With Spain's 2025 travel season growing in Mallorca, the industry is expected to have record numbers for a year, but not everyone is happy about it.
The consequences of mass and luxury tourism have caused anger, especially in resort centres such as Mallorca, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga and Madrid.
While tourism figures continue to soar, low-income residents cannot afford rent.
With the upset of the Mediterranean capital Palma de Mallorca, hoteliers, bar owners and tourism are preparing for a lucrative summer.
The Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, are expected to exceed 20 million visitors this year, a new milestone in the region.
In 2024, the islands received nearly 19 million tourists, a 5% increase from 2023. Mallorca alone welcomed 13.5 million tourists, although the residents were less than 1 million.
Even the conservative regional government Tourism Minister Jaume Bauzá admitted the pressure, warning: “We have reached the limit.”
Jobs are still poor: many tourism booms remain
Visitors spent up to 22.4 billion euros (about US$25.2 billion) on the islands – an increase of about 12% from the previous year. In Majorca, tourism accounts for more than 40% of total revenue.
However, not everyone benefits from it. Conversely: According to official figures, one in five Balearic residents are considered at risk of poverty.
“The pain in Mallorca is spreading rapidly,” wrote recently in the headline of Mallorca Magazin, a German weekly newspaper on the island.
It reportedly had an outbreak of “increasing shanty towns”, including a track next to a historic narrow-coding railway, a narrow narrow-coding railway popular with tourists.
Last year, a report on social situation in the Mallorca Zeitung newspaper read: “Although there is a job, many people in Mallorca don't have the money to eat.”
Housing shortages, rising prices, and environmental pollution
In addition to the number of tourists, the number of holiday apartments is also increasing.
Tenant associations, environmental groups and other organizations see many negative consequences, including housing shortages, pollution, congestion and noise, general price increases, and natural damage.
Protests against mass tourism have intensified over the past year, reflecting public dissatisfaction. Recently, seven Mallorcan organizations issued a strong open letter urging tourists to stay away.
“Don't come here!” the open letter said: “Stay at home.” Mallorca is not a paradise for you to be sold. “It read that the island is “completely overcrowded” and is experiencing a “collapse.”
“The locals are angry and no longer hospitality because the land we love is destroyed and many residents have to immigrate because the island has become uninhabitable.”
The authorities have many plans – But there is almost no action
Again in April, thousands of people took to the streets of Spain – including in Majorca – to protest housing shortages.
Although Palma local governments have repeatedly raised people's promises, meaningful changes remain elusive.
Instead, authorities are introducing new regulations, with critics saying effectively criminalizing homelessness. Sleeping in the park will be prohibited and spent the night in a caravan.
The latter aroused so much anger among campers that Mayor Jaime Martínez was forced to partially retreat, announcing plans to remove the proposed ban.
Hotel owner denies Mallorca is overcrowded
Despite growing concerns about mass tourism, tourism is being delayed, warning against jeopardizing industries that maintain much of the island’s economy.
Industry leaders criticized the new measures taken by the Palma government to curb the negative effects of supertourism. One of the proposals is an increase in tourism tax, which may be as high as €6 per night.
The Federation of Hotel Operators of Mallorca (FEHM) declined to say the island was overcrowded. “There is no mass tourism industry,” FEHM President Javier Vich insists.
However, Antoni Costa, vice president of the Balearic Islands, believes that restrictions are inevitable, noting that “the well-being of residents must be considered.”
“Mallorca is slowly turning into an expensive island,” said Mika Ferrer, head of the Palma Beach Business Association.
“The budget is limited,” Ferrer noted, but added that the rising costs leave hotels and restaurants with no choice but to raise prices.
“We certainly don't want to compromise on quality,” he said.
New security measures to hold target party tourism in Mallorca
Ferrer said that when the 2025 tourist season of Mallorca begins the Easter holiday, about 94% of hotels affiliated with Palma Beach reopened, “over 80% bookings.”
Ferrer strongly supports Palma Mayor Jaime Martínez's recent proposal for a new security plan. The program aims at the goal of “wine tourism” – a local term used to describe unruly alcoholic vacationers – aims to restore order to some of the island’s most chaotic tourist areas.
The scheme is funded by €3 million in tourism tax revenue, including expanding the local police force in Palma to 275 police officers and deploying eight new patrol vehicles and surveillance cameras in hotspots known for their destructive gatherings of tourists.
Mayor Martinez stressed that “the goal is to provide 24/7 security.” He stressed that he avoided repetition of “excessive years” determination.
Despite the renewed efforts, many locals remain skeptical. Similar commitments have been made in previous seasons, often with huge results.
“Don't come here!” A hot open letter recently urged tourists who wish to visit Majorca to stay away because of the overcrowded Spanish islands, housing costs and pollution. Meanwhile, the hotel owner insisted that the situation was pretty good. Clara Margais/DPA
Local authorities plan to crack down on Palma de Mallorca’s wine tourism by adding police forces and deploying other patrol vehicles and surveillance cameras. Clara Margais/DPA
