Majorca in major tourism crackdown with ban on party boats among strict rules

The much-loved Spanish resort will ban party boats, youth hostels and more tourist rentals as the crackdown comes following protests against over-tourism earlier this year

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A holiday hotspot^[1] popular with Brits have has announced tough new measures are being put into place to combat over tourism.

Palma, the capital of Majorca^[2], has implemented a total ban on party boats, new tourist rentals and youth hostels. The mayor Jaime Martinez outlined the tough new measures, saying the ban on more tourist rentals comes into immediate effect.

Until now, it was prohibited in multi-family homes but the ban extends to single family homes and room rentals which until now were marketed on platforms such as Airbnb. The mayor said there were only 639 legal tourist rentals in Palma and these would continue to exist – but if they were cancelled they would not be replaced.

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The opening of any new hostels will also be banned throughout Palma, it was announced. Those which still exist will be encouraged to convert them into hotels or housing. Party boats will be completely banned from Palma’s sea front where they dock, starting next season.

Officials are working with the Balearic port authority to see how the restrictions will be enforced. The mayor said there had been a lot of complaints from residents, due to the type of tourist they attract especially in the summer. Mr Martinez said the measures were part of the city council’s commitment to the quality of the destination and curbing illegal tourism.

Earlier this year, Spain joined the likes of Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Greece in clamping down on unlawful tourist flats in an effort to tackle overtourism. The issue with these illegal holiday rentals is not new, as evidenced by last summer’s overtourism protests across Spain. Locals blame these apartments for the housing crisis, with rental prices skyrocketing and local housing availability dwindling.^[5][6][7][8]

In Majorca, many locals are already despairing over the state of the housing market, with prices surging by another 15% in just the past year. In a bid to address the problem, authorities in Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Greece are ramping up inspections, implementing new licensing systems, and demanding more cooperation from booking platforms.

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Despite earlier warnings of hefty fines this year, a Spanish government report claimed that there are still 7,000 holiday flats being rented out illegally in the Balearic Islands. It is hoped that this stringent crackdown will create a fairer market for legal operators and safeguard communities.

Authorities in these popular holiday destinations say their message is clear: tourists are welcome, but only if they abide by the law and respect the locals. The housing crisis in Spain has reached such a critical point that it’s been labelled a “social emergency” by the Spanish government.

They estimate that between 600,000 and a million new homes need to be built within the next four years to meet the demand. The cost-of-living crisis is also hitting hard, with one in three Spaniards confessing they can’t afford a week-long holiday, as per the National Statistics Institute.

Barcelona is at the forefront with stringent rules on clamping down on holiday lets. The city is currently in the process of phasing out tourist apartments, with a goal to eradicate all licensed short-term rentals by 2028.

Mayor Jaume Collboni has declared that the City Council will not renew any licences for tourist-use flats once they expire in November 2028.

Spain is by far the most popular country among UK travellers, with close to 18 million of us visiting in 2023 — far more than the 9.2 million who took a trip to second-place France.