The Balearics tourism minister, Jaume Bauzá, accepts that tourism markets are concerned by protests but says there isn't as much concern as there was last year. "We haven't received any major warning signs."
A week on from the protest in Palma, Bauzá has repeated a government line of respecting the demonstrations "so long as they take place in a harmonious atmosphere". The hoteliers federation and the business confederation argued that the protest wasn't representative of Mallorcan society - the Spanish Government's delegation provided an estimate of 8,000 people.
"Some will consider this a representative figure and others will not. In any case, we must respect it and at the same time reject violent and anti-social attitudes. This will not change the dynamic of a government committed to restraint and balance. These demonstrations stem from policies of the past that failed to take into account the illegal tourism offer that is now rampant."
As to how the season is going, the minister says May wasn't as good as expected (it should be noted that the official figures for May won't be published until the start of July). "The initial forecasts for the season were more optimistic than they are today. From what we're hearing, the season will be good, although below the initial expectations. It will be a good season, in line with last year but not better."
Having highlighted the illegal offer, Bauzá believes that the effects of new measures to tackle this will begin to be noticed. "I'm sure we'll be able to see results once the year is over. We have expanded the scope of the tourist tax so that significant amounts can be diverted to the fight against illegal accommodation. The island councils have received millions of euros and have been able to increase the number of inspectors."
The government has been criticised for not having gone further in restricting apartment holiday lets. At one point, it had seemed as if it would seek to ban these, but the minister explains that consideration had to be given to potential compensation claims.
"Barcelona has banned these rentals and is facing claims amounting to 4.2 billion euros. Those we have here were once authorised with full rights. We will not permit more, while for renewing licences we will increase the requirements with the aim of gradually reducing them. The island councils will set the criteria and increase the requirements so that, little by little, people stop renting to tourists."
In general, Bauzá and the Partido Popular government acknowledge it will be difficult to introduce further measures to address overtourism. This is because of the current parliamentary arithmetic and the PP's reliance on Vox in order to approve the budget. An increase in the rate of the tourist tax in high summer and a tax on hire cars were measures the PP would have adopted had it not been for Vox.
Bauzà nevertheless stresses that "other types of legislative changes will surely have to be made, even if these are unlikely to be possible due to the parliamentary balance". Of the measures that have been adopted, he says: "We cannot expect results from today to tomorrow. It is a long road, and these are measures that need sufficient time to be consolidated and for us to see the first results. They are an important foundation, as we are certain - and we all agree - that we have reached a limit."