Mallorca tourism row over 20m guests

Tourism dominated a fierce sitting of Parliament in Palma on Mallorca on 9 September 2026, as the Balearic Government faced warnings that the islands could be heading for 20 million tourists this year. Regional president Marga Prohens said the sector was beginning to change. Opposition parties said rising visitor numbers were still pushing up pressure on homes and household budgets.

Europa Press

Prohens said growth in tourist arrivals was now concentrated in the middle and low seasons. During the peak season, she said, a pattern of restraint had taken hold. Spending per tourist was also rising, she added, supporting her government’s aim of growing tourism through value rather than volume.

Visitors rise as housing costs bite

Lluís Apesteguia of MÉS per Mallorca pointed to a 1.8 percent rise in international tourists in July. He said that put the Balearic Islands on course for a new record of 20 million tourists in 2026.

Comparing today with 2000, Apesteguia said the islands now received more tourists while homes had become more expensive and families found it harder to make it to the end of the month. He urged Prohens to listen to calls for tourism to shrink rather than merely be contained.

Prohens said her government recognised the social discontent and had accepted from the start of its term that the Balearic Islands had reached their limit. She cited limits on the growth of new tourist places, a ban on new holiday flats in multi-family buildings and penalties for illegal tourist lets.

Flights and airport expansion fuel the clash

Socialist spokesman Iago Negueruela accused Prohens of ignoring protests against overcrowding. He criticised her government for not increasing the sustainable tourism tax, charging hire-car firms or taxing major water users.

Negueruela also pointed to air links with Canada, the United States and Abu Dhabi, arguing that more people were still being brought to the islands. He called for effective legislation.

Prohens turned her fire on airport operator Aena, saying it treated Balearic airports as a source of revenue. She accused it of pursuing expansions at Ibiza and Menorca through the back door, and criticised its warning that failing to increase air traffic could damage the economy, including the property sector.

Mallorca tourism row: 20 million guests loom in 2026

Visitors rise as housing costs bite

Flights and airport expansion fuel the clash