A new campaign has been launched in Majorca warning tourists to respect the island’s coastline, as anger grows over increasingly reckless behaviour in the Mediterranean holiday hotspot. The marine environmental group Arrels Marines has unveiled its “La mar no és teva” (“The sea is not yours”) initiative, urging both visitors and locals to behave responsibly and protect the island’s fragile marine environment.
The campaign has been brought forward this summer after what campaigners describe as a noticeable rise in antisocial behaviour at sea, even before the peak tourist season begins in earnest. Concerns raised include boats anchoring on protected Posidonia seagrass meadows, loud parties in environmentally sensitive areas, swimmers entering restricted zones and the growing use of jet skis and other high-speed craft in crowded waters.
Environmentalists have said these activities are damaging marine ecosystems, posing safety risks to swimmers, and putting increasing pressure on popular coastal areas around Pollensa and Alcudia. The group is urging authorities to step up enforcement and calling on the public to report irresponsible behaviour, warning that Majorca’s coastline is a shared space that must be respected.
They stressed that enjoying the sea and protecting it are not mutually exclusive, but said stronger awareness is urgently needed to prevent further damage, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
The new campaign comes after several years of escalating tensions between locals and holidaymakers on these so-called “booze cruises”. Palma de Mallorca’s City Council previously approved an outright ban on party boats from operating or docking along its main seafront, Passeig Marítim. Any commercial vessel offering organised alcohol packages or disruptive loud music is prohibited from using the city’s essential port infrastructure.
Under wider Balearic laws targeting alcohol-fuelled holidays, party boats have been heavily restricted in designated hot zones, including Magaluf, El Arenal and Sant Antoni in Ibiza. No new licenses are being issued for party boat operators and existing boats are strictly banned from picking up or dropping off passengers within these saturated zones. They are also legally forced to operate much further offshore to shield coastal residents from the noise.
In a similar crackdown to prevent sea congestion and unregulated partying, the Balearic Government issued a decree banning private boat owners from renting out their personal vessels as tourist accommodation or casual party charters. While Spain’s central government tried to legalise peer-to-peer boat rentals nationally, the Balearics successfully fought for an exemption to keep a tight lid on how many boats can commercialise the islands’ waters.
Elsewhere, anti-tourism protestors in Majorca have vowed to bring Palma to a standstill with a massive demonstration planned for July 26. Organised by the group Menys Turisme Mes Vida (“Less Tourism More Life”), the protest aims to highlight how mass tourism has crippled the local housing market and severely degraded living and working conditions for residents.
