A small cove in the eastern part of Mallorca that looks like a turquoise pool stranded in the Mediterranean, Caló des Moro, has become an example of how Instagram has transformed idyllic island settings into a hell of overcrowding. Hundreds of young people settle there every day who queue to access the scarce 30 linear meters of fine white sand. Many of them don’t even go down to the beach: they get to the cliff, take a photo that they will post on their social networks and leave. The consequence is that what used to be a quiet summer resort for the residents who have a house there is now an incessant coming and going of vehicles that generate traffic jams and inconveniences.
Caló des Moro exemplifies the profound transformation that places in the interior of the islands have undergone, where more and more tourists come to get a photograph to display on Instagram or Twitter. Tourists no longer lie in the sun on hotel loungers; now they rent cars and visit places they never even went near before. If the day is also cloudy, the circulatory collapse is assured.
An example of this phenomenon has been seen this month in the quiet municipality of Sóller, where until now it was common to travel by train. Both the historic center of this town at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains and the port have overflowed. Last week the tunnel that gives access to this valley had to be closed to traffic since the avalanche of vehicles collapsed the accesses to the municipality with queues of almost ten kilometers. The tunnel was closed for security so that vehicles would not be trapped inside.
Very close to Sóller, on the famous road that leads to Sa Calobra, a narrow and winding road, the breakdown of a tourist bus caused 300 buses loaded with tourists to get stuck for hours without being able to go forward or back. Another road, the one that leads to the cliffs and the Formentor lighthouse, has had to be closed to vehicle traffic and can only be accessed by public transport due to the mass of visitors.
In the municipality of Deià, also in the Tramuntana mountains, there is a viewpoint with views of a picturesque rock of Sa Foradada. The beauty of the sunsets in this area means that the queue of cars parked every day in the middle of the road exceeds a kilometer and a half in length, with serious danger for driving, since it is a very narrow regional road. The Instagram effect again.
In Punta Nati, in Menorca, shuttle buses have had to be set up to avoid traffic jams for those who want to photograph the sunset. On the small beach of Benirràs, in Eivissa, just 130 meters long, every Sunday thousands of tourists crowd with their cars to watch the sunset in the middle of the well-known drum party.
While mass tourism swallows up entire areas of the islands that until a few years ago were havens of peace, other parts of the Balearic Islands that for years have been labeled junk tourism are beginning to experience a slow but gradual transformation. Magaluf is the emblem of drunken tourism for young Britons and the cradle of balconing, but in recent years the hotel industry has begun to change significantly and it is becoming common to see five-star hotels where there used to be low-cost accommodation. price for excess tourism.
The Melià chain has invested 300 million in the area in the renovation of its hotels. Magaluf is preparing to change its image with very tough regulations against uncivil tourism that has been rampant. Magaluf is transforming at the same speed that the tourist experience worsens in Mallorcan towns where time stood still until Instagram arrived.
