A local teacher travels to and from Ibiza every day because living on the island is out of her price range.

Protesters claim that the cost of living in Ibiza is driving away residents due to tourists.

Activists will demonstrate against the alleged detrimental effects of tourism this weekend by taking to the streets.

Prou Ibiza, which translates to ‘Enough Ibiza’ in Catalan, claims that doctors cannot afford to live on the white island, so nurses and police officers are living in cars and caravans as a result of the expensive housing. This is causing delays in medical procedures, such as cancer treatments and operations.

Protesters are pushing for a limit on the amount of lodging options available to visitors in Ibiza, one of Spain’s most popular islands.

There will be more protests in Mallorca and Menorca over the weekend, in addition to the ones that are scheduled outside the White Isle’s government buildings today.

Rafael Jimenez, an Ibiza municipal police officer and spokesperson for Prou Ibiza, states that his displeasure with mass tourism is not the reason for his relocation to Aragon on the Spanish mainland. “We don’t have anything against visitors who show respect for our island.”

Jimenez said that the overwhelming atmosphere brought on by mass tourists was the reason he left Ibiza, where he had spent his whole life.

“Ibiza is home to my residence. I just couldn’t handle it. Public spaces seem to be being taken over by tourists. It’s really pricey,” he continued.

Because rent on the island is so high, some Spaniards, like 36-year-old Karla Andrade, a mother and teacher in Ibiza, have taken to moving to Palma in Mallorca and traveling there by plane.

Andrade gets up at six in the morning to catch an aircraft to work, and he takes about forty flights a month.

She said to the Spanish television station Atena 3, “I could not afford to live in Ibiza with the cost of housing.”

Speaking on behalf of the Association of Civil Guards in the Balearic Islands, Iván Fidalgo emphasizes the negative effects that skyrocketing housing costs have on public services.

He tells Euronews Travel, “They market Ibiza as a first-class resort, but that’s not true because it doesn’t even have public services because there aren’t enough people to staff them.”

With 17.8 million visitors last year, the Balearic Islands rank second in popularity among Spanish travel destinations, behind the Canary Islands.

Locally, tourism supports 200,000 jobs and brings in €16 billion a year, or 45% of the Gross Domestic Product of the islands.

There are other Spanish locations than Ibiza that are feeling the effects of growing tourism.

Locals in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, are allegedly forced to sleep in cars and caves when lodging is snapped up by tourism agencies.

Residents of Málaga, a seaside community, have written stickers all over their doors and walls to show their annoyance with tourists.