The CEO of TUI, Sebastian Ebel, says that the tour operator has reached its "capacity limits" in the Balearics and is looking to other Mediterranean destinations for growth. Less crowded destinations include Egypt and Turkey; Algeria is also under consideration.
TUI - No room for more growth in the Balearics
"The main targets of complaints (about overcrowding) are Airbnb and similar platforms."
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Like almost everything in Palma or Mallorca it’s complicated Mallorca dose not control the cruise ships all the ports and water areas are run from Madrid this money goes to Madrid and some of it dose get back to the baliarics but that amount is a moving target regarding Hotels there are too many that is why Mallorca has the most hotels for sale in the whole of Spain 🇪🇸 so changes real ones will be hard to come by this is why illegal renting is made to be the root of all evil why is it so hard to legalize a place to rent ? Guess Why Hotel Owners ?
I recently went on a cruise, Palma to Italy, On a morning we all pile onto 10 or more coaches waiting to ferry us to Rome. Arriving at Rome there are already vast hordes and coaches from other cruise ships. You could see dozens of groups weaving around all following a different guide waving a brolly in the air to remain visible, virtually all with a rucksack on their back full of fruit and sandwiches made up from the breakfast buffet on the boat, this was to tide them over till their return to the ship. By what I could see, the most purchased items in the city were a bottle of water and a fridge magnet, or some other trashy souvenir, made in China of course. Harassed by the African hawkers, I was glad to get back on the air conditioned coach. What did I learn about Rome ? FA (sorry) I will never ever go on another cruise. Now I can see why the residents of Palma protest, vast numbers of their apartments being bought up by foreigners sold purely for the purpose rent to tourists, Vast numbers of brolly led tourists literally flushing Mallorca's precious water resources down the toilet. Who benefits form all this? well, you guessed, certainly not the residents of Palma.
TUI don't make any money from holiday flat rentals so of course that's where the problem is. Not the fault of too many hotels - of course not, nothing at all to do with it.
I can only speak for Palma as that's where I spend most of my time when on the island but the difference in crowding that I experience in the centre when there are ships in port and when there aren't is huge. Cruisers form pedestrian blockades on the main streets of Palma and in certain avenues it's almost impossible to get through. But on days when there are no cruisers in town, it's much easier and more pleasant to be in the centre. Unless cruisers contribute significantly to Palma's economy, and the reports are that they don't, I would vote to deny access to cruise ships of more than 2000 passengers and to reduce their visits.