Tourist trade in the Balearic Islands fell by 5.3% last week compared to 2023, according to the TravelgateX booking platform.
The islands are one of the most popular holiday destinations in Spain, accounting for 5.8% of total bookings in the last week, with the majority made over three months in advance.
The archipelago is made up of Majorca, Menorca, Formentera and Ibiza – each boasting their own cultural draws including historic capital city Palma, the necropolis of Puig des Molins and the Phoenician archaeological site of Sa Caleta.
The slump in trade comes after more than 11.5 million visitors flocked to the Balearic Islands between January and August this year – a 6.8% increase on the same period in 2023.
It meant the area was trailblazing the way in Spanish tourism, boasting 22% of visitors to the country in August alone.
Parts of Spain have reacted with venom to the rising trade, however, with tens of thousands gathering in Ibiza over the summer to protest against the wave of holidaymakers they said was overwhelming the peninsula. Locals held signs with messages including ‘Tourist – respect my land!’ and some went so far as staging hunger strikes.
The Balearic Islands introduced a tourist tax in 2016 and the government confirmed in October that it would rise from the current rate of between 100 cents and 4 Euros per person per day or part of a day in summer 2025.
The increased levy on overnight accommodation – varying in price between hotels, depending on their star ratings – is designed to limit tourist overcrowding and fund government initiatives including managing the environmental impact of the island’s swathes of holidaymakers.
Perhaps reflective of the islands’ growing reputation as an expensive holiday spot, domestic tourism outshone other forms in the week to November 24, accounting for 56% of bookings, followed by 17% from British tourists.
Protestors claim that over-tourism is only helping the rich while the poor in Ibiza suffer, especially from the lack of affordable housing.
