Clara del Moral, the Council of Mallorca's director of tourism demand and hospitality, has called on town halls to help in seeking out illegal holiday lets.
At a forum in Palma on Thursday, she said that one way in which municipal authorities can assist is through involvement of local police forces. Referring to small municipalities in particular, Del Moral observed that the local police often know when tourists arrive with suitcases - officers can see them.
She explained that her department has spoken with the Felib federation of town halls and with Palma town hall about developing this police involvement. Police reports, she suggested, are already being made. "But we want to go further."
Rooting out illegal lets, she said, is "very complicated". "It is not that the inspection system we have is inefficient, it is that it is insufficient. It is also not easy as it depends on many factors."
Owners of these homes are "increasingly moving away from traditional marketing channels". Rather than using accommodation websites, which do pose legal obstacles, there is now advertising on social media - Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X. Moreover, adverts tend to only appear at night or over the weekends. "They know that inspectors work from Monday to Friday during daylight hours."
A ruse that inspectors have come across is that a property they have been monitoring turns out not to be the one that holidaymakers stay in. "When tourists arrive, they are told that they will be accommodated in another, better property. It is quite possible, therefore, that what is advertised online isn't the actual property."