Overview

• Police investigation in Santanyí has not yielded arrests after about 30 German-owned properties and vehicles were defaced on the night of July 4–5.
• Graffiti slogans such as “Deutsche raus” and “Ausländische Käufer fahrt zur Hölle” were spray-painted in red on shop facades, windows and cars bearing German license plates.
• Island residents link this hate attack to mounting frustration over mass tourism’s role in fueling housing shortages and rising living costs.
• Local authorities are advancing measures to curb overtourism by reducing beach chair allocations and increasing purchase costs for non-EU property buyers in 2025.
• The Santanyí incident underscores a broader anti-tourism movement that has prompted protests and new visitor caps and taxes across Barcelona, Mallorca and the Canary Islands since 2024.