Joe Duggan (Reporter)
UNDERGROUND movement Arran have emerged into Mallorca’s summer light with a number of high-profile protests.
The far-left party’s direct action aims to draw attention to tourist overcrowding.
In terms of publicity, they couldn’t have asked for more.
With impeccable timing, they plastered 1,000 rental cars with stickers the week Mariano Rajoy jetted to Palma to meet King Felipe.
Arran’s name is now on the lips of Spain’s leader, and in countless newspaper columns in the British and Spanish press. Millions of tourists, too, are now aware of the group.
And while these young agitators have sparked a degree of panic, they so raise important questions in our exclusive interview.
Scaring off tourists will clearly harm the local economy. But at the same time, the influx of visitors each month has impacted the local community in negative ways. Resolving this dilemma requires politicians with the skill of tightrope walkers.
In their absence, Arran have become the most visible manifestation of an issue which is the talk of Mallorca this summer – turismofobia.
