Mallorca visitor numbers drop following overtourism protests
According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, industry representatives across the hotel, hospitality and transport sectors have reported a decrease in tourist footfall.
A significant drop in holidaymakers from the UK and Germany could be due to unwelcoming messages seen across Europe, said Pedro Fiol, head of the travel agency group Aviba.
Juanmi Ferrer, of the Restaurants Association in Mallorca (CAEB), warned that restaurants across the island may be forced to shut down in 2025, reported the outlet. Some are reporting as much as a 40 per cent decrease in customer numbers.
Similar visitor declines have been seen in several municipalities, including busy tourist towns Soller and Capdepera, according to the Mallorca Hotel Business Federation (FEHM).
Elsewhere, excursion and transport take-up rates are said to be suffering from the lack of Mallorca's usual summer visitors.
In June, protesters took to the streets of Palma to demand an end to the 'touristification' of their communities.
Around 10,000 protesters also took part in a similar demonstration in July of last year. People carried models of planes and cruise ships, plus posters reading 'no to mass tourism' and 'stop private jets'.
Nonetheless, tourism minister Jaume Bauzà maintains that overall visitor numbers to Mallorca remain high.
In 2024, an estimated 15.3 million international holidaymakers visited the Balearics.
On 14 July, FEHM announced the launch of a 'positive communications campaign' to highlight Mallorca 's tourism potential.
Under the slogan 'Tourist, thank you for visiting Mallorca', the group 'seeks to remind everyone that we are a hospitable, open society, proud of our tourism vocation, in contrast to the rejectionist rhetoric'.
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