By Francine Wolfisz
07:35 09 July 2024, updated 08:23 09 July 2024
- British tourists were seen fighting at Ibiza airport
- The scenes could inflame islanders already angered by anti-social tourists
- Did you witness the airport brawl? Email david.averre@mailonline.co.uk
British tourists have been caught on camera brawling brutally outside Ibiza Airport in broad daylight in shocking scenes that could further inflame tensions with Spanish residents.
The two-minute video, taken Monday at the international airport, shows a group of about 10 men gathering just outside an exit marked “arrivals,” with one passenger in a gray top and shorts appearing unsteady on his feet.
He starts shoving the other members of the group before one in the green shirt tries to stop the man by giving him a protective hug.
But the tourist suddenly pushes another man and aggressively chases him.
Another man, dressed in black, leaps forward and leads the passenger away while holding his friend in tow.
They are eventually freed when the passenger in the gray t-shirt yells at the man and they eventually part ways.
The disturbing footage was taken just days after thousands of protesters marched through Barcelona on Saturday, waving banners and spraying holidaymakers with water pistols in the latest expression of anger over perceived over-tourism in Spain.
Under the motto “Enough! Let’s cut tourism,” police said, as about 2,800 people marched along Barcelona’s waterfront to demand a new economic model that would cut the millions of tourists who visit the country each year.
Anger has also spilled over to the Balearic Islands, with fury at its highest in Ibiza, considered one of the most popular tourist destinations.
In May, fed up with decades of anti-social behavior that includes drinking, vomiting, fighting, drug use, nighttime (and broad daylight) sex on the beach and the hospitalization of the mostly British visitors who come each year, the Balearic government enacted a crackdown. .
From May 11, they banned the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am in three party zones in Mallorca – Magaluf, Palma and Llucmajor – and in San Antonio, Ibiza.
The new rules also ban street drinking and buying alcohol from grocery stores after 8.30pm – with fines of up to €1,500 (£1,350) or up to €3,000 (£2,550) for more serious breaches of behaviour.
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Drink limits have also been introduced at all-inclusive hotels in the notorious tourist hubs of El Arenal, Playa de Palma in Mallorca and Sant Antoni in Ibiza in a bid to crack down on reckless drunken behaviour.
Party boats are not allowed to sail on the beaches and all bars must close by 3am.
The introduction of a controversial tourist tax to control the flow of visitors was also discussed.
In Barcelona on Saturday, protesters carried signs saying “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists go home” before some used water pistols on tourists eating outside at restaurants in popular tourist hotspots.
Chants of “Tourists from our neighborhood” broke out as some stopped in front of hotel entrances.
The rising cost of living in Barcelona, which has risen by 68 percent over the past decade, is one of the main concerns of the movement, along with the effects of tourism on local business and working conditions in the city of 1.6 million people.
Rents rose 18% in June from a year earlier in tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, according to real estate website Idealista.
For years, the city has sported anti-tourist graffiti with messages such as “tourists go home” aimed at visitors who are blamed for rising prices and shaping the economy around tourists.
“Local stores are closing to make way for stores that don’t serve the needs of neighborhoods. People can’t afford their rent,” said Isa Miralles, a 35-year-old musician who lives in the Barceloneta neighborhood.
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“I have nothing against tourism, but here in Barcelona we suffer from an excess of tourism that makes our city unviable,” said 70-year-old sociologist Jordi Guiu.
Similar demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks in such tourist spots as Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and the Canary Islands.
At the end of May, one such protest took place in Ibiza.
Up to 1,000 protesters marched against mass tourism amid a backlash against drunken British holidaymakers.
Activists held up banners reading “We don’t want an island of cement” and “Tourism yes, but not like this” as they gathered outside the island’s council headquarters.
The organizers of the demo in Ibiza, a group called Prou Eivissa – which literally means “Enough of Ibiza”, met the president of Ibiza, Vicente Mario, before taking to the streets.
Among the protesters’ demands are a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in the summer and a ban on the use of taxpayers’ cash to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination.
Ahead of the protest, organizers said: “Our beautiful island is in danger. Tourist crowds affect not only our quality of life, but also the beauty and authenticity that make Ibiza such a special place.
“Tourist overcrowding makes the cost of living unaffordable for many residents.
“We are fighting for an Ibiza where we can all live with dignity. It’s time to raise our voices and protect our home.”
A spokesman for Pro Eivissa said: “We don’t want any tourism, but we want a different tourism.
“We want some checks. We want our beautiful island back.”
According to the National Statistics Office, 85 million foreign visitors will visit Spain in 2023, which is 18.7 percent more than the previous year.
The most visited region was Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona with 18 million, followed by the Balearic Islands (14.4 million) and the Canary Islands (13.9 million).