A dozen groups, ranging from environmental activists to anti-tourism campaigners, have issued a joint statement urging the Council of Mallorca and the Spanish government to cancel this year’s edition of the Mallorca 312 sportive, arguing that the event’s “abusive” road closures violate the “fundamental rights” of locals to leave their homes, while also harming the environment and “intensifying” tourist overcrowding.
First held in 2010, the Mallorca 312 is the Spanish island’s flagship cycling event, with 8,500 cyclists from all over the world signed up to take part in next month’s 15th edition, which sold out in minutes, according to the organisers.
Originally conceived as a full lap of an island that has become a cycling haven in recent decades, the event’s increasing popularity means it is now based primarily in Mallorca’s mountainous north, offering three routes (312km, 225km, and 167km) on completely closed roads through the scenic and challenging Serra de Tramuntana range.
However, ahead of this year’s event, which will be held on Saturday 26 April, 12 local groups have called on the Council of Mallorca and the Spanish government’s representatives in the Balearic Islands to suspend the Mallorca 312 until a review has been carried out to assess its “public interest”, based on societal and environmental criteria.
The joint statement was issued by a range of residents’ groups, anti-tourism initiatives, including the Alternative for Pollença and the Less Tourism More Life platform, and environmental associations, such as the Youth for Climate Mallorca and Son Bonet Green Lung.
In the statement, the groups criticised the lengthy road closures associated with the sportive, as well as the organising team’s argument that the Mallorca 312’s late-April date helps to “de-seasonalise” tourism on the island, claiming instead that “the reality is that it intensifies the tourist overcrowding that we already suffer in the spring”.
“Once again, many residents will be seriously affected, with travel restricted for several hours – up to seven in some cases – if these coincide with the race route,” the groups said.
“In addition, as has happened in previous editions, there will be residents who will find themselves faced with the violation of a fundamental right: that of entering or leaving their homes due to the road closures imposed for this event.”
The groups also claimed that, while the Mallorca 312 enables locals to take part, the event has largely been conceived as a “tourist business”.
“It enriches certain businessmen through the abusive use of common goods, such as roads, created to guarantee the mobility and communication of people, and not because they are appropriate for a private activity with a profit motive,” the groups continued.
The statement accused the Council of Mallorca of allowing the island to be turned into “a theme park that leads us towards collapse” and of “violating the fundamental rights of residents to favour this tourist business”.
The groups argue that, unlike local bike races or other festivals, the Mallorca 312 “does not respond to any social need or general interest. On the contrary, it generates a negative impact on the environment, favours a tourist sector that lives at the expense of the territory and resources, and harms the wellbeing of Mallorca’s residents”.
> Indoor vs Outdoor: taking on the Mallorca 312
The statement concluded by requesting the local authorities to “not authorise the race until a rigorous and strict evaluation of the public interest has been carried out based on social and environmental criteria.
“In addition, this evaluation should guarantee respect for free circulation on foot and by bicycle, access to work, the protection of the health and common wellbeing of residents, above the interests of the tourism business.”
And, if the sportive does indeed go ahead as planned next month, the groups called for a compromise deal that would “avoid the total closure of the roads affected by the race, while allowing residents to travel on foot or by bicycle”, and “minimise the time the roads are closed and ensure that, under no circumstances, it exceeds two consecutive hours”.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Mallorca’s reputation as a hotspot for cycling tourism has come under fire from angry locals.
Last July, we reported that 10,000 people attended an anti-tourism protest in the island’s capital of Palma, calling for action against a sector that brings hundreds of millions of euros to the local economy, but which residents claim is driving up house and rental prices, and raising the cost of living.
“There will be no more regattas, tomorrow is the last cruise,” the protesters chanted in unison during the demonstration.
“Goodbye rental cars, goodbye rat businesses. Houses will be cheap and we won’t see more cyclists. We will plough the highways, the hotels will be empty and so the world will understand that there are too many tourists.”
12 thoughts on “Calls for Mallorca 312 cycling event to be cancelled over “abusive” road closures which “violate” locals’ rights to “enter or leave their homes” and turn island into a “theme park””
short sighted by some grumpy
short sighted by some grumpy locals. Cycling tourism leaves incredible amounts of money with very little environmental impact compared to e.g. cruise ships and in fact many locals are cyclists themselves. Perhaps i live in a bubble but most locals i know are big fans of cycling and its the locals that overtake with proper distance, do not honk at cyclists and drive carefully.
its the rental cars that disrespect the cyclists and create most traffic jams in summer.
Great event, would be a shame if a bunch of angry anti tourism activitists ruin the fun. The route was already adapted to make it less intrusive years ago.
> “avoid the total closure of
Hang on, are residents not allowed to cross the closed roads on foot?
It’s the usual thing: ask
It’s the usual thing: ask whether there would be the same protests if this was for a half marathon, or a motor vehicle race, etc. Pretty sure that there wouldn’t.
Not sure that’s true in this
Not sure that’s true in this case. As noted in the article, there’ve been protests there against all kinds of tourism recently, not just the cyclists.
I haven’t been to Mallorca
I haven’t been to Mallorca since I was a child, a long way back in the last century, and I’m sure there are plenty of downsides to the tourism there; living in one of the most visited tourist capitals of the world I know the temptation to wish that there weren’t any around. However, apparently tourism accounts for 45% of Majorca’s GDP and 35% of its employment, that’s a heck of a shortfall to make up if you get rid of all the tourists, especially the affluent, high-spending ones which is what cyclists coming to this sort of event would tend to be.
I live a few miles down the
I live a few miles down the road from a ski resort and the resulting traffic and trash is awful when it is open. I can totally understand the local’s frustration. If organizers are going to get community buy-in they have to minimize disruption. 99% of the locals do not directly benefit from the event and, apparantly, only 35% benefit indirectly.
Terry Hutt wrote:
Well, plenty to pick out of that…firstly and most obviously, if you live down the road from a ski resort that will be months and months of it being open, not a one-day event as this ride is. The majority of the traffic for that one day will be people on bikes, and nobody seems to have mentioned any problems with trash, so not sure that there’s any comparison between your troubles and this situation. In terms of the wider picture, 35% of the locals work in tourism, so presumably the influx of a large cohort of riders all needing food and accomodation will benefit them directly in terms of providing work and profit, and as for indirect benefits, with 45% of the island’s GDP coming from tourism, and so a huge proportion of its tax revenue, of course everyone will benefit indirectly, less tourism = less income = either higher taxes for the locals or cutbacks in local services.
Of course they don’t. Thats
Of course they don’t. Thats society. I don’t benefit from care homes. I don’t benefit from schools or the horrendous traffic that parents create dropping their little darlings off 200+ days a year. Its a single day and if people don’t like it, suck it up. I don’t run but I am happy that running events happen in the UK. They close plenty of roads for them as well. Perhaps people should embrace these things rather than being miserable about them. Then again, they probably wouldn’t be whinging so much if they weren’t miserable.
I have a lot of time for the locals of these places when it comes to the bad sides of tourism but these event are largely very well supported, attended, short and the world would suck if we let vocal minorities kill large scale events like this. The issue isn’t tourists, its the governments of these places who place short term profits for them and their mates over the long term sustainability and health of their country.
You don’t benefit from
You don’t benefit from schools? You’ve never seen a doctor, a dentist, a teacher, didn’t go to school yourself and don’t care about the tax paying abilities of your country? Just want to check that I understand your point.
I don’t think you have. I
I don’t think you have. I think their point was:
Just because something doesn’t benefit you personally isn’t a reason not to do it. There are lots of things that we agree to do ‘for the public good’, even though they don’t benefit everyone individually (for example, care homes, schools, etc.)
I’ve done the 312 and other
I’ve done the 312 and other closed roads events like the Etape Caledonia and each time there is bad press like this in advance but on the day the residents are great. The NIMBY’s probably aren’t even affected, they just hate cyclists. A special shout out goes to the farmer on the 312 about 130miles in who saved my life (metaphorically) with his oranges that got me to the finish.
I’ve done the 167 course a
I’ve done the 167 course a couple of times and it is a great ride. The marketing stuff gives the value added to the local economy through this ride and even allowing for marketing exageration it’s a significant amount. I got the impression it was well supported by the people on the route, who were out in force both times clapping, cheering and banging on saucepans. Like you, HLaB, I was also rescued on one of the rides by a family sat on the wall outside their house giving out free bottles of water. I think the protests are political rather than locally fueled.