Months of overtourism protests in the Balearic Islands, particularly Majorca, have seen a notable impact on visitor numbers as holidaymakers opt for more welcoming destinations.
This year, the islands recorded the lowest percentage increase in tourism numbers amongst Spain‘s main holiday hotspots.
The first eight months of the year saw just a 6.2 percent increase in foreign tourism, equating to 11.1 million visitors.
The statistics – including Spanish tourists – rise to 13.7 million visitors, which correlated to an even smaller percentage increase of 4.7 percent for all markets.
Foreign tourism specifically saw an increase well below the national average of 11.2 percent, putting the Balearics behind Andalusia, the Canaries, Catalonia, Valencia, and Madrid.
Andalusia, the Canaries, Valencia, and Madrid all registered double-digit growth in tourist numbers, with Catalonia following closely behind with 9.7 percent.
In 2023, the Balearics saw 17.8 million tourists – 1.3 million more than the previous year – representing a steep year-on-year growth that has contributed to recent overtourism rows.
Locals say the growth is unsustainable and the influx of Airbnbs and rental properties is pricing them out of their home towns as tourists are favoured over them.
The demonstrations may not be over as there are forecasts that tourism is still set to grow by between 10 and 15 percent by the end of the year.
However, the recent slowing down of tourism is believed to be because of the British and Spanish tourist markets, which are the second and third largest markets respectively, behind Germany in first place.
Pedro Fiol, the president of the Aviba association of travel agencies, said “we are going to see less and less of the Spanish” in the peak summer season.
He said this is partly down to more short-and-medium-haul holiday options being offered to Spanish tourists, many of which can be cheaper than the Balearics. TUI has also suggested that there is now little capacity left for tourism growth on the islands.