Nightly 6.00pm closures at Illetes aimed at curbing beach parties and protecting nature reserve

foto 2021 access tancat cavall den borrasThe Consell de Formentera president’s office reports that points of access to Ses Salines Nature Reserve were closed for the first time at 6.00pm this Wednesday, putting to test a new coordinated effort between the company that oversees access to the reserve, Formentera Department of Mobility and local law enforcement.

After the success of Wednesday’s trials, access points were closed again yesterday and will remain closed for several days. “The goal is to curb the parties and crowds which in recent days had proliferated on beaches in this protected area”, explained local premiere Alejandra Ferrer. “It took us two days”, said the chief, “but we’re there”.

The decision was reached at a meeting of local law enforcement last Wednesday. An executive order released on the heels of that gathering mandates 6pm closures for all points of entry into the Illetes area of Ses Salines. After that point, guests may only exit the reserve unless they have reservations at a restaurant located on the premises.

Recent days have seen access points closed at Camí de sa Guía, Cavall d’en Borràs and Illetes, where crowds occurred. Access to the Llevant area hasn’t been affected, but on Saturday officials pledged “flexibility” and said they were open to extending the measures to new areas and keeping them in place longer if doing so kept the island “safe and protected”.

Informational posters
Awareness-building infographics have been printed in Catalan, Spanish and English and can be found at Tourist Info Points and on the websites of the Formentera Office of Tourism and Consell de Formentera.

Beaches are currently closed between 12 midnight and 6.00pm. Under the new rules, from tomorrow, Saturday, they will be closed from 10.00pm.

6 August 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera