In June 2023, Mallorca attracted 1.67 million tourists, the third highest monthly figure behind July and August. The first three months of 2024 may not offer an accurate indication, but for January to March (April's figures are about to be released) the growth in tourist numbers was 20%. Although it's doubtful that this level of growth will be maintained in June, were it to be, the two million mark would be reached.
Amidst all the talk about tourist saturation, there are categories of visitor that the island could quite happily lose. Totalling around 25,000, Spanish students may only represent a small fraction of the overall tourist picture, but they are - and unfortunately - a category that genuinely and generally isn't welcomed. And this is by residents and other tourists alike.
There are certain businesses that gain - the hotels that accommodate students; ferry companies; clubs that put on events (but at the risk of alienating their regular clientele); other events' organisers, such as Son Fusteret where the Dream Island DJ concerts are in part aimed at the students; and coach operators.
Rafael Roig, the president of the Balearic Transport Federation, says that the peak of student arrivals, mainly by ferry, will have an impact on the logistics and operations of the coach sector. "It will greatly affect transfers. We expect that, as happened last year, there will be a small bottleneck."
Arenal in Llucmajor is the main centre; others are Alcudia, Magalluf and Palmanova. In Arenal, special security arrangements have to be established, thus placing extra demands on police and Guardia Civil.
José Luis Iravela is the CEO of Unicampus. It will be bringing 7,500 students to the island. The number is roughly the same as last year, despite an increase in prices of trips - some nine per cent. "The price increase for accommodation has been quite noticeable, but we are in line with what was expected in terms of reservations."
2021 was notorious because of the huge Covid outbreak among students and the consequences of this - many students were moved to the government's so-called Covid hotel. Those were exceptional circumstances. At a forum in July that year, Gabriel Escarrer of Meliá Hotels International said: "We cannot have the madness like that of last week." But in more general terms, he added: "The end-of-course (student) trips bring nothing to the economy. They don't interest us."
In March 2022, the then tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, held a meeting with hotelier representatives at which it was made clear that they would be fighting together against tourism of excesses and, in particular, anti-social student holidays. Negueruela did at one point suggest that he would look at how to prevent these trips. But they continue all the same, a minor statistical detail in terms of saturation but a major headache for many.