Related news: Mallorca tourism: TUI expect record numbers in 2025

In May last year, the CEO of TUI, Sebastian Ebel, said the tour operator had reached its "capacity limits" in the Balearics and was looking to other Mediterranean destinations for growth. There was no room to grow more in terms of the number of holidaymakers.

At the end of January this year, Ebel told Balearic tourism ministry representatives that the Balearics were becoming too expensive for certain holidaymaker segments. Families were finding it "increasingly difficult" to pay for their holidays in the Balearics and would opt for cheaper destinations such as Bulgaria.

On Tuesday, TUI announced that they expect to bring 2.1 million visitors to the Balearics in 2025, a new record, and up by around 100,000 compared with the 2024 record. The tour operator believes this number could be even higher, given demand outside the high season, especially in Mallorca.

With regard to the concern about the progressive increases in price expressed a month ago, these are not affecting overall demand, TUI noting that there is in fact a growing trend towards booking higher quality accommodation in the Balearics.

While Germany and the UK are TUI's two largest markets, the 2.1 million forecast also relates to their various other European markets, e.g. Austria and Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Ireland. Ebel points to positive momentum in bookings over recent weeks. "This shows that people continue to prioritise their holidays , even in challenging economic environments, such as the one currently existing in Europe". Global reservations show an increase of two per cent compared to last year, while the increase for the Balearics is around double this.

As to capacity limits, a factor that followed Ebel's observation last May was the collapse of the German tour operator FTI . TUI have absorbed some of the FTI customer base.

Protests about overtourism don't appear to be affecting demand either. In this regard, Ebel has always blamed the problem on Airbnb and other similar platforms. "These are not protests against tourism, but rather protests calling for responsible tourism that is also economically successful for local people." What really worries him is that unregulated tourism is causing people to take to the streets.

TUI say Mallorca is becoming too expensive

TUI - No room for more growth in the Balearics

No capacity for growth? Too expensive? TUI expect a record number of tourists in the Balearics in 2025

TUI say Mallorca is becoming too expensive

TUI - No room for more growth in the Balearics