Via Menorca convoca un nou acte per a protestar contra la massificació turística i les seves greus conseqüències. Serà el dissabte 28 de desembre a la plaça Conquesta de Maó.
L’illa no fa més que incrementar cada any el nombre de turistes. La creixent pressió humana sobre Menorca incideix negativament sobre els espais emblemàtics, sobre els recursos d’aigua, el consum d’energia o la producció de residus. També pressiona a escala social fent cada vegada més inviable l’accés a l’habitatge, desfent la xarxa comercial dels barris i augmentant els costos de la vida en general.
Però és que resulta que, conforme augmentam el nombre de turistes, va baixant la renda per càpita. Ho diuen les dades. De fet, Balears obtenia més renda per càpita amb un terç dels turistes actuals. És a dir, quan venia una tercera part del que hi ha ara, es repartia molt millor.
Per això, seguir creixent ja només pot voler dir viure cada vegada pitjor. És com un model extractivista que genera diners que no es queden a l’illa i que es va traduint en una pèrdua de qualitat de vida dels residents.
En paral·lel a la degradació de l’illa, aquest 2025, el Consell Insular de Menorca planteja un increment del 45 % en els fons públics destinats a la promoció turística. Mentre retalla en les ajudes al transport públic, mentre no soluciona el tema de l’habitatge, mentre destina diners a canviar el Pla Territorial que ha fet d’aquesta illa un lloc diferenciat per a viure.
La Menorca que es ven a les postals no és la que la gent es troba quan ve. És una imatge enganyosa, basada en el valor que tenen els paisatges que s’han sabut conservar, però que ara s’usen per atreure un excés de gent que ja no aporta riquesa als menorquins.
Des del GOB volem combatre aquesta dinàmica suïcida. Volem que el turisme tengui la dimensió adequada. Per això, us animam a participar de la nova acció de Via Menorca, una campanya de protestes i propostes disposada a recuperar un camí propi, que eviti que l’illa segueixi els errors d’altres indrets.
Dia 28 de desembre es necessita gent per a construir una gràfica humana que mostri a tot el món allò que està passant aquí. Veniu i convidau-hi a qui també desitgi un futur millor per a l’illa i per a les persones que l’habitam.
La cita és el dissabte dia 28 de desembre, a les 10.30 hores, a la Plaça Conquesta de Maó. Ajudau-nos a difondre!
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A quina hora?
La cita és el dissabte dia 28 de desembre, a les 10.30 hores, a la Plaça Conquesta de Maó
Visc a Barcelona, heu pensat alguna acció solidària a distància?
This needs a balanced approach, and this article is somewhat scare mongering and giving a biased view. My family and I first visited Menorca during the summer of 1985. We fell in love with the island and on impulse bought an apartment in Playa de Fornells. We have visited Menorca every year since 1985, with the exception of one year, and following retirement spend four to six months in our Menorca home, subject to EU visa restrictions. We did in fact apply for resident cards before Brexit. Our solicitor, at the time, submitted our applications before Brexit. However, due to a query concerning tax payments, during the May of the following year, instead of fighting our case the solicitor decided to withdraw our application without our permission and did not refund her fees. Needless to say, we now have a new solicitor. We can apply for a Non-Lucrative Vise, but it is more complicated and takes no account of our support for Menorca during the last thirty nine years. Also, if we wish to apply for a full residents visa after five years (which we would) you can only spend ten months within the first five years outside of Spain. This would be fine if we were working but as we are retired, we would want the freedom to travel not only to England but also other European countries. We have seen Menorca grow and mature during this time. Many changes for the good, but some that are not so good, in our opinion. We agree that the level of tourism and cars during the months of July and August has peaked to an unstainable level. In fact, our preference is not to be in our Menorca home during these months.
The pressures of growth mentioned in the first paragraph are not unique to Menorca. These pressures are also having a serious effect in the UK. You make a very general and sweeping statement “the income per capita goes down”. That may apply to tourists, and in particular those that are on all inclusive holidays. Owners of property however not only spend money on food and in restaurants they contribute to the economic multiplier effect. We spend money on household appliances, decoration, renovations, furniture, do it your self supplies, local trades people, painters, builders, gardeners, professional advisors, sailing boat hire, scuba diving …. and the list goes on! You say, “It is like an extractivist model that generates money that does not stay on the island”. This is not correct when it comes to those of us that have had a long-term commitment to Menorca. Our money goes to trades people and shop owners which directly supports the local economy. The housing issue is far more complicated that you say. As an example, we purchased our current home three years ago. When we first saw it, we loved it, but it was over our budget. Eighteen months later it was still on the market, and the owner would not negotiate. Having seen numerous properties which were not right for us we eventually managed to get the money together to buy it. Since then, we have spent a considerable amount of money with local trades people to get it how we want. Therefore, we and many others who own property on Menorca can hardly be classed as summer only tourists and we all add to the island’s economy.
We are not sure if you describe us, and the many people like us, as “tourists”. Currently you paint a very black and white simplified picture. We are totally against mass tourism. Menorca is the jewel in the Mediterranean and it was for this reason, and its unspoilt countryside and coast inline we decided to commit ourselves for the long term. We get disheartened when we read about people trying to avoid planning permissions or want to build bigger mass tourism hotels which are not suitable for Menorca. We have said for a decade or two that Menorca needs to look at a specialist tourist strategy for twelve months of the year. Progress has been made in trying to attract bird watchers, runners, walkers, ramblers, people interested in history and the arts. Quality tourists, and not mass tourism.