According to the National Statistics Institute's Survey of Living Conditions, 30.4% of Balearic residents can't afford at least one week's holiday away from home.
The survey, which was published in May, highlighted a paradox for a destination with such high holiday demand. It has been suggested that the total number of tourists this year could rise by a further two million to around 20 million. If the trend over the first six months of 2024 is anything to go by, this seems unlikely. Tourist numbers from January to June increased by 8.1%, which would equate to an annual rise of some 1.4 million, roughly the same total increase as in 2023.
The INE also found that 36% of residents lacked the means to pay for the unexpected, such as a car breaking down - an indication of the sharp divide in Balearic society. The most recent Tax Agency figures (2022) pointed to 28.8% of taxpayers with an annual income of 12,000 euros or less.
Those with minimum incomes of 600,000 euros per annum increased by 40% in 2022. There were admittedly only 587 but they placed the Balearics number two in the national table of 'super-earners'.
Coming to holidays, the Aviba association of travel agencies says that these are one of the last options that citizens of the islands are willing to give up. But with prices having gone up, paying for holidays has meant that more and more people are doing so in instalments.
The association's president, Pedro Fiol, says: "Travel agencies increasingly have more clients who are opting to pay in instalments. The fact that a large part of the Balearic population works during the tourism season allows them to plan their trips in advance. So, at the time of making the reservation, often before the start of the season, they give us a deposit of between 50 and 100 euros and the rest of the trip is paid comfortably in instalments without any financial institution being involved."
He adds that Mallorcans are not greatly in favour of borrowing money from banks, as they don't like having to keep paying for something once they have enjoyed it. Borrowing is more common among people from mainland Spain and, especially, foreigners.