Restaurateurs have expressed fears about flailing businesses following a year of anti-tourism protests. Worried holidaymakers who have visited Majorca for years said shopkeepers and restaurant owners voiced concerns about a lack of tourists and declining revenues on their most recent trip this year.
In a letter to Majorca Daily Bulletin, the pensioner holidaymakers wrote: “As we have been coming here for a number of years and have become friendly with bar owners, shopkeepers and restaurant owners. We were quite shocked as they were all saying the same thing, ‘Where have all the tourists gone?’”
One shopkeeper reportedly said their business was a third down on last year’s takings, and he was concerned about the future if it did not pick up.
The writer added: “If people want to demonstrate against overtourism by telling tourists to go home and squirt people with water, then they will kill the golden goose and put more people out of work.”
It contrasts with official figures released on August 1, which showed the Balearic Islands were the top tourist destination in Spain in June, accounting for 23.9% of the total. In June 2025, there were 2.26 million visitors, a 3% increase.
However, during the low season, the number of UK tourists dropped. In February, Brits were down 7.7% to 18,874 tourists. The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that UK tourism also decreased in November and December 2024.
The island was reliant on Germany’s contribution in February, which was 137,826, an increase of almost 13% year over year.
Activist groups have held protests throughout Spain over the past year due to spiralling living costs, overwhelmed infrastructure, and a housing crisis. In some cases, tourists have been jeered at and sprayed with water while relaxing on holiday.
The Balearic Islands government proposed new “tourism containment measures” to regulate rental accommodation on 7 March.
In high season, the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) is set to rise from €4 (£3.36) to a maximum of €6 (£5) per person, per night.
Tourists will also no longer be allowed to drive through Soller’s historic centre after a residents-only traffic zone was proposed in March.
There is also a temporary ban on new holiday rental licenses in Majorca to help curb the number of apartments being purchased as holiday lets and increase the stock available for locals.