While Mallorca is fighting the flow of tourists, Spain is breaking records overnight. The tourism sector is booming despite resistance.
Spain recorded a record number of hotel stays in the first half of 2024, despite another sharp increase in room rates. Between January 1 and June 30, the number of stays rose by 7.5 percent to 160.6 million compared to the same period last year, according to statistics agency INE. The average room rate in June 2024 was around eight percent higher than in the same month last year. Hotels were said to have generated a turnover of more than 122 euros per occupied room in June.
Since 2022, visitor records have been broken again in a row
The number of visitors to Spain had been increasing rapidly for years before the corona pandemic put a pause. Since 2022, one record has been chasing another. Hotel guests from abroad were once again primarily responsible for the new record number of overnight stays, with an increase of 11.2 percent. However, the number of overnight stays by domestic customers only increased by 0.9 percent in the first half of the year.
The INE recently reported a 13.6 percent increase in foreign visitor numbers for the first five months of the year to a new record of over 33.2 million. With over 4.4 million, the Germans were behind the British (over 6.3 million) and almost level with the French in third place.
Locals demonstrate against the flow of tourists
The popular holiday destination has been in the news a lot lately due to the increasing number of demonstrations against mass tourism. Thousands took to the streets of Mallorca on Sundayto protest the excesses. This was the third rally of its kind this year. A day later, the regional government promised “bold measures” to solve the various problems that mass tourism has been blamed for.
No details were given in Palma. In other Spanish holiday strongholds such as Barcelona, Malaga and the Canary Islands, the problems are also getting worse. Above all, the housing shortage, but also traffic jams, noise and dirt, are getting on the nerves of the local population.