Mallorca will reduce its cap on tourist accommodation by 18,000 beds, the equivalent of half the number of beds in the Playa de Palma, from a total of 430,000 to 412,000, a drop of 4.2%.
The move was announced today (Friday) by the president of the Council de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, during a press conference accompanied by the island’s councillor for Tourism, José Marcial Rodríguez.
It will be the first time that Mallorca has reduced its maximum number of places. “It is time to set limits,” said Galmés, because the growth has put the coexistence between tourists and residents “at risk”.
According to the island councillor, the maximum capacity of Mallorca will be reduced to 412,000 legal beds. 308,000 are hotel rooms and 104,000 are holiday rentals.
The reduction in the maximum number of beds has been agreed with the hotel and holiday rental sector and, according to Galmés, the sector supports the measure.
The island’s tourism councillor admitted that this season will be “complicated and difficult”, but he said that this is the first step to “begin to minimise the effects” of overcrowding.
“We cannot increase the number of beds any further,” he said.
“What we have not tried to solve in eight years, we are not going to solve immediately,” he said, adding that “to be honest” the situation will be “complicated” and the president made it clear that “there will be more measures”.