Mallorca graffiti, taxes rising

Mallorca’s anti-tourism graffiti is spreading just as Europe is making many of its busiest destinations more expensive to visit. (majorcadailybulletin.com) (cda.ve.it) New graffiti appeared in Palma in late March, and other slogans surfaced in February in highly visible parts of the island, including messages such as “Mallorca no està en venda,” or “Mallorca is not for sale.” Local reports tied the timing to Easter and the start of the main travel season. (majorcadailybulletin.com) (ultimahora.es) Mallorca entered Easter 2026 with about 92 percent of its hotel stock open and an average occupancy forecast near 70 percent, according to the Mallorca Hotel Business Federation. In some towns, hotels were expected to run much fuller, echoing earlier Easter periods when parts of the island were already near peak-season levels. (ultimahora.es) (majorcadailybulletin.com) The local dispute is centered less on beaches than on housing. Protesters and neighborhood groups have linked visitor growth and short-term rentals to higher rents, while Palma has already moved to ban new tourist rentals, youth hostels and party boats under a wider crackdown announced in October 2025. (euronews.com) (majorcadailybulletin.com) Balearic officials have argued the peak season is already “practically” at its limit, but the regional government backed away in February from treating a higher tourist tax as necessary. That left enforcement against illegal accommodation and restrictions on new supply as the more immediate policy tools. (majorcadailybulletin.com 1) (majorcadailybulletin.com 2) Elsewhere in Europe, governments are moving in the opposite direction on price. Venice restarted its access fee on April 3, 2026, for day-trippers entering the historic city on selected peak days, with the official portal listing a 2026 season that begins in April and runs on designated dates through summer. (cda.ve.it) (cda.veneziaunica.it) Barcelona’s higher tourist tax took effect on April 1, 2026. Catalan News reported that visitors in Barcelona now face charges as high as 12 euros per person per night in luxury hotels, up from 7.50 euros, with lower but still higher rates across the rest of Catalonia. (catalannews.com) Greece raised its Climate Crisis Resilience Fee from January 1, 2025, on hotels, rooms to let and short-term rentals, with the tax authority saying the charge is collected through accommodation providers and remitted monthly. The fee replaced the older stayover tax and was framed as funding disaster preparedness and response after repeated fires and floods. (aade.gr) (news.gtp.gr) Mallorca’s graffiti and Europe’s rising visitor levies point at the same pressure point: destinations still want tourism revenue, but more of them are trying to cap, redirect or charge for the crowds that arrive. In Palma, that fight is showing up on walls before it shows up in another tax bill. (majorcadailybulletin.com) (catalannews.com)