Tourist overcrowding: 7,000 apartments being rented out illegally in the Balearics

The so-called "llegal holiday offer" has been blamed by tour firms and hoteliers for causing "tourist overcrowding" which led to the anti-tourism protests of last summer. In fact British tour firms have demanded that the Balearics to do more to stamp out this illegal trade.

The minister presented the report in Ibiza and welcomed efforts by the Balearic government to try and tackle the problem. Not only do people who stay in these apartments not pay the tourist tax but also the apartment owners are breaking a whole series of Balearic laws and regulations.

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Hoteliers have often claimed that illegal holiday lets were responsible for many of the ills which affect the tourist industry. They have called for radical action.

Jet2 boss Steve Heapy dismissed the common defence given by authorities across the continent that it is too difficult to monitor how many properties are being rented out by unlicensed Airbnb hosts.

“They (authorities) say it’s too hard to regulate, but it isn’t. All they need to do is book a property on Airbnb, find out who owns it, go and knock on the door and say, ‘Hi, I’m from the local government. I’d like to see your tourism licence, your health and safety certificate and your tax return.’

“If they can’t give you those three things, fine them 200,000 euros. The number of properties would drop by 95% overnight. That would mean the protests would stop,” he said.