The Balearic Islands closed their high season leading the arrival of foreign visitors, hotel occupancy – mainly in Formentera – and tourist spending. While residents blame overcrowding on streets and beaches, leading them to launch unprecedented demonstrations to protest the consequences of this model, the Administration celebrates the data collected – slightly lower than those of 2023 – and continues to bet on the seasonalization and diversification of the sector.
More specifically, the Balearic Islands welcomed 2,637,41 tourists in June, 6.1% more than in 2023. 67.8% of visitors went to Mallorca, 22.3% to the Pitiüses and 9.8% in Menorca, according to data published by the Balearic Tourism Department. . In July, 3,035,356 tourists arrived in the archipelago, 1% more than in 2023. By island, Majorca welcomed 66.9% of tourists, Pitiüses 21.9% and Menorca 11.2 %, according to the same sources.
According to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the archipelago was the first autonomous community in terms of foreign tourist arrivals in July, with a share of 23.4%. Next come Catalonia, with 22.1%, and the Valencian Community, much lower, with 13.6%. This September, the last month for which data is available, almost two and a half million tourists arrived in the islands, 2.4% more than in September 2023. Mallorca received 68.4%, the Pitiüses 21.9% and Menorca 9.6%. The Balearic Islands were the first community in terms of foreign tourist arrivals in September, with a share of 22.4%, followed by Catalonia, with a share of 21.2%, and Andalusia (share of 15 %), according to the same sources.
Formentera leads in July and August in terms of hotel occupancy
These levels of tourist arrivals in the Balearic territory have had an impact on the hotel facilities of the islands which, due to the high demand of the destination, have had a good year. Or at least those are the sentiments expressed, based on surveys, by the Hotel Federation of Ibiza and Formentera (FEHIF). “The results for us have been good, more or less similar to those of 2023,” says Manuel Sendino, director of the Hotel Federation of Ibiza and Formentera. Although the occupancy percentage has not yet been definitively determined, “it will be very similar to last year and it worked normally and well,” he explains in a conversation with elDiario. es.
However, a different perception is that of Ibiza’s tourism director, Juan Miguel Costa. “We weren’t counting on that (referring to this year’s data). Due to the high demand we had high prices, and it may also be that at some point this created a reluctance among tourists to come to the island for more days or even, in some cases, to come”, he recently declared in statements to this media. The FEHIF plays down the drama: “It may be that certain establishments had to lower their prices to have a good attendance rate, but I do not know precisely by what it’s about.” Costa assured that the strategy of his department is to continue the process of seasonalization and diversification in different sectors to achieve better results.
The government commits to seasonal adjustment
The Balearic Tourism Department defines itself in the same sense in statements to this newspaper. “We are facing a good response from the sector to the Government’s strategy of focusing on tourism associated with culture and sport, and with the objective of seasonalization.” This is demonstrated, he points out, by the fact that the almost 5% increase in the number of visitors to the islands over the past year “is concentrated mainly in the first and last months of the season, which which represents a very important step forward. towards the deseasonalization of our tourist season.
So, today in the Islands, the busiest month was August. Most hotels in major tourist destinations exceeded 90% that month. In June, Mallorca had a hotel bed occupancy rate of 82.8%, 4 points lower than in 2023. In Menorca it was down 6 points to 75.8%, according to Tourism .
Concretely, in June in Ibiza, the average occupancy of the hotel floor was 83% (0.7 points less than in 2023 with 83.1%). Formentera, for its part, stood at 73% compared to 74% last season. According to data published by the Balearic Tourism Department, the occupancy rate of places in the Pitiüses was 76.5%, or 2.2 points less than the previous year, according to data provided by the FEHIF. Furthermore, according to INE data, the Balearic Islands were the first autonomous community in terms of foreign tourist arrivals in June, with a share of 23.6%. Next come Catalonia with 21.5% and Andalusia with 14.7%.
In July, the Balearic Islands, with 87.6%, were the first autonomous community in terms of bed occupancy rate in hotel establishments, followed by the Canary Islands, with 76.1%. By island, Majorca presented 89.6% occupancy rate per place (2.0 points of variation compared to 2023), Pitiüses 82.7% (-3.8) and Menorca 80.9% (- 4 ,4). Despite this, the data is slightly lower than in 2023. The hotel occupancy rate fell from 89.8% that year to 87.6 in July 2024.
According to the FEHIF survey for the month of July, the “cumulative data for the entire season”, from May to the end of July, recorded an average hotel occupancy in the Pitiüses of 80.7%, very close to 81.2% of the last season. By island, the average occupancy rate in Ibiza was 81.4% during these first seven months of the year, compared to 82.2% for the same period last year. In Formentera the percentage is 70.8%, compared to 69.5% in 2023.
Also in August, the data was lower, although not significant. Specifically in Eivissa, 1.1% compared to the same month of 2023. The south of Pitiusa closed the month with 1.6% less than the same month of 2023, despite the fact that during the first fortnight , it recorded 90% of stays completed. The smaller Pitiusa had more luck in the data accumulated by the Pitiusa Hotel Federation, Formentera ended the period with positive data, with 75.19% this season compared to 74.55% last year.
Generally speaking, in the Balearic Islands, the month of August closed with 89.9% (0.7 point variation compared to 2023). It was the first autonomous community in terms of bed occupancy rate in hotel establishments, followed by the Canary Islands, with 81.2%. By island, the Pitiüses presented an occupancy rate per bed of 90.6% (+2.2 points of variation compared to 2023), Majorca 90.3% (0.7) and Menorca 85.4% ( – 1.8).
Already in September, the last for which data is available, the Balearic Islands, with 80.9% (1.8 points of variation compared to 2023), were again the first community in terms of occupancy rate by places with 74.2%. By island, Majorca presented an occupancy rate per place of 82% (2.4 points of variation compared to 2023), Pitiusas 80.2% (2) and Menorca 72.5% (-2.9) . The ministry insists it is aware that the current model “needs a transformation”.
Balearics, leading community in tourist spending
Another reflection from the Balearic Tourism Department concerns the increase in spending by tourists traveling to the archipelago. “This strategy also means that we are growing more in value than in volume: today, the increase in tourism spending on our islands is double the increase in the number of visitors,” they say.
And this is supported by the data. The Balearic Islands were the first autonomous community in terms of spending by foreign tourists in June, with a share of 22.3%, ahead of Catalonia (20.5%) and Andalusia (14.1%). Tourists, national and foreign, arriving in June 2024 spent 3,042.1 million euros (12% more than in 2023). 69.9% correspond to those of tourists who had Majorca as their main destination, 21.1% Pitiusas and 9% Menorca.
In July, the data was repeated, leading the Communities ranking with a share of foreign tourist spending of 24.4%. Compared to the month of August, in 2024 they spent 4,060.4 million euros (7.7% more than in August 2023). 66.2% correspond to those of tourists who had Majorca as their main destination, 22.4% Pitiusas and 11.4% Menorca. The Islands were also first in September, with a share of 21.4%, ahead of Catalonia (19.6%) and Andalusia (15%).
Domestic and foreign tourists arriving in September 2024 spent 2,967.2 million euros (6.6% more than in September 2023). 68.3% correspond to those of tourists who had Majorca as their main destination, 22.6% Pitiüs and 9.1% Menorca.
