Warning labels deceive tourists from swimming in Mallorca

Warning labels deceive tourists from swimming in Mallorca
fullscreen Warning for dangerous jellyfish. In Catalan it says below “Open beach, no sea urchins or jellyfish”. Sea urchins, or guiris, are often used as words for unwanted tourists. Photo: Caterva / Twitter

Notes in English warn tourists against swimming in the sea in Mallorca.

But on the Catalan signs it says that it is free to jump in.

The clues behind the double messages lead to tennis star Rafael Nadal.

When holidaymakers walked down to the beaches on Mallorca, they were met by a number of different warning signs.

Including messages about dangerous jellyfish, falling rocks and polluted water.

Next to it are notes in Catalan announcing that there is no danger at all and that it is possible to swim without problems.

Now activists from the anti-capitalist group Caterva are coming forward and taking responsibility for the signs.

According to the group, it is a protest against mass tourism on the Spanish pearl.

“With a bit of humour, we have put up some posters, which you can see in the pictures”, they write Twitter.

Accusing the tennis star

The activists state that there are several who are to blame for the exploitation of the island. One of them is tennis star and son of Mallorca Rafael Nadal.

The 22-time grand slam champion has a gigantic business empire and is behind several hotel constructions in Mallorca. Right now, his uncle Toni Nadal is also in the process of building a five-star hotel in the northern part of the island.

full screen The beach is closed, says the sign. Photo: Caterva / Twitter

According to Mallorca Daily Bulletin can it become “one of the finest on the island”.

“It’s just another example of how capitalism uses economic activities like tourism to an extreme and creams the value of workers. There are those who are guilty and they must be mentioned by name. It’s the hotel owners, it’s Rafael Nadal”.

From the municipality’s side, however, they are satisfied with Nadal’s plans:

“The quality that the Nadal family will bring will be significant. For Pollensa it is good that the quality of the hotels increases regardless of who buys them. In this case it is a Majorcan owner who is also well-known. We are more than happy to the hotel remains in local hands,” the municipality said in a statement.

full screen A beach in Mallorca. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto



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