Spain: Majorca cuts the number of tourist beds for the first time
Eighteen thousand seats will be cancelled, but the island is a favourite low-cost destination for European tourism.
2' min read
2' min read
A linear cut of 18 thousand places in the supply of tourist beds. This is what the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, of the Popular Party, has decided to do to curb arrivals and at the same time the tourist industry itself, because the island's success as a destination "jeopardises the coexistence of residents and tourists and the future of tourism. It is time to set limits,' urges Llorenç Galmés.
Thus the offer will drop to 412,000 beds from the current 430,000. Only 4.2 per cent less, but above all a sign to the local population that the flow of arrivals from all over Europe is unsustainable.
In 2023, there were 17.8 million arrivals compared to 10 million in 2006. The number of residents is growing and in 2019, according to Eurostat and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, there were almost 924,000.
The island's airport is the third largest in Spain in terms of passenger volume, some 20 million, thanks to charters arriving mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and northern Europe, and after expansion work completed in 1997, the capacity is 25 million. In one hour today there are more than 36 landings.
Now everything has to be rethought in the light of the president's decision, which has to face the wrath of residents exasperated by the chaos. A grassroots protest that will result in a demonstration against overcrowding on the evening of Saturday 25 May in Plaça d'Espanya in Palma.
