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The issues of access to housing and the touristification of urban centers will be the focus of the next participatory action by the Via Menorca platform. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 20th, at 7 PM, in the Plaça de la Catedral of Ciutadella.

The activity will create a human embrace around much of the old town of Ciutadella as a call to halt the loss of rights and identity.

Ciutadella is familiar with the effects of promoting unlimited hotels, both on the coast and within urban areas. The city inhabitants know the difficulties of living in houses where there are tourist parties every night, making it impossible to sleep. They also know the impact of gentrification, where prices skyrocket and ordinary people see their future, or that of their children, seriously threatened.

The protests we are seeing in Mallorca, Ibiza, the Canary Islands, Barcelona, and Valencia, with many people demanding a change of course, are the expression of a resident population tired of seeing problems grow larger as the number of tourists increases.

Airport figures show record passenger numbers each month. The number of people on the island is also higher than ever this year. The last month for which figures have been published is May, during which we received 220,000 tourists. This is a 36% increase from last year.

As long as there are no institutional responses to curb this trend, we will need to continue taking protest actions to demand a change of direction.

Via Menorca is a campaign for social activation but also for new proposals. We have concrete ideas to help Menorca find its unique path again. These ideas will be explained in the manifesto to be read at the end of the event.

Spread the word and come embrace the Old Town of Ciutadellaon Tuesday, August 20th. We need to be part of the solution.