Majorcan government issues fresh warning to UK tourists as hotel leaders speak out
The Balearic Government has repeated the message that limits on tourists need to be set, despite claims that Majorca is not 'overcrowded'. Antoni Costa, the vice-president and spokesperson for the government, said that their stance had not changed on tourism and said 'we must talk about limits'.
His comments come after the president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Javier Vich, slammed the suggestion that Majorca was 'an overcrowded holiday destination', calling it 'utterly false', while attending the ITB tourism fair in Berlin this week.
When asked about the remarks at a press conference on Thursday, Antoni Costa said that the government's position had not changed, and that the holiday destination 'cannot' continue to grow with the same pattern, and that the islands 'have reached their limit', Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.
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He said that "It is necessary to take into account the well-being of the residents." He also described the problem of 'the first magnitude'.
The government has recently announced its new plans for a sustainable tourism model, which included proposals such as taxing low-budget flights.
According to local reports, the comments from the hotel association boss were likely made to send a positive message to the German tourism market, and 'while he was right in intimating that the whole island doesn't suffer from overcrowding, public opinion tends to believe otherwise.'
Last year demonstrations against mass-tourism were held across the Balearic Islands as residents raised concerns over the impact of visitors.
Responding to the upheaval, the Balearic Government has emphasised the need to introduce a sustainable tourism model.
But suggestions such as raising tourism taxes have been met with backlash from business leaders. Vich also stated that the federation doesn't agree with 'any increase to the tourist tax'.
There have been plans to increase tourist tax on a seasonal basis, although further details have yet to be announced and it's 'widely believed' to be delayed until 2026.
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