The president of the Balearic Government, Francina Armengol, said today that she will work to ensure that the population projections of the National Institute of Statistics - which predict a growth of 300,000 inhabitants in the Balearics in 15 years - does not happen, “because it is simply unsustainable”.
Speaking during a breakfast briefing organised by Europa Press in Madrid, she said that the INE’s forecast is extremely concerning.
She warned that a sharp increase in human pressure with have serious implications for aspects such as the environment, access to housing “and for the whole of Spain”.
Armengol made it clear that the islands cannot grow without limits in terms of new housing and residential space.
The President also linked human pressure to tourism growth and insisted on the need to share out the benefits in order to “guarantee a balance between residents and tourism”.
Armengol explained that everyone agrees with the moratorium on tourist places applied by her government and that “there is no need for more places” in the Balearics.
The president insisted that the Balearics are “leaders in tourism” and want to “continue to be so”, but with a focus on quality rather than quantity.