Spain says 'enough' to UK tourists as Menorca bans them 12 hours a day

Spain says 'enough' to UK tourists as Menorca bans them 12 hours a day
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Spain has said "enough" to overtourism as Menorca issues a BAN on tourists in some parts of the island at certain times of day. European Union critics have slammed overtourism and overcrowding in holiday hotspots, demanding action.

Binibeca Vell has agreed on specific visiting hours to help regulate the flow of tourists. From now on, tourists are unable to visit Binibeca from 10pm to 10am, giving locals 12 hours of respite from the crowds.

“We get about 800,000 tourists every year. And for a town this small, that's a lot of people. The streets are very small. They're very narrow,” a local told France24. “So we decided we're closing the village from 10pm until 10am so that people at least can relax during the evening. And you don't get people visiting at night, waking up everybody around.”

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“The tourists we receive today have a huge impact on our lives tomorrow,” a second said. “A large number of tourists are no longer content to come to Menorca on holiday and leave again. Many of them really want to come and live here and own a house on the island,” he went on.

“And a lot of people don't even use it for 11 months,” he adds. The village can't have "busload after busload" of tourists coming in "without any kind of regulation," others have said. It's not only Binibeca Vell that is affected by overtourism.

Last year, a record 17.8 million people visited the Balearic Islands, both from Spain and abroad. At the end of May, several million people hit the streets of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza -- the three main Balearic islands -- to demand steps to limit overtourism under the slogan: "Our islands are not for sale".

The area welcomes 18 million tourists a year - while having a population of just 1.2 million inhabitants.