The average length of foreign tourist stays in the Balearics has been gradually decreasing in recent years, and latest figures from Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) confirm this trend. For January to October this year, there was a decrease of just over two per cent to 6.2 days. Along with Catalonia, the Balearics had the shortest average stay of any Spanish region.
The INE's national average for the first ten months of the year was seven days. In two regions in particular, the average was much longer than in the Balearics - 8.2 days in the Canaries and 9.2 days in Valencia.
The shorter average stay in the Balearics is attributed to the generally higher prices compared with other regions. It also argued that this is part of a strategy aimed at increasing customer spending in a shorter visit.
On the face of it, a fall of two per cent seems neither here nor there. But taken across the whole period, it is of some significance. The shorter the stay, the more tourists there are in overall terms. Shorter stays impact factors such as traffic and pressures on certain areas. 'Saturation' in must-visit parts of the Balearics has intensified. In terms of tourism sustainability, longer stays have benefits.
The figures were presented on Tuesday at a presentation by the Mesa del Turismo de España, a think tank and lobby group comprising around one hundred leading individuals in the country's tourism industry.
Its president, Juan Molas, offered a positive assessment of 2025's tourism. With the year expected to end with just under 100 million visitors, he described this as: "A significant and historic milestone for an economic sector that will contribute more than 70 billion euros to the balance of payments surplus."
Less positive were the levels of absenteeism and the numbers of unfilled vacancies in the Balearics hospitality industry and the fact that six regions of Spain between them account for 91% of foreign tourists - Andalusia, the Canaries, Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia and the Balearics.