The anti-tourism campaign moves from signs to property damage

Spain's Guardia Civil arrested two activists in Mallorca on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in an anti-mass-tourism campaign that escalated into property damage at five real estate agencies in Santa Maria del Camí on May 31. The two women are linked to the group 'Menys Turisme, més vida', which has been ramping up its protests with graffiti, stickers, and now, according to the Civil Guard, vandalism.

Police raided their homes and seized electronic devices. The suspects are being questioned at the Marratxí station, and the investigation is ongoing, with more arrests possible.

My take: it's one thing to criticize the tourism model, but when you go from holding a sign to smashing agency windows, you leave the debate and enter the criminal code. That doesn't help anyone calling for tourism regulation it gives ammunition to those who label the whole movement as radical. The social discontent in the Balearic Islands is real and growing, but vandalism only criminalizes protest and hardens the police response. The industry should pay attention: if there's no real dialogue with locals, next time it won't be two detainees it'll be a chronic coexistence crisis.