Spain's tourism RIOTS: San Sebastian new target for violence against British holidayers

Around 20 youths affiliated with a radical group called Arran Països Catalans (Arran) that supports Catalan independence burst into a restaurant in Palma de Mallorca at the end of last month.

The group is seen as a pro-independence, socialist and feminist youth organisation which is seen to have ideological links with the left-wing CUP and operates in the areas of Spain where Catalan and its variants are spoken, including the Balearic Islands and the Valencia region.

The youths disrupted around 70 diners inside the restaurant Mar de Nudos situated near to the cathedral by setting off firecrackers and threw confetti.

Arran has now released a video of the incident and activists can be seen carrying a sign that reads “Tourism is killing Mallorca” and “This is class warfare”.

In the footage an activist can be seen climbing aboard a yacht moored at the Moll Vell pier.

Carmen Sánchez, the restaurant manager, said: “We had to change their plates and glasses. We had to face up to them and tell them to leave, noting that this was a private area.

“It was five to 10 minutes before the local police and port officers showed up. The youths started running as soon as they spotted them.”

She added: “They’re attacking the best kind of tourism in Mallorca, the kind that spends money.

“The tourists who come here are not like the ones who go to Magaluf. Maybe they should go protest there against mass tourism, the all-included packages and the low-cost prices.”

On its Twitter account, Arran claims that its actions aim to “curb the mass tourism that is destroying Mallorca and condemning the working classes of the Països Catalans to miserable living conditions”.

It also criticises “the precarious jobs and saturated roads” created by tourism, which is a key industry in Spain.

The same youth group was behind a recent attack on a Barcelona city tour bus near Camp Nou Barcelona’s football ground, which was covered in graffiti last week.

Tourist bikes as well as yachts in the city’s port area have also been targeted.

At least seven hotels in Barcelona have recently been vandalised by left-wing groups claiming to be fighting what they say is excessive tourism in the region.

Last March, Arran gained attention after occupying the headquarters of the Popular Party of Barcelona, ​​and last June a small group was chained in front of the Stock Exchange of Barcelona.

The group claims not to be violent though, saying: “Violent is this system that oppresses us.”

Another radical left-wing group opposed to tourism has also arisen in the Basque city of San Sebastian called the ‘Abertzale Left’.

The group has called for a demonstration on August 17 to protest against what it sees as tourist saturation under the banner of “Your tourism, misery for youth”.

Last year two million tourists visited the Basque city.

The number of visitors to Spain hit a new record in 2016 according to the Minister for Energy and Tourism Alvaro Nadal.

It was the fourth consecutive record year with numbers boosted by security concerns in some other Mediterranean holiday destinations such as Turkey and north Africa.

The total was up by 9.9 per cent from 2015, with 75.3 million international visitors.

Spain is the third most visited country in the world, with the tourism sector fuelling an annual jobs surge over the summer months.

(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega)