After 13.5 Million Visitors, Mallorca Business Leader Calls for Cutting Tourist Beds

Spain's popular vacation island of Mallorca is facing calls to limit tourist accommodations in order to curb crowding. Jordi Mora, president of Pimem, a federation representing small and medium-sized businesses in Mallorca, said the island needs to take stronger steps to control tourism.

Mallorca is one of the Balearic Islands. The island, measuring roughly 1,400 square miles, received some 13.5 million visitors in 2025.

"We need to curb tourism, which includes reducing the total number of tourist beds," Mora told the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

Mora's proposal would include reducing the number of accommodations available in registered vacation rentals and taking stronger action against illegal rentals.

Mora said some smaller hotel operators would support reducing accommodations if the changes were made through agreements and incentives. "If this is approached through consensus and incentives, it is possible to move toward a more sustainable model," Mora said.

Mora also said the island does not need more tourists to grow its economy. "We must increase value and ensure that this growth benefits society as a whole," he told the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

Mallorca has also been exploring a shift toward attracting fewer visitors who spend more money. Pedro Homar, managing director of Palma's tourism board, said Mallorca would prefer to attract wealthy American tourists.

"Tourism is our way of life," Homar told The Wall Street Journal. "The change of model is quality over quantity. We need to have fewer tourists who spend more."

American tourists in Spain spent about $410 per day this past July, compared with $240 for German visitors and $260 for British travelers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Travel expert Jordi Lippe-McGraw said that once a place goes viral, it can get flooded with visitors really quickly, bringing overcrowding, higher costs for locals and more pressure on the area overall.

Resident frustration with tourism growth has been visible before. Thousands took to the streets in June 2025 to protest the growth of tourism on the island, marching with signs saying, "One more tourist, one less resident."

Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca are now at the forefront of Europe's growing backlash against overtourism, the report said.