Mallorca 2024 snapshot
Mallorca has experienced an exponential rise in both visitors and residents alongside the growth of the tourism industry, making demographic changes particularly relevant to understanding this transformation.
Mallorca 1968
tourists per
habitant
300.000 habitants / 600.000 tourists in 1968
* Source: total tourist numbers and demographic data from Ibestat
Mallorca 2024
tourists per
habitant
957.726 habitants / 12.5M tourists in 2024
* Source: total tourist numbers and demographic data from Ibestat
Human pressure compared with other tourism-affected places
While there are other locations facing similar tourism-related challenges, we’ve chosen these examples for comparison because their situations are particularly revealing in terms of how residents and tourists coexist.
Paris 2024
tourists per
habitant
11.3M habitants / 70M tourists
(Metropolitan area) Based on data from 2024. Sources: Europapress, Expreso, INE
Barcelona 2024
tourists per
habitant
1.7M habitants / 15.5M tourists
• Based on data from 2024. Sources: Europapress, Expreso, INE
Housing and holiday rentals
The property market in Mallorca reflects the pressure tourism exerts on daily life, creating an unprecedented housing crisis for local residents.
Average rent 2014
7,03 €/m² → average rent 80 m² = 562€
Sources: Idealista, Mallorca Informa, Cadena SER 2024, INE
Average rent 2024
18,14 €/m² (media) → average rent 80 m² = 1.451 €
Sources: Idealista, Mallorca Informa, Cadena SER 2024, INE
An increase of
The phenomenon of tourist accommodation has transformed entire neighbourhoods, displacing local populations and altering the social fabric of historically cohesive communities.
Sources: Idealista, Mallorca Informa, Cadena SER 2024, INE
Current housing crisis
- Fierce competition: Up to 50 families compete for each rental listing in Palma
- Economic pressure: Many residents spend more than 40% of their income on housing
During 2024, approximately…
…arrived on the island of Mallorca, home to Spain’s third-largest airport, despite having only 957,726 residents.
Total tourist and demographic data according to Ibestat & Statista: total number of tourists, excluding cruise passengers (=12,466,429), divided by an average occupancy (175 passengers) of the most frequent aircraft type at PMI (=71,237 flights).
Survey results:
How do Mallorca’s residents experience tourism?
We achieved significant participation from residents across nearly all municipalities on the island.
To provide reliable estimates on how Mallorca’s population views tourism, the survey gathered responses from 440 residents across 41 different municipalities. This allows us to reflect the perspectives of Mallorca’s approximate 957,726 inhabitants, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of ±4.67%.
With this, we can confidently say that the results provide a valid and reliable reflection of how the people living in Mallorca experience the impact of tourism in their daily lives.
We asked how tourism is experienced in Mallorca from the perspective of its residents.
It’s noteworthy that even those who depend on tourism have a clear view of its effects on everyday life.
Tourism contributes to rising prices in Mallorca
The link between tourism and the rising cost of living has reached a historic high, with nearly all residents identifying this direct relationship.
(+10% compared to the 2023 study)
Tourism affects my quality of life
More than 9 in 10 residents believe tourism does not improve their day-to-day wellbeing—a view that has intensified significantly over the past year.
(+19% compared to the 2023 study)
I spend more
on leisure because of tourism
The rising cost of leisure activities due to tourism is confirmed by an overwhelming majority, with a significant increase compared to the previous year.
Mallorca would be more resilient with
a more diverse economy
Almost all residents—including those working in tourism—agree on the need to reduce the island’s dependence on the tourism monoculture to strengthen the local economy.
More data is available in the full survey report at the bottom of the page.
Who is responsible for the unintended consequences of tourism in Mallorca?
The responses reveal a clear consensus among Mallorca’s residents: the vast majority believe that responsibility should be shared between government authorities and the private sector that directly benefits from tourism.
This pattern reflects a mature understanding of the issue’s complexity.
Residents recognise that the side effects of mass tourism demand a coordinated response involving multiple actors, rather than placing the blame solely on one group.
Who should take responsibility for the collateral impacts of mass tourism in Mallorca?
71 %
of respondents believe it is the responsibility of the government and those who bring, host, and serve tourists.
52 %
of respondents have taken part in protests or activities related to tourism.
90 %
9 out of 10 residents feel the impact of tourism in their everyday lives, with a steady increase over the past three years. (+9.15%)
More data is available in the full survey report at the bottom of the page.
What aspects of tourism in Mallorca would you like to preserve for future generations?
Responses to this question reveal a collective aspiration for a tourism model that, while transformed, retains certain valuable elements. Participants envision a future where tourism coexists in balance with nature, local culture, and the wellbeing of residents. Here are some of the key categories:
Ecological
balance
25 %
Local
sovereignty
25 %
Rejection of current tourism model
2 0%
Cultural
authenticity
20 %
It’s notable that many of the responses—even the most critical of the current model—do not reject tourism itself. Instead, they advocate for preserving its positive aspects: cultural exchange, international visibility for the island, well-distributed economic benefits, and external appreciation of Mallorca’s natural and cultural wealth.
Some comments from the qualitative part of the survey:
The overwhelming majority of responses focus on the need to reduce and manage tourist numbers, pointing to overcrowding as the core issue.
Respondents directly link the excess of visitors with a range of negative effects: congestion in public spaces, mobility problems, environmental degradation, inflation (especially housing), and a decline in quality of life for residents.
Even among participants who acknowledge the economic importance of tourism for the island, most prioritise implementing limits and controls. They support a model based on quality over quantity, demonstrating widespread awareness that the current model of mass tourism has exceeded the sustainable limits for both the land and its community.
