MALLORCA – After the tumult that has arisen among British tourists about the so-called “tourist limit”, the government of the Balearic Islands is backing down. The island government now emphasises that it has “never” set a limit on the number of tourists.
It does clarify that “the figures for 2022 may not be exceeded”. The Minister of Economic Model, Tourism and Labour of the Balearic Islands, Iago Negueruela, has been forced to retract his words from last week about limiting the number of tourists arriving on the islands.
These statements have caused quite a stir, not only in the industry itself but even in international media. As a result, the minister felt compelled to correct himself. Negueruela stressed “he never” said that “the data of 16.4 million tourists received in the Community in 2022 was the maximum for the government”. However, he did mean that “the figures of last year (16.4 million tourists) should not be exceeded. In addition, it would be necessary to analyse how the arrival of visitors to the Balearic Islands could be slowed down,” reports La Vanguardia.
Related: Lanzarote wants fewer tourists
Iago Negueruela’s earlier words caused quite a bit of irritation among the British, one of the most important tourist markets for the Mediterranean archipelago. The comments could have damaged relations between the Balearic Islands and the United Kingdom again. It is reminiscent of what happened after the World Travel Market in London when the English media echoed the words of Lucía Escribano, tourism director of the Consell de Mallorca. He stated that Mallorca no longer wanted to receive so-called British ‘low-cost’ tourists in the summer.
Related: Since the law against drunk tourism, 11 bars closed in Magaluf (Mallorca)
