Balearics sinking under human pressure

A tourist per two residents

Another summer of human pressure on the islands.

Another summer of human pressure on the islands | Photo: Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter

Humphrey CarterPalma05/09/2024 11:42Updated at 12:20
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In June the Balearics had one tourist for every two residents, as it recorded an average daily real population of 1,847,314 people, which is 50% more than the census of inhabitants of the islands on the same dates, which stood at 1,230,812 people. In June the region again reached an all-time high for the Human Pressure Indicator (HPI), with a monthly peak of 1,905,896 people, 2.95 % more than a year earlier.

The monthly minimum was 1,787,953 actual residents, 2.96 % more than in June 2023, and the aforementioned June average represented a year-on-year increase of 3 %, according to the latest population analysis by the Balearic Institute of Statistics (Ibestat). The day on which the maximum HPI of the month was reached in the community as a whole was 28 June, the same day as in Mallorca, when there were 1,407,158 people on the island.

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In Ibiza, the monthly maximum also occurred on the 28th, with 312,073 people, and the same occurred in Formentera, where there were 30,483 people on that day. In Menorca, the day with the greatest human pressure was 23 June, the eve of the feast of Sant Joan in Ciutadella, with 193,504 people on the island. As happened in May, in June the Balearics surpassed the monthly record for human pressure.

This summer the Balearic government launched a project to determine human pressure and carrying capacity on certain beaches and at beauty spots and started in the Es Trenc-Salobrar de Campos Nature Park. Digital sensors have been used to give accurate data regarding numbers of visitors, the vast majority of whom go to Es Trenc beach, one of Mallorca's most famous beaches.

In 2023, the total number of tourists increased by a staggering 1.3 million to 17.8 million. In 2024, it is not inconceivable that this total could increase by a further two million - touching 20 million, twice as many as at the start of the century.

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