Mass tourism has troubled Mallorca for decades. Can it change?

At Son Serra de Marina, locals enjoy a quiet day at the beach just before Mallorca reopened to tourists in mid-June.

Places like Cala Llombards beach have reveled in the recent serenity but are also stressed by the lack of tourism revenue. The small bar and umbrella rentals generate income for locals.

Boats glide through the cove of Sa Calobra, which sits at the end of the Torrent de Pareis, a ravine declared a Natural Monument by the Balearic government for its rich fauna and flora.

The tourist area of Camp de Mar features a nearly 600-foot-long beach, a golf course, and a small island with a restaurant. In the distance, cranes signal that construction continues despite the pandemic.

Gorg Blau, an artificial water reservoir, draws visitors who want to camp and fish without the beach crowds.

The region of Cala Llombards shows the effects of Mallorca’s construction boom in the 1960 and 70s, when the motto was “the closer to the coast, the better the home.” Now the seas are rising and the cliffs are crumbling.

At Son Serra de Marina beach, local families hike and camp overnight. “It’s a very Mallorcan scene,” says photographer Pep Bonet.

During cycling’s low season, pro riders train on the island’s bike-friendy (but often steep) roadways. Here a lone cyclist pedals through the Serra de Tramuntana.