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Date Published: 08/02/2023

ARCHIVED - Balearic Islands set limit on tourist numbers for 2023

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The Spanish holiday hotspot wants to focus on quality over quantity this summer

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Balearic Islands set limit on tourist numbers for 2023

The Balearic Islands, which include such favourite holiday destinations as Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, welcomed a whopping 16,475,579 tourists in 2022 but this number is very close to the absolute ceiling, according to the local government, after which the archipelago’s services and accommodation options become saturated.

Since last year, authorities in the Balearics have been plotting a roadmap to essentially remodel the tourism industry of the islands, and the government has set a limit of 16.5 million holidaymakers per year that the region can comfortably accommodate.

While it’s still unclear how exactly the Balearic Islands would enforce such a limit, if it’s possible at all, the government remains steadfast in its belief that the focus for 2023 should be on increasing the quality of visitors rather than the quantity. Alongside this, an important goal is to spread visitor numbers throughout the year to avoid a tourist overload during the summer months.

“We believe it is feasible to have more occupancy with fewer tourists. Despite the theories of those who go for quantity to the detriment of quality, it has been shown that we are on the right path,” Iago Negueruela, Minister of Economy, Tourism and Labour said recently.

The news comes just days after the government of the Canary Island of Lanzarote also alluded to a plan to attract higher-paying tourists rather than the bargain-hunting holidaymakers the area is famous for.

And along the same lines, the Supreme Court this week upheld Palma de Mallorca’s ban on new tourist apartment lets that has been in place since 2018, stressing that rent has gone sky-high in the city due to a housing shortage caused by excessive holiday lettings.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people in the tourism sector are sceptical about the need to set a cap on holidaymakers. According to Antoni Riera, director of Fundació Impulsa, “No one knows the real carrying capacity of the Islands, one cannot speak of a number, although it is undeniable the social and environmental impact that tourism has today.”

Also of interest: Balearic Islands pushes ahead with plans to ban non-resident foreigners from buying property

Image: Pixabay

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