Daniela Otero is the interim president of the UN World Tourism Group’s ethics committee. She has lived nearly her total life in Mallorca. Reflecting on current protests, she insists there’s no “tourismphobia”. “Neither is there a common rejection of vacationers, as some attempt to make out, however moderately concern a few scenario that’s shared by cities in Europe, Asia and America.”
The protests in Palma, she argues, are an expression of an issue that has existed for years however which is now knocking on the door of political leaders extra loudly than ever.
“What can’t be performed is to disregard what is occurring,” she stresses, on the similar time criticising sensationalist reporting by the overseas media. This reduces the messages to headlines of the sort which state that Mallorca and the Balearics are sick of vacationers.
“We should get away from these stereotypes; they do not do any good. And protests within the streets shouldn’t be trivialised by saying that the issue is being politicised in Mallorca.”
In her view, the islands don’t have to repeat fashions for coping with overtourism which might be being utilized elsewhere, even when these might function inspiration. She is just not in favour of a tourism lower however advocates an growth of infrastructures by way of consensual planning primarily based on knowledge.
Residents should be key members of this consensus. Governments ought to due to this fact do the whole lot potential to contain them in decision-making. “We should combine the residents into the processes of change which might be as essential as these.”
