated through proper Spanish governmental policy no?
The latter really jumped out at me. I've definitely heard more than once "These careless tourists just ignored the signs!"
ITT apparently everyone thinks Mallorca is in Mexico
ITT people who didn't click on the article and understand that this was produced as a humourous way of promoting the campaign against overtourism, which is a significant issue in the Balearics.
Under an image of a swimmer surrounded by jellyfish, it reads: “Open beach. Not to jellyfish or foreigners.”
Another, this one apparently related to a rockfall, points out that there is no landslide but that the danger is due to overcrowding.
sewage contamination in the water
Just like home!
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