Palma.—It is that time of the year when we start moaning and groaning that we have got too many tourists and the island is “saturated.” Well before we start entering into a long debate about trying to reduce the number of tourists (yet again) I will remind you that the chill winds of recession will be blowing through Europe this autumn.
"Overcrowded Mallorca" in photos
There has been much talk this summer about overcrowding on the island and too many tourists. The government is under pressure to curb the number of holidaymakers in peak season. In this selection of photos it appears that those calling for fewer tourists are in the right although many would disagree.
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Burgundy BlueTourism is an important metric, no argument about that. It's important. And yes, winter tourism is ever-increasing, but it's a different type of tourism. It's not the beachy resort type of tourism you see in summer, which explains a lot about why the resorts largely close down in the winter. In winter, it's golf, cycling, hiking, equestrian sports, sightseeing, or just taking a break from the cold North. Few of those types want to be in a 20sq meter room overlooking a cold, often windy beach, with few (if any) shops restaurants bars or even supermarkets open. Outside the resorts, other than the weather, there's little discernable difference from summer to winter. Everything is open: restaurants, bars supermarkets, shops... and busy as usual. This explains why the rural hotels and villas get booked up in the low season. They're nearer the things winter tourists want, and it's all open and busy as usual. And there's festivals and stuff to do. And it's quite a bit less expensive than resorts would be. Brits, however (generally speaking) are rather resort-addicted (and averse to foreign stuff) so that's not really what they're looking for. And that may explain why Mallorca is generally full of Europeans in the off season. You only need to go to a rural village to witness that. The MDB generally counts the number of Brits booking Mallorca, and therefore tends to predict alarming tourism declines after the British resorts close down (around first of November). But when the official numbers are released in the following spring, it's always far better than they predicted. There's already pretty solid bookings in the rural areas well into 2023. But they won't know that until next year. In the mean time, it looks pretty bad for Mallorca. Until they get the official reports anyway. Same procedure as last year.
Zoltan TeglasD’you what? I’ve only just spotted my typo. Apologies. I intended to quote the Consell De Mallorca figure of 44% GDP. It certainly is not as low as I had stated below. Mea culpa. Even so, 44% is still less than half. And, by their own admission, the authors of that report admit that actual footfall numbers counted in the FAN shopping centre (for instance) do not directly relate to the amount of money going through the tills. “Unquantifiable.” Published in 2019 (pre-pandemic, admittedly) the report concludes it’s baseline GDP figure for tourism using over 200 accounting measures similar to the example I mentioned above. Incidentally, I do find I’;m increasingly active in the winter months - and more businesses seem to be staying open. Few, if any of these are catering to tourists on this, the Eastern side of the island. It’s a local shop for local people, as the League of Gentlemen would say. That’s where more than half our GDP comes from. Interesting. Even more interesting if we just avert our eyes to the amount of dinero circulating in the black economy.
Burgundy BlueI think Spain's GDP from tourism is only around 12% (which is a surprise to many British tourists whose knowledge of Spain doesn't go beyond tourist resorts) But Mallorca's is around 70% I believe.
'We' didn't get rich - a small percentage of business owners got rich. The majority of people in Mallorca are on low wages. Talk a walk around Pere Garau, Camp Redo, Bons Aires, La Soledad, Son Cotoner, Es Forti, Son Dameto, Foners etc in Palma. Spot all those rich people? No me neither.
Burgundy BlueMany of these people are tourists or otherwise "newbies". Chances are, they came here on holiday over the years, staying in a British resort. Then perhaps later decided to move there (living in a tourist resort is never what you think it will be). And that's what they know. So, they can be forgiven for presuming that A) the whole place is a tourist resort, dependent on tourism, and B) it's all British money coming from British tourism. But for those who have lived here for any length of time, and not in a tourist resort, they will know with absolute certainty that Mallorca has improved radically in the past 20 years. The infrastructure is as good as it gets. Roads are very well maintained. Telecommunications and internet are just about best in class. The quality of accommodation had become radically improved. We now have major retailers, nice shopping malls, the airport has been improved substantially. And much much more. In addition to the difficult management of mass tourism (Mallorca keeps winning awards for that), all of this has made Mallorca very, very attractive. Beyond our best expectations. So, yes, it's an ongoing challenge, and there will always be dissenting voices, but the will to manage it carefully is certainly there, the actions have been consistent with that, and no matter what your views on it, it's hard to ignore that it's been pretty damned successful so far. It will always be a challenge to keep it sustainable, because the better managed it is, the more desirable it will be. That is, after all, the point of it all.
“ Our only source of income is tourism.” +++ What the hell are you smoking? Tourism accounts for 14% of Mallorca’s GDP. And you already knew that before you wrote this sharticle.
Much of the recent discussion has been about saturation and the continued increase in tourist numbers, especially in the high season. It’s like a runaway train. More flights, more tourists, more, more, more. The Anti-tourist brigade are misguided, but where is the meaningful and effective overall strategy to maintain and improve Mallorca’s tourism offer? Far too long it has been take, take, take and now with the infrastructure creaking, , beaches crammed, Palma log jammed, everyone’s crying that it’s all too much. It wouldn’t be so if the money made over the past decades had gone into improving Mallorca. Roads, trains, sewage, water capture, solar power generation, hospitals and clinics, the list goes on. Nope. Some cats have gotten very fat here but much of the populace are struggling to get by, and this winter and next year are looking bleak.
I totally agree with this Article. The attitude today is We Are Rich. Now go away. We have had your money. But there are some serious financial cost of living price increases on the Horizon for the World to expect. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is going to cause very great problems. Food Banks will be needed everywhere. Tourists will not return with no money left for a holiday.