After an Easter which has seen top Mallorca holiday spots like Soller and Valldemossa brought to traffic gridlock, and the season has not even started yet, it appears that tourism saturation or mass tourism continues to be a serious issue for the Mallorcan public -and voters - on all political sides.
So much so that concern over tourist overcrowding on the islands has become so widespread in Balearic society that it now affects voters across all political parties, including the centre right and far right Partido Popular and Vox. A survey of 800 people in Mallorca, commissioned by left wing party Més, shows that more than half of voters across all political parties believe tourist numbers should be reduced – a measure strongly supported by Més voters (95.7%) and PSIB socialist voters (79.1%).
PP voters are the least supportive of this measure (52.6%), and it is striking that more than half of Vox voters (54.8%) are also concerned about this issue and are in favour of reducing tourism. As expected, the main problem facing the people of Mallorca is housing. Voters from all parties consider this to be the main difficulty, and a large majority support rent controls, including among PP voters (57.8%) and Vox voters, with 67% of their supporters backing the measure. 88.8% of Socialist voters agree, as do 91.7% of PSIB voters.
Another striking finding is that the decline of Mallorca’s native language, as cited in the survey commissioned by Més, is viewed with greater concern among Vox voters (52.4%) than among PP voters (45.8%). It is one of the main challenges for Més voters (93.1%) and is a concern, albeit to a slightly lesser extent (64.1%), for those who vote for the PSIB. The cost of living and immigration feature among the issues most frequently mentioned by the public.
The rise of the far right is considered a less significant problem than traffic and pollution. Més voters. They are more concerned about the loss of Mallorcan identity (7%), but less so about the rise of far-right parties: 5.8% of their voters consider it a problem, compared to 1.3% of the general population.
At the end of September last year, a survey revealed that 75.6% of the Balearic population believed that too many tourists visit the region each year. This was one of the most revealing findings of the survey published by the Balearic Islands Government’s Tourism Strategy Agency (AETIB).
The survey was conducted on a sample of 2,008 people from all the islands (738 in Mallorca, 460 in Menorca, 460 in Ibiza and 350 in Formentera). The results, broadly speaking, outline a state of opinion that continues to be generally favourable to tourism, albeit by a narrow margin and with a degree of satisfaction that has been declining over the last decade. Tourism, in its current state and weighing up all the pros and cons, is barely approved in the eyes of the public.
There is a widespread opinion that there are undeniable negative issues which must be regulated. This is reflected in clear majorities in favour of capping visits (69.1%), limiting cruise ships (69.2%) or restricting tourist accommodation and establishments (68.4%). Even more majorities believe it is necessary to limit rental cars (79.6%) or holiday rentals (80.5%). And there is a slight majority in favour of reducing tourism promotion, at 52%.
Support for regulatory measures to limit tourist activity is due to a general feeling about its effects on the level of well-being: crowds in the streets or on the beaches, the increase in the cost of housing, the rising cost of goods and services, and the degradation of the environment and natural resources. However, a simple majority still agree with the statement ‘I am very satisfied with tourism’. Forty-two per cent of respondents agree or strongly agree, while slightly fewer, 38.8 per cent, disagree. The rest, 19.2 per cent, are neutral.