Balearic Islands panic as hotspot still grappling with crisis after summer of protests

The Balearic Islands need a staggering 91,000 homes with "acceptable" rent prices to tackle the housing crisis, a recent report revealed.

The shortage of affordable rental properties is a major worry for local families, and one of the key reasons behind last summer's anti-tourism protests.

The booming but sometimes illegal holiday rental market has further inflated rents, exacerbating the crisis. Tour operators are now demanding action, urging authorities to clamp down on illegal tourist apartments.

Estate agents have also pointed fingers at consecutive governments for their failure to address the housing shortfall and for not building enough homes, despite the population's significant increase.

The scarcity and high cost of housing are also being cited as reasons for the region's labour shortages, as many workers find themselves priced out by soaring rents across the island.

Anti-tourism demonstrations may erupt across the island again this summer as the housing crisis continues.

In Majorca, activist group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) said it would "intensify" its actions folllowing a billion-euro investment into the tourist sector, alongside the rise of real estate and luxury tourism.

They accused local authorities of prioritising tourism over infrastructure for permanent residents.

The group said in a social media message: "While the tourist lobby continues to get rich and prices skyrocket, wages are stagnant and the living conditions of the working class continue to become more precarious.

"The extraordinary measures of the state are nothing more than anaesthetics to not solve the problem. And the sustainability pact is nothing more than a strategy that only wastes time."

Pere Joan Femenia, of Menys Turisme, Més Vida, told Reuters last year: "We want to cut mass tourism and to ban non-residents from buying houses which are just used for a few months a year or for speculation."