Thousands of individuals took to the streets of Menorca and Mallorca over the weekend in opposition to mass tourism and overcrowding.

According to a spokesperson from the Spanish National Police, approximately 10,000 individuals participated in a demonstration in Mallorca on Saturday, while a few hundred marched in Menorca.

Posters with messages such as ‘SOS Residents’ and ‘Enough Mass Tourism’ were prominently displayed during the protests.

According to Carme Reines, one of the organisers of the protest in Palma de Mallorca: “We want the authorities to stop people who have not lived here more than five years from buying properties and to put more controls on holiday accommodation.”

Demonstrators argue that holiday rentals are driving up prices for locals, and they attribute the “massification of tourism” to difficulties in accessing housing and managing water resources.

Protesters in Mallorca expressed their wish for regulations that would prevent individuals who have not resided on the island for at least five years from purchasing property. They also called for increased oversight and controls on holiday accommodations, iNews reports.

Tourism makes up around 45% of GDP in the Balearic Islands, according to data from industry organisation Exceltur.

Following Catalonia, the Balearic Islands emerged as the second most visited region of Spain for tourists last year, drawing in 14.4 million holidaymakers, as per data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute.

Moreover, the protests in Menorca and Mallorca coincided with an anti-tourist march in Barcelona, occurring just a day after approximately 1,000 people demonstrated in Ibiza.

According to Rafael Gimenez, a spokesman for Prou Ibiza which organised the protest on Friday: “We want a limit on new tourist places and a ban on more illegal flats.

“With fewer flats around on the market, it pushes up the price.”

Furthermore, in April thousands of people demonstrated against mass tourism throughout the Canary Islands, claiming the region is “not for sale,” Sky News reports.