- The managers of Cala Major are charging up to £60 a day to use facilities
- Locals are furious with the move, and say they are being priced out
- Tensions between holidaymakers and locals flared over the weekend
Sunbathers have been left in shock after a Majorca beach revealed it was charging holidaymakers up to £60 a day to use beach facilities.
Cala Major, a public beach in Palma, on the island of Majorca, is charging up to €70 (£60) per day to use premium facilities, including luxury deckchairs and beach umbrellas.
A normal set of two deckchairs and an umbrella would still set back a holidaymaker €25.50, or just under £22, for an entire day.
Lawyer Toni Bennàssar, who shared a picture of the signs showing the extortionate prices at Cala Major, said that the move would price out regular Majorcans.
‘[The City Council of Palma] has guaranteed that Majorcans occupy the beaches for as little time as possible, so that they remain unoccupied for foreigners who can pay these prices’, he wrote on X.
Cala Major, a public beach in Palma, on the island of Majorca, is charging up to €70 (£59) per day to use premium facilities
A tourist enjoys the weather at Magaluf beach
Last month, Palma’s ruling political party, the People’s Party, was criticised for extending private businesses’ right to monopolise public beach space (File image)
Last month, Palma’s ruling political party, the People’s Party, was criticised for extending private businesses’ right to monopolise public beach space until at least April 2025.
Neus Truyol, a spokesperson for the Més per Palma party, told local media that Cala Major ‘has been affected by the massive placement of sunbeds and umbrellas, leaving no space for the fundamental right to enjoy the beach without paying.’
He added: ‘We demand that the PP inspect the occupation of sunbeds and umbrellas in Cala Major.
‘We cannot subject the entire beach to the private tourist business.’
Tensions between locals and holidaymakers flared over the weekend, when thousands of anti-tourism protesters paraded through the streets of Majorca, booing and jeering at foreign visitors in the first of many mass demonstrations planned by furious activist groups.
An estimated 15,000 locals joined the protest that snaked through the capital Palma and headed for Weyler Square, where holidaymakers were out in force for dinner and drinks.
Protesters hold a banner reading ‘Mallorca is not for sale’ during a demonstration to protest against the massification of tourism and housing prices
Protesters carrying banners with anti-tourism slogans and banging drums gathered in the centre of the capital Palma
An estimated 15,000 locals joined the protest that snaked through the capital Palma and headed for Weyler Square, where holidaymakers were out in force for dinner and drinks
Protesters shout at shocked holidaymakers enjoying dinner and drinks in Palma
Marchers were heard chanting ‘Tourists go home’ as they passed through the central square on the 20-minute route from a nearby park, carrying banners emblazoned with the message: ‘Salvem Mallorca, guiris arruix’ which in Catalan Spanish means ‘Let’s save Majorca, foreigners out’.
The colloquial expression ‘Guiri’ is used to describe the likes of British holidaymakers renowned for partying and heavy drinking, typically in a mildly offensive way.
Another placard said in Catalan: ‘Wherever you look, they’re all guiris.’
The Palma protest was organised by Banc del Temps, a group which hails from the inland Majorcan town of Sencelles and is outraged by the struggles locals face in affording homes on the island due to the higher prices owners can get for holiday rentals.
Following Saturday’s protest, Banc del Temps spokesman Javier Barbero issued a chilling warning.
‘This is just the start of things. If measures aren’t taken we will continue taking to the streets until we see action.’
