James Henderson, a healthy, ruddy 19-year-old with blond hair and a shy smile, gets a tan on the beach in Magaluf, a town on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Magaluf has long been the destination of choice for young Britons in search of liquor. A sunny holiday. When asked to describe the festivities of the previous day, he grinned like a man who had just finished the decathlon and was pretty excited about his performance.
We had, in his words, a few hours of “pre-drink” at the hotel, then we headed to Punta Ballena. It’s a jam-packed, sandy neighborhood filled with pubs, tattoo parlors, and lap-dancing establishments that thrives until dawn on summer days. . By the time he and his vacation buddy went to bed at 3am, they had about 20 drinks each in 15 hours.
“I had a little weird taste in my mouth this morning,” Henderson proudly said, adding that the marathon’s aftereffects were minimal. “But it wasn’t that bad.”
Every summer Magaluf roams in search of bacchanalia with British youths, but they find themselves in practically English lithographs located on the Mediterranean Sea, except in the most seedy of corners of London. Find a bacchanalia in equal locations. The G-rated homey eateries such as Kebab Shop, Yorkshire Pudding and Pub are all surprisingly affordable.
The annual horde is both an economic boon and a curse. Brits here are not hooligans who sometimes get blanket bans from foreign cities hosted by British football teams for fear of violent clashes. All of Magaluf’s fun is posted on Instagram, so it tends to be more photogenic than subversive.
But young British travelers are notorious for spending little money on a lot of booze, and local reactions to Magaluf’s fierce partying throngs are ‘come here’ (hotel and bar owners) and ‘come here’ (hotel and bar owners) I won’t go” (resident).
It is a source of ongoing tension, not only here, but also on other islands and in the country’s most beloved cities, including Barcelona and Madrid. The European Commission reports that tourism accounts for more than 10% of Spain’s annual gross domestic product, and the UK accounts for the largest share of that inventory. More than 18 million Britons will visit Spain in 2019, about a quarter of the total population, according to the report. UK government statistics.
Spanish officials have already Predicted to break the record in 2023.
“There are no factories here,” says Pepe Carbonell, owner of Bondi Beach, a bar and restaurant in Magaluf. “We make our living as tourists and the only bad guests are those who don’t come to Mallorca.”
Most people drink in moderation and spend a lot of money. But places like Magaluf are breeding grounds for what is known here as ‘over-tourism’. The most infamous of these is Punta Ballena, which has inspired tales of hedonism for more than a generation.
Sexual assault is sadly common. Fighting and jumping from one balcony to another balcony or pool are also common, so-called “balconying”. (so popular that The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department issued a warning against this) Public nudity is so prevalent on the Strip that there are signs saying ‘No clothes on the street. Fine of €400’.
“There are residents who live here, work here, and send their children to school here. Ramis speaks. “If you want a normal life, living in this reality is like living in hell.”
Officials here are usually diplomatic about the topic of Britain’s low-cost tourism, recognizing that tastes are changing, and that the economic impact would be severe if young people abandoned places like Magaluf. cut out exactly. The future looks uncertain. Spain, like much of continental Europe, has been hit by record heat this summer, with British tabloids suggesting that tourists are opting for warmer weather, even if it provides some of the excitement. suggesting that
A mid-August headline in the London-based newspaper The Daily Star quoted the name of the southern coastal region of Spain as “Costa del Dar” over a photo of fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. was written. “Tourists are switching traditional holiday favorites to boring Belgium to combat the global warming crisis.”
Some Spanish politicians are frustrated by the perceived crude behavior of British tourists and cannot control themselves.
“Our islands have areas that are clearly characterized by overtourism,” Iago Neguerela, tourism counselor for the government of the Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, told Spanish digital newspaper El Diario Es. . “It doesn’t need to come back and we will do everything we can to prevent it.”
Those sentiments led to a decree passed by the local government in January 2022 to curb pranks in areas officially designated as red zones on three islands, including Mallorca. Party boats (flat rate cruises with DJs and open bars) were banned. So did the bikini-clad women dancing in the bar windows. Special drinks of 1 or 2 were also prohibited.
The goal was to increase the number of luxury tourists, and several luxury hotels have sprung up within a safe distance from Punta Ballena. But if Magaluf is any indication, it’s hard to peel off the label once the place has become famous as a low-cost getaway. Many vendors still cater to bargain hunters. For example, Mr. Henderson purchased a round-trip air ticket and three hotel nights for about $600, which included three meals, three drinks for lunch and dinner.
“The shuttle bus to the airport is £10,” said Henderson’s friend Toby Euston, 18. “That’s why people come here. Prices are cheap and the weather is nice.”
The alcohol trade is still ubiquitous on the Strip. On a recent Tuesday, around 1am, the sidewalks were jam-packed with tourists and people here called ‘reps’. They are bar employees, and their job is to stand in the middle of the road and tie up passers-by.
It creates the atmosphere of a noisy bazaar where only liquor is sold. A typical pitch: a triple shot and two more for him €7. Any bar will have a variation of this affordable drink available. and music. Many bars offer “silent disco,” where you wear headphones, listen to music, and dance.
The whole scene is familiar to ethnologist Daniel Briggs of the University of Northumbria, England. He spent four summers studying British youth in Magaluf for research commissioned by the Foreign Office, the part of the British government that protects citizens abroad. He had many fights and many accidents that led to him being hospitalized.
For him, the question of why young people in the UK are overdosing on Magaluf is no mystery. They usually take their first vacation without their parents, which creates a feeling that everyone is off the chain. And drinking has been central to British culture for centuries. Professor Briggs said businesses here understand that. Magaluf has been carefully designed to take advantage of core demographics.
“Bar owners know they have young, ready-to-drink people in their group and have presented them with all sorts of options to encourage the worst behavior,” he said. Told. “Obviously, this is business.”
Many Brits here know that their reputation for bohemian behavior precedes them. Very few people seem to care.
“I don’t think the British really care,” said 21-year-old Bella Fisher from England, who was walking with a friend near the beach. “They have no standards. It’s like they don’t care.”
But aren’t the British notorious for being modest?
“Until we get to Magaluf,” she said.
In other countries, authorities are apparently trying to drive away British tourists. For example, in his March, Amsterdam launched his online campaign to show public service announcements to people searching the internet for terms such as ‘Pub Crawl Amsterdam’.
“Are you going to come to Amsterdam and have a crazy night?” Read the text of one video showing the arrested man. “Keep away.”
In Spain, anger against Britain is more likely to come from residents than government officials. There is a derogatory term for visitors from England— Gili. It stands for Brits whose behavior is considered quintessentially British: drinking too much, fighting, ignoring social norms such as stopping at traffic lights, and spending less money.
Sometimes anger turns into something closer to anger. Not too long ago, someone spray-painted a hotel in Mallorca with the words ‘tourists go home’. Some cities have posters oozing with irony encouraging people to stand on their balconies. One uses an image of a stick figure falling from a balcony. Below that is text explaining the benefits of this dangerous activity.
“Prevents gentrification, reduces heart disease risk, and is a lot of fun,” the poster says.
Some Magaluf’s club and bar owners feel that the law, which is intended to curb excessive tourism, has an anti-British bias. Gerard Pietro, owner of the Capitol Bar, which features a large pink neon sign that says ‘Don’t drink Coke in the bathroom,’ said Magaluf should embrace its image and the people it attracts. says.
“I would be the happiest owner in the world if I could get 50 customers in one night to buy nothing but Dom Pérignon, but that doesn’t happen here,” he said. “We have young people, and they have a right to party.”
During a recent daytime walk on the Strip, Professor Briggs said the place looked much the same as it did the last time he spent summer here in 2019. Names like the fish and chip shop he called Chippy, and the Red Lion, who passed in front of a decidedly English-style pub. After spotting a young man sitting in a chair, he makes a short stop at the Dirty Dog bar, but appears to pass out on the patio. He had a few friends staying nearby, but he wasn’t particularly concerned.
“Is he okay?” Professor Briggs asked.
“He’s fine,” my friend said.
“How long are you guys staying?” Professor Briggs asked.
“Forever” was the reply.
José Bautista contributed to the report.