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Ibiza puts limit on certain holidaymakers as anti-tourist sentiment grows
The popular island will limit the amount of cruise ships allowed to dock in the port
A POPULAR holiday destination has put a limit on holidaymakers as anti-tourist sentiment on the island continues.
Authorities in Ibiza have implemented new regulations for cruise ships docking on the party island.
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The new regulations mean that no more than two cruises are allowed to dock at the same time, with the Council of Mayors announcing the new limit.
The Council of Mayors, who announced the plan, has agreed to speak with the Balearic Port Authority so it can assess the annual schedule of cruise ship arrivals in Ibiza.
The officials also proposed to discuss a more “controlled” and “planned” schedule of arrivals.
The president of Ibiza’s council, Vicent Marí Torres, said that while the island is not against the arrival of tourists on cruise ships, better planning needs to be carried out to ensure overcrowding does not affect their residents.
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He told the : "When the arrival of more than two cruises occurs simultaneously, the port and transport services collapse, which generates a problem in Ibiza town."
"We are not against the arrival of cruises but we ask that it occurs in a more orderly and planned way.
"This lack of planning affects both the residents, who suffer this saturation at the time of arrival and tourists who take a bad image of their stay."
Ibiza is not the first Spanish island to limit the arrival of cruise ships, Majorca introduced a cap of three cruise ships per day last year.
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Ibiza previously logged a record number of cruise ship passengers arriving on the island in 2023.
Data analysis from the non-profit revealed that a total of 548,969 cruise passengers docked at the island in 2023.
This was an 86 per cent increase on the 295,468 passengers registering their arrival in 2022 and surpassed pre-Covid numbers.
Meanwhile, anti-tourist zealots have carried out protests and campaigns on several Spanish hot-spot destinations.
It comes as locals in Majorca have put up fake beach closure signs in a new bid to hold back holidaymakers.
And in a separate action residents of a picture-postcard village caused traffic chaos by walking back and forth across zebra crossings in a half-hour demo to thwart frustrated visitors trying to reach the coast.
The separately organised protests, which took place more than 850 miles apart, showed the depth and breadth of the campaigns targeting tourists.
A protest group called Caterva was behind the fake beach closures in Manacor in eastern Majorca on Saturday.
The fed-up group put up red tape and signs at several coves saying "Beach Closed".
They include the secluded white-sand cove Cala Varques and a "hidden" cove renowned for snorkelling called Cala Petita.
Caterva said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “New action by Caterva in Manacor. We closed coves for residents’ use and rest. Let’s change course and prioritise life.
"We believe the tourist is part of the machinery and has responsibility for the situation we suffer."
“But the main people responsible are those who own the hotel chains and construction companies and real estate firms.
“They’re the ones we should be pointing our fingers at.”
In Menorca, fed-up locals will hold a referendum on banning tourists in the latest blow to holidaymakers.
Residents in Binibeca Vell, dubbed "Spain's Mykonos", say they are tired of being "trapped" inside their homes as selfie-seeking influencers take over their village.
Locals had previously said they did not want any visitors roaming around their private roads before 11am and after 8pm.
They even resorted to chaining up all 22 entrances to the village in a desperate bid to keep tourists away.
Now, they will take matters one step further with all 195 residents voting on Friday on whether to completely ban all tourists from Binibeca Vell.
The anti-tourist sentiment has also spread to another popular Brit holiday hot spot.
The sunny Greek capital, home to the iconic Parthenon has seen an increase in bitter graffiti messages urging tourists to "go home" - similar to the ones that have appeared in Spain in the past weeks.
Furious locals took to the streets in Athens to protest over the hordes of tourists flocking to the city last month.
Demonstrations over the growing number of tourists in the capital have been happening since last year - with incidents of vandalism and arson in some cases.
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But new anti-tourism graffiti has been sprayed onto walls across the city with one reading: "Tourists Go Home! Greek State Kills".
Another disturbing graffiti shows two "Airbnb" towers in flames with the caption: "Tourists Enjoy Your Stay In The Cemetery Of Europe".
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Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots
A WAVE of anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe to curb mass tourism in popular holiday hotspots.
Overcrowding has become the main problem in many sunny destinations, with authorities trying to find a solution to keep tourists and locals happy.
Officials have attempted to reduce the impact of holidaymakers by implementing additional taxes on tourists, or banning new hotels.
Earlier this year Venice became the first city in the world to charge an entry fee for holidaymakers after it started charging day-trippers €5 (£4.30) if visiting the historical Italian centre.
It was followed by an area in Barcelona which resorted to removing a well-used bus route from Apple and Google Maps to stop crowds of tourists from using the bus.
Meanwhile, San Sebastián in the north of Spain, limited the maximum number of people on guided visits to 25 to avoid congestion, noise, nuisance and overcrowding.
The city has already banned the construction of new hotels.
The Spanish government has allowed restaurants to charge customers more for sitting in the shade in Andalucia.
Benidorm has introduced time restrictions, as swimming in the sea between midnight and 7am could cost a whopping £1,000.
The Canary Islands are also considering adopting measures to regulate the number of visitors - and charge tourists a daily tax.
Greece has already enforced a tourist tax during the high season (from March to October) with visitors expected to pay from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night, depending on the booked accommodation.
Officials in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia want to introduce a fee for travellers to remind people to be courteous during their trips.
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