Majorca TOURIST CRACKDOWN: Palma ‘being RUINED’ as city sets LIMIT on number of tourists

Mr Noguera declared plans to restrict the number of available hotel rooms and guests beds in from 80,000 to 65,000, in a bid to place a strict cap on those arriving to the city of Palma de Majorca.

This comes amid overcrowding concerns on the island, forcing Majorca’s government to launch measures in order to curb the impact of visitors on local residents.

The mayor told German newspaper Wirtschafts Woche: “I do not want the city to be ruined by its success.”

Mr Noguera’s comments come amid massive overcrowding concerns in the city of Palma de Mallorca, with millions of visitors travelling to the holiday hotspot each year, particularly during the summer months.

In 2017, more than ten million tourists arrived to the island – almost half of them from Germany – while more than six million reportedly arrived to the holiday hotspot this year.

Locals have launched complained about a rise in traffic jams, excessive littering in the streets, as well as a rise in housing costs due to an influx in rental properties across the island.

Residents expressed their concerns about rising rents, due to short holiday lets through websites and apps.

Mr Noguera blasted rental platforms such as Airbnb, declaring they were “a weapon against our housing policy”, claiming that tourist real estate companies bring in more returns than local buyers.

In April this year, Majorca’s government announced a rental ban to prevent home owners from renting their flats out to tourists, as well as prohibiting any hotel set ups in residential estates.

Palma de Mallorca has become the first city in Spain to bar private tenants from letting their apartments to visitors.

Majorca’s government announced fines of us to £353, 324 (€400,000) for those who violate the restrictions.

The measures are expected to be implemented by July this year.

The Majorca mayor insisted that “these two measures will help us to set a limit for tourists.”

Local chief of planning José Hila previously told El Pais: “There is a parallel between the evolution of vacation rentals and the rise in rental prices. 

“We need some order. There will be vacation rentals in Palma but only where there needs to be.”

Last August, the Balearic government placed a limit on the number of tourist beds on the island of Mallorca and Ibiza, banning listing rooms in private houses and apartments in various area around Ibiza, Ibiza Town, San José and San Antonio.

In 2017, thousands of furious protestors took to the streets of Palma, calling on tourists to “go home” as the crowd lashed out against mass tourism in the island.

Additional reporting by Monika Wallenberg.