A Spanish holiday hotspot has introduced a ban on tourist with no foreigners allowed to drive through the town centre. Soller, a picturesque town popular with British holidaymakers, has introduced rules on driving in the town centre in a bid to reduce congestion.
Now, only residents will be able to drive through the town’s 12 main streets, with hire cars being forced to park further out. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, the Sóller council has implemented new regulations restricting tourist traffic in key urban areas. Under these rules, only vehicles registered to local residents will be allowed to navigate the central streets, while visitors must either park on the outskirts or rely on public transport to explore the town.
The restrictions are part of an experimental low-emission zone being implemented by Soller council. It comes as tourists to Spain face increasing opposition – though this move is unusual.
Malaga recently imposed a three-year freeze on new holiday rental registrations to reduce overcrowding and preserve residential neighbourhoods. Last year, anti-tourism protests swept the country, with Majorca locals carrying banners that read: “Your paradise, our nightmare” and “Tourism yes – but not this much”.
Tourism generates roughly 45% of Majorca’s GDP. This move is part of a larger effort across the Balearic Islands to curb the negative effects of mass tourism. Majorca welcomes millions of visitors each year, sparking growing concerns over rising living costs, housing shortages, and environmental strain. Similar protests against overtourism have erupted in other Spanish destinations, including Tenerife, where locals have voiced frustration over the impact of short-term vacation rentals.
Last summer a number of protests took place including where tourists were sprayed with water. In one event 20,000 protesters have hit the streets of the Mallorcan capital Palma in a huge demonstration against mass tourism.
Banners included ‘Let’s change course and set limits on tourism’, ‘Your luxury, our misery,’, ‘This isn’t tourismophobia, it’s numbers: 1,232,014 residents, 18 million tourists.’
The protests were called by some 80 organisations and social groups who want limits to be placed on excessive tourism in the Balearic Islands, whose main three islands are Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.
They say the current model of tourism has stretched public services to breaking point, harms natural resources and makes local access to housing increasingly difficult.