In Mallorca, a strict alcohol ban has been in place in certain party zones since May. Offenders can be fined up to €1,500. Locals are organizing to ensure the new rules are enforced.
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00:00It's party time in Mallorca.
00:05Tens of thousands of tourists, mostly Germans, are letting their hair down on the Playa de
00:09Palma, much to the annoyance of neighbors like Luis, as we'll call him to keep him anonymous.
00:17He's lived here for 25 years.
00:22Tourism has totally changed.
00:23It's just one big drinking spree.
00:25We feel powerless.
00:27I have to sleep with earplugs because it's so loud.
00:31The debris from the night's out is in plain sight.
00:34Empty bottles, cans.
00:37Despite the regional government's crackdown on several of the island's party zones, Playa
00:41de Palma has banned drinking on the street or the beach, with fines ranging up to 1,500
00:47euros.
00:49And shops that sell alcohol must close at 9.30 p.m.
00:56Elain Carbonell and Miguel Pascual are fighting for the new rules to be enforced.
01:01They live in the party zone and have joined a neighborhood association to deal with it.
01:10This place is like a theme park.
01:12When the tourists are out on the town, they come lurching through the neighborhoods, fall
01:17down, throw up, urinate in the street.
01:21Everyone does it.
01:26The government has to start penalizing the shops that don't stick to the sales hours.
01:36That's an example of the crap we have to put up with.
01:38I have Germans in my family myself, and I'm ashamed of this behavior.
01:50The party starts in broad daylight.
01:52To the tourists, it's pre-drinking at the beach, even though they've heard about the
01:57alcohol ban.
01:59For us, it's just a classic drinking holiday.
02:04It's a shame not being allowed to drink on the beach right now.
02:07Our first thought was, yeah, let's buy some wine, chill out on the beach somewhere, have
02:11a drink.
02:12But we're not actually allowed to do that.
02:14Then we just bought some bottles and tore down the signs.
02:17I still see people consuming a lot of alcohol here.
02:19And personally, I don't see much of a police presence.
02:25The neighborhood association is disappointed with the authorities.
02:29The noise from the party tourists isn't limited to the street.
02:33The fiesta continues on hotel balconies and in the apartment blocks, because more and
02:38more flats are being rented out to tourists.
02:42We've been hearing that the problem's being dealt with for years now, but the problem
02:45remains.
02:46Nobody really wants to do anything, because tourism brings in money.
02:52We made several requests in writing and by phone to the regional government of the Balearic
02:57Islands, of which Mallorca is the largest.
03:00But we weren't given an interview, nor any information.
03:09Beatriz Cicardini runs a German restaurant.
03:13She's lived on Mallorca for 50 years.
03:15Now, she's ashamed of the behavior of many tourists and senses a change in the atmosphere
03:20between foreigners and locals.
03:23I never used to feel like a foreigner here.
03:25And now, over the last few years, you really are treated like a foreigner, even though
03:29I actually speak perfect Spanish.
03:31Well, I've blonde hair, so I must be a tourist.
03:38Many hotel operators are worried, too.
03:41The chairman of the local hotel association, Pedro Marín, has been fighting for years
03:46to increase hotel quality and with it prices.
03:49They're also trying to deter party tourists by imposing a minimum length of stay.
03:57All these efforts to attract respectable tourists are not enough.
04:01I think you have to sensitize people in their country of origin.
04:06They should come and enjoy the beach that we share with them, and not just claim it
04:10for themselves.
04:11We all have to treat it with care.
04:15And the local population may well start thinning out if something isn't done soon.
04:20Luis no longer wants to put up with the noise.
04:28If it stays like this or gets worse, I need a plan B. I'll have to move away.
04:33I've already thought about moving into my mother's flat.
04:40If more residents follow his example, the party zone on Playa de Palma will soon be
04:45completely in the hands of tourists.