PALMA – Hundreds of travellers occupied the roads of Palma (Mallorca) with their motorhome last Saturday. They protest against the fact that there are not enough camping and overnight places. In addition, they no longer want to be treated as “criminals”.
About 300 motorhome visitors indicated with their actions that they see themselves as quality tourism. “They treat us like criminals. We would not consume anything and leave a lot of waste behind. But they are the irresponsible, the rulers who, out of ignorance or passivity, do nothing to improve our situation,” explains José Antonio de los Ríos to Diario de Mallorca. He is one of the protesters and has been travelling with his RV for 17 years.
Also read: What do you need to know before travelling through Spain with your campervan?
During the protest, which lasted about 40 minutes, all kinds of banners could be seen hanging from the windows of the campers. This called for “motorhome sites yes, prisons no”, “for the rights of motorhomes” and “regulation yes, banned no, quality tourism”.
Mallorca with the most restrictions for motorhome tourism
According to the demonstrators, Mallorca is the point in Spain with the most restrictions on motorhome tourism. “We are not welcome from Pollença to Son Serra de Marina. A large number of posted signs constantly point this out to us, even though we can park our vehicles legally everywhere,” complains camper owner Javier Fuster. According to the demonstrators, this would make the situation for them on the island “unsustainable” and “unjust”.
As for the specific measures, campers are demanding more places to spend the night, with a stay limit of 72 hours. They also ask for more water filling and emptying points since, as they explain, there is only one on the island, specifically in Palma.
“We also do tourism, at a weekend we can spend around €200, and not just in a shop. But we ran into the big problem, the hoteliers, who determine everything. Each time there are more of us and we are stronger, before we were six or seven and now we are 300. We will fight for our rights, for campers, a way of life,” said Carlos Neves.
