According to figures from the Balearic Islands Retail Observatory, tourist spending in the islands' shops from January to October increased by nine per cent to €1.911 million.
In the third quarter alone, the spending totalled €1,104 million, an increase of slightly less than nine per cent compared with July to September 2024.
Retail sales as a whole for the first ten months of 2025 increased by 4.8%, the figures having been arrived at from National Statistics Institute and Balearic Statistics Institute data by the Observatory, which was established by the current government in March last year.
In presenting the report on Tuesday, the director-general for the economy and statistics, Catalina Barceló, said "Businesses are more optimistic about the future than they were a year ago." Although some have negative expectations, "these are within the usual range of responses".
In terms of employment, the retail sector had 53,830 workers in October, 2.9% more than the year before and in contrast with a national average growth of 0.8%.
While the report points to a reasonably buoyant retail sector in general, it is the tourist spending which attracts the most attention. As with other parts of the complementary sector, e.g. restaurants, there have been reports of lower tourist spending. A fall in revenue of 20% was given in July. The Observatory's findings suggest otherwise.
This said, there isn't complete detail as to the type of shopping. Reports have indicated that supermarkets, for instance, have been benefiting from higher tourist spending. The Observatory's latest report does show, as an example, an overall 3.1% increase in spending on food in September, while other sales increased almost nine per cent.