Published
Mon, Apr 23, 2018, 15:15
- Friday's gathering, organised by local pressure group Prou!, brought 500 people to Ibiza Town.
More than 500 protestors gathered in Ibiza on Friday to voice their concerns about the impact "unlimited, disrespectful and excessive" tourism is having on the island.
The protest, which took place in Ibiza Town's main square, Vara del Rey, was organised by the local pressure group Prou!. Protestors chanted and held placards decrying problems like noise pollution and the privatisation of beaches. It was the first demonstration of its kind against mass tourism, an issue that's currently being debated across the island, according to Diario De Ibiza. Last month, San Antonio council passed a law forcing all clubs and bars on the popular West End strip to shut by 3 AM.
Prou!'s director, Àngels Escandell, read from the group's manifesto on the issue. "They keep telling us again and again that we live from tourism," he said. "But we don't live well—we live badly. We can't call 'living' having to endure the plague of uncontrolled tourism that periodically assaults our island, that initiates the season of deafening music, that brings the psychopaths driving luxury cars and the never-ending traffic jams."
The manifesto continues: "The exorbitant prices of accommodation have forced us to substitute a specialized workforce, doctors, teachers and policemen for DJs and music promoters. We've created a monster that's swallowed up our language and our culture."
Photo credit: Solarpix