Brit living in Mallorca reveals what locals really think about tourists after protests
A Brit living in Mallorca has taken to TikTok to debunk myths about the Spanish tourist protests, revealing how locals really feel about visitors.
A British expat in Mallorca has taken to TikTok to dispel myths surrounding the anti-tourism sentiment in Spain.
In recent months, a wave of anti-tourism demonstrations have swept across popular Spanish holiday spots, both on the mainland and the Balearic Islands.
The discontent has manifested in slogans such as "tourists go home" scrawled on walls in English, while in Mallorca residents have marched with banners proclaiming: "Your paradise is our nightmare." The protests have been focused on the surge in rent prices in Spain, due to properties being snapped up for tourist rentals.
Ottilie Quince, a British cyclist who has clinched 11 world titles at the World Transplant Games, runs a bicycle shop in Mallorca and shares her takes on island life via her TikTok account (@ottilieq).
In two recent posts, Ottilie tackled queries about the attitude of Mallorcans towards tourists, countering the perception that locals despise them.
"What's happening is, prices are increasing for rent of properties, and bills, and obviously everything else," she said. "But wages aren't increasing, so [for] local people - myself included - it's getting more and more tricky to actually live here.
"It's not that people really hate tourists - they don't. Tourism brings a great deal of money here to the island, and without the tourists we wouldn't have a huge chunk of money here."
Ottilie did highlight one aspect of tourism that locals find distasteful - the alcohol-induced chaos. She said: "The other part of it is - and this has been happening for years, and it's not just the Brits, the Germans are just as bad - but it's the vulgar behaviour of tourists.
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"The getting absolutely smashed, p*ssing up walls, being loud, just not being nice. Just not being respectful. And I think they [the locals] have had enough."
In response to the clips, a local resident said in agreement: "There is no problems.... the tourists are more than welcome. What we don't like is the tourists that don't respect the place where they are."
Another individual commented: "Me and my friend came on a city break to Palma in June was lovely no issues at all."
