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Date Published: 27/08/2024

Radical anti-tourist group erects fake beach closed signs in Mallorca

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The same group pulled a similar stunt last summer to dissuade holidaymakers from using several beaches in Spain

Radical anti-tourist group erects fake beach closed signs in Mallorca

Self-styled ‘anti-capitalist’ group Caterva is riling up locals and holidaymakers alike once again by posting fake ‘beach closed’ signs at the entrance to several coves in Mallorca in a bid to get rid of tourists.

The signs, along with red tape blocking paths, appeared at several beaches on Sunday August 25, including the secluded white-sand cove of Cala Varques and a small, hidden gem renowned for snorkelling called Cala Petita.

Far from shying away from the controversy surrounding the so-called anti-tourist movement causing waves in Spain, the group posted photos of the signs on social media and explained their motivation:

“New action by Caterva in Manacor. We closed coves for residents’ use and rest. Let’s change course and prioritise life.

"We believe the tourist is part of the machinery and has responsibility for the situation we suffer."

“But the main people responsible are those who own the hotel chains and construction companies and real estate firms.

“They’re the ones we should be pointing our fingers at.”

This same group performed a similar stunt last August, erecting notices on dozens of beaches in Mallorca. The fake billboards warned tourists that the shorelines were closed due to jellyfish infestations, dangerous currents and a number of other bogus reasons. To add insult to injury, assuming holidaymakers don’t speak the language, the notices all had messages below in Catalan letting locals know that the warnings were fake.

One read: “Beach open. Not to jellyfish nor foreigners” while another says: “Come in. The danger is not of a landslide, it is of overcrowding.”

While the latest fake signs have been supported by many locals on social media, just as many users have criticised the move as “ridiculous” and “pathetic”, pointing out that the coves are public spaces and closing them off to members of the public – be they Spanish or foreign – is a violation of the coastal law.

The well-publicised protests on the islands and in mainland Spain have also spread to the north of the country this week, where around 80 locals in the seaside village of Cangas in Galicia blocked three pedestrian crossings to prevent holidaymakers from driving to the beaches.

Cangas resident Esperanza Vega said: “Every summer things get worse.”

Mercedes Villar, president of a local neighbourhood association, added: “This is not tourism-phobia, it’s the right of residents to leave in peace and it’s about protecting ... our security and physical integrity.”

In other news: Anti-tourist banner appears on Costa Blanca beach

Images: Caterva

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