Samantha Mythen
THE temporary ban on establishing new beds for tourists continues in Mallorca and its surrounding islands.
The Balearic government is working to control overtourism on the Spanish archipelago.
It had enforced the accommodation moratorium in place since February 2022, where 90,000 holiday rental accommodation beds were placed in an exchange pool. This means, accommodation places can be exchanged but new places could not be created.
“We advocate containment, not decrease,” President Marga Prohens said.
The island councils are still deliberating on the maximum number of accommodation beds allowed per island.
This comes as the Balearic government is considering a range of measures to control tourism as the busy summer season approaches. Stricter measures against illegal tourist accommodation have been proposed, including penalties of up to €500,000.
The number of tourists choosing to stay in second homes rented out illegally instead of in hotels or licenced holiday rental properties has increased by 25% in the last five years, as reported by the Balearic Statistics Institute.
This is four percent higher than those tourists staying in the regulated accommodation.
However, it was decided a potential increase in the tourist tax will not be implemented.
Prohens said she is working to ‘defend the general interest’ on the islands, which are facing a major housing crisis.
Housing stock in the Balearics will need to increase by between 93,800 and 230,400 new units by 2040, a recent report by the Balearic Statistics Institute stated, if it’s to support the influx of immigration.
Thirty-seven organisations from the Balaerics took part in the nationwide protest on April 5, where hundreds of thousands of people demanded that housing in Spain be treated as a human right not a commodity.
Mallorca’s hospitality industry is already under threat, with restaurant and nightclub owners worried they won’t have enough staff to work the holiday season. Staff are unable to find accommodation, with what rentals there are rented out at maximum prices.
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