British tourists have been caught on camera viciously brawling in broad daylight outside Ibiza Airport in shocking scenes that could further inflame tensions with Spanish residents.
In the two-minute video, taken at the international airport on Monday, a group of around 10 men are seen gathering just outside an exit labelled ‘arrivals’, with one passenger in a grey top and shorts seemingly unsteady on his feet.
He starts pushing other members of the group, before one in a green t-shirt attempts to stop the man by putting his arms protectively around him.
But the tourist then suddenly pushes another man and aggressively pursues him.
Another man, dressed in black, springs forward and takes the passenger away as he keeps his friend in a headlock.
British tourists have been caught on camera viciously brawling in broad daylight outside Ibiza Airport in scenes that could further inflame tensions with Spanish residents
One passenger in a grey top and shorts suddenly began fighting with another man
Another man, dressed in black, sprang forward and took the passenger away as the man in the grey t-shirt kept a third man in a headlock
He finally releases himself as the passenger wearing a grey t-shirt shouts at the man and they eventually part ways.
The disturbing footage was taken just days after thousands of protesters marched through Barcelona on Saturday, waving placards and squirting holidaymakers with water guns in the latest expression of anger at perceived over-tourism in Spain.
Under the slogan ‘Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism’, some 2,800 people – according to police – marched along a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists that visit the country every year.
The disturbing footage was taken just days after thousands of protestors marched through Barcelona against perceived overtourism in Spain
The fight finally dissipated as another passenger desperately tried to keep the men apart
The anger has spilled over into the Balearic islands, with ferocity at a high point in Ibiza, considered one of the more popular destinations for tourists.
In May, worn down by the decades of antisocial behaviour that includes drinking, vomiting, fighting, drug-taking, nighttime (and broad daylight) sex on the beach and hospitalisations of mostly British visitors who come each year, the Balearic government enacted a clampdown.
From May 11, they banned the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am in the three party zones of Majorca – Magaluf, Palma and Llucmajor – and San Antonio in Ibiza.
The new rules also ban drinking in the street and buying alcohol from grocery stores after 8.30pm – with fines of up to €1,500 (£1,350) or rising to €3,000 (£2,550) for more serious behaviour breaches.
Drink limits have also been introduced at all-inclusive hotels in the notorious tourist hotspots of El Arenal, Playa de Palma in Mallorca, and Sant Antoni in Ibiza in a bid to clamp down on reckless drunken behaviour.
Party boats are not allowed to canvas for business on the beaches and all bars must close by 3am.
There has also been discussion of introducing a controversial tourist tax to control the flow of visitors.
In Barcelona on Saturday, protesters carried signs reading ‘Barcelona is not for sale,’ and, ‘Tourists go home,’ before some used water guns on tourists eating outdoors at restaurants in popular tourist hotspots.
Chants of ‘Tourists out of our neighbourhood’ rang out as some stopped in front of the entrances to hotels.
Barcelona’s rising cost of housing, up 68 percent in the past decade, is one of the main issues for the movement, along with the effects of tourism on local commerce and working conditions in the city of 1.6 million inhabitants.
Rents rose by 18% in June from a year earlier in tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, according to the property website Idealista.
Campaigners held up banners saying ‘We don’t want an island of cement’ and ‘Tourism, yes but not like this’ as they massed outside Ibiza’s council HQ in May
The protestors’ demands include a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in summer and a ban on using taxpayers’ cash to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination
For years, the city has worn anti-tourist graffiti with messages such as ‘tourists go home’ aimed at visitors some blame for the rising prices and shaping of the economy around tourists.
‘Local shops are closing to make way for stores that do not serve the needs of neighbourhoods. People cannot afford their rents,’ said Isa Miralles, a 35-year-old musician who lives in the Barceloneta district.
‘I have nothing against tourism, but here in Barcelona we are suffering from an excess of tourism that has made our city unliveable,’ said Jordi Guiu, a 70-year-old sociologist.
Similar demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks in such tourist hotspots such as Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and the Canary Islands.
Towards the end of May, one such protest was held in Ibiza.
As many as 1,000 protestors marched against mass tourism amid backlash at boozy UK holidaymakers.
Campaigners held up banners saying ‘We don’t want an island of cement’ and ‘Tourism, yes but not like this’ as they massed outside the island’s council HQ.
The organisers of the Ibiza demo, a group called Prou Eivissa – which literally translates to ‘Enough Ibiza’, met with Ibiza’s president Vicent Mari before taking to the streets.
The protestors’ demands include a limit on the number of vehicles that can enter the island in summer and a ban on using taxpayers’ cash to promote Ibiza as a tourist destination.
Tourists, typically British, often flock to the Balearic Islands for a rowdy holiday – something many of the locals despise
In the run-up to the protest, organisers said: ‘Our beautiful island is in danger. Tourist crowds not only affect our quality of life, but also the beauty and authenticity that makes Ibiza such a special place.
‘Tourist overcrowding makes the cost of living unattainable for many residents.
‘We fight for an Ibiza where we can all live in dignity. It is time to raise our voices and protect our home.’
A Prou Eivissa spokesman said: ‘We don’t want no tourism but we want a different tourism.
‘We want some controls. We want our lovely island back.’
Spain received 85 million foreign visitors in 2023, an increase of 18.7 percent from the previous year, according to the National Statistics Institute.
The most visited region was Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, with 18 million, followed by the Balearic Islands (14.4 million) and the Canary Islands (13.9 million).