FOCUS online: Mr. Klingenschmitt, you have been living on Mallorca for 15 years. Do you still feel at home on the island?
Maurice Klingenschmitt: Why not? Mallorca is beautiful, that’s why so many people want to come here.
So many that it now seems difficult to enjoy the island.
Klingenschmitt: I have to disagree with that very clearly. I know that’s how it comes across in the media, but it’s exaggerated. They only ever show excerpts and when you cut them together it looks dramatic. If I want to, I can still go to the beach and relax even in the middle of summer.
Let’s take Playa del Palma. There are crowded and very crowded areas, that’s true. But often you only have to walk 100 metres and it’s totally relaxed.
What is it like in the mountains, in the Mallorcan hinterland, which is supposed to be so great for hiking?
Klingenschmitt: There’s nothing going on there at the moment, it’s too hot for hiking. In spring and autumn it’s different, of course. But then you mostly meet locals. They make up by far the majority of hikers on the island. As a German, I’m more of an exception. I hike a lot and I enjoy it.
Garbage problem on Mallorca? “I can only laugh about that”
Going swimming in peace, hiking like the locals – none of that sounds like Ballermann.
Klingenschmitt: Ballermann is a tiny part of Mallorca. Only from a distance do people think: That’s how it is on the island, all around. Mallorca is around 100 kilometers long and 60 kilometers wide. Anyone looking for peace and quiet will find a place here. All year round.
A clean place? The garbage problem is said to be enormous.
Klingenschmitt: I can only laugh at that. Mallorca is probably one of the cleanest islands in the whole Mediterranean. Since you mentioned Ballermann: In high season, the cleaning crew drives down the beach every night. Every cigarette butt is removed from the sand one by one.
To be honest, it annoys me that so many people now think that the island is overcrowded and dirty. Of course, I can understand that you get annoyed if you live in the old town of Palma and hear rolling suitcases all day long. Or if your apartment is right next to Ballermann and the music blares until late into the night.
What can you say? Shit happens. Others built next to a road that eventually became a motorway.
From what you hear, you get the impression that the Mallorcans really hate tourists.
Klingenschmitt: That’s how it’s supposed to come across. People abroad should think: They hate us – and then not come anymore. I would like to make one thing clear to my home country Germany: the Mallorcans really appreciate the Germans. That’s a completely strange image that has emerged. And all of that just because a small minority wants to play Fridays for Future…
Who is protesting in Mallorca? “People who have no idea”
What kind of people are protesting?
Klingenschmitt: My impression: Lots of wealthy heirs. People who have no idea what it means to have to work to put their daily bread on the table. That’s the joke: Those who shout the loudest are not affected at all by mass tourism in the form portrayed.
And what is the protest supposed to achieve?
Klingenschmitt: Quite clearly: maintaining your own comfort zone – or even expanding it. Here on Mallorca there are many who own 12, 15 or 20 properties and who say to themselves: we have enough, we want it to stay like this. Exactly as our father or grandfather built it. Back then, in the post-war period. It’s worth taking a closer look. As a rule, the wealthy islanders are not real Mallorcans – original Mallorcans, as they say here.
Rather?
Klingenschmitt: Descendants of mainland Spaniards who “bought” the island back then. Andalusians, Catalans, Madrilenians – that’s what the people from Madrid are called. They came in the 1950s and settled here. They then made a fortune for decades. Their children and grandchildren grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths and, as mentioned, often don’t know what work is. The usual standard of living with a full Refrigerator and pool is a matter of course for them.
Again, when someone like that protests against mass tourism, I find it hypocritical. I mean, I’m a young guy too. But when I came here almost 15 years ago, I wanted to get to work. Generation Y plus living in Mallorca – for me, that’s an extremely unpleasant mix.
“Protesting is about one’s own interests”
You just mentioned that the protest should have a “comfort zone.” Can you explain that in more detail?
Klingenschmitt: Ultimately, it’s not about waste or sustainability, but about personal interests. One of the things being discussed is limiting rentals. That would play into the hands of the big hoteliers: there would be less competition, which would put more money in their own pockets.
I’m telling you: there are some hoteliers among the protesters. I don’t mean the small ones, I mean the big ones. People like me who earn their money normally, who provide economic services on the island, are not protesting.
How do you know that?
Klingenschmitt: From numerous conversations and also from a street survey that I conducted. Out of ten people I asked whether they wanted to see mass tourism away from Mallorca, at least eight said: Nonsense.
Let’s think about it a bit further: What would Mallorca be without tourists? I’m telling you, if we implement what the protesters want, we’ll be starving tomorrow. Let’s be realistic: there is no production, no industry here on the island. Mallorca lives from tourism.
But what’s the argument against designing it differently?
Klingenschmitt: This should have been addressed earlier. Back when tourism was really taking off here. As far as I’m concerned, Ballermann could have been banned. But now it’s here and it’s part of the city. Anyone who can think reasonably clearly sees it that way.
The car dealer, an acquaintance of mine, also wanted to join the protest. He kept repeating that he doesn’t live off tourism. I said to him, “Just think about it.” Of course you do. Almost every vehicle on the island is directly or indirectly connected to tourism. He had to agree with me. He now also sees the protest as being instrumentalized. Let’s concentrate on other, really important issues.
On which?
Klingenschmitt: On the subject of housing, for example. We islanders should stand up for this. Housing construction should be urgently promoted, including social housing. The previous government was asleep here; the result is disastrous: more and more people can no longer afford to live on the island.
Poverty is indeed a big problem. Fortunately, the current government has recognised this and taken it on board. Among other things, a decree was signed that provides that illegal country houses can be legalised in return for a fine. A good idea.
Are you worried about the future of the island given the protests?
Klingenschmitt: Not really. I see it more like this: the first ban on drinking sangria from buckets was introduced here in 1998. And what is it like today? Exactly, the buckets are still there. What I mean is: there have always been controversies on Mallorca.
In the end, common sense will prevail. We simply cannot live on love and air here – the political decision-makers know that. There are measures that make sense. Another measure that is being discussed is the restriction of rental cars. If the volume of traffic on the island is so high one day that the motorways are permanently congested, I’m in. But only then. At the moment, nothing looks like it will happen.