The shifts in the PP's discourse on tourist overcrowding

PalmThe People's Party (PP) has undergone a complete reversal in its discourse on tourism saturation. A photograph of Marga Prohens, taken in 2018, holding a banner that read 'We love tourism,' went viral in some WhatsApp groups in May 2024, marking a shift in tone. At that time, the president promised major measures to combat saturation. But a year and a half later, she has backtracked and is now merely advocating for managing tourist flows with specific modifications and promoting the reduction of seasonality. This is how the PP's discourse on tourism has evolved.

The commitment to growth

Laughing for the photographers behind the English slogan 'We love tourism,' the PP's top brass proclaimed their affection for the waves of travelers arriving in the Canary Islands each year: 16.6 million in 2018. This was to make it "clear that this society is in favor of all tourists continuing to come," including institutional visitors.

The party maintained this position throughout the following legislature. "Sustainable growth" was the PP's recipe, its leaders insisted. In 2022, Prohens—by then the PP leader—announced that as soon as she came to power she would repeal the Pact's Tourism Law. "No to socialism, no to interventionism, and no to imposition," she declared, as reported by Última Hora. If the sector was to improve, she said, it had to be "within a framework of freedom." She also emphasized what would become one of her priorities as president: the need to combat illegal tourist rentals. The Popular Party also drafted its own tourism law, which guaranteed the continued operation of the 90,000 tourist rental units at risk due to the limits established by the Pact Law. "We will support tourist rentals, which distribute wealth to many families in the Balearic Islands," said MP Sebastià Sagreras. The law has not yet been repealed, but in 2025 the Balearic Government amended it to definitively protect these units. It also prohibited new units in multi-family dwellings, contrary to the criticisms Prohens had made in previous years regarding left-wing interventionism.

Change of heart in response to citizen complaints

Thus, the word 'limits' in relation to tourism did not appear in the president's discourse until 2023. The People's Party (PP) was forced to modify its historically pro-growth stance in response to growing public discontent. The large anti-overcrowding protests of 2024 were preceded by a demonstration in front of the government headquarters in September 2022, months before the elections. Already on the campaign trail, Prohens began to qualify her statements. And in her inaugural address, despite committing to "halting the path towards degrowth," she also warned that "growth cannot be unlimited." But the PP's change in tone was most evident not in its speeches, but in its criticism of the left. While in the past it accused the left of attacking tourism, this term the PP has done the exact opposite: it has credited the left with the sector's growth. "The PSIB's legacy over eight years was authorizing 115,000 tourist places," snapped First Vice President Antoni Costa in the last plenary session, an accusation that the PP makes repeatedly in Parliament.

However, Prohens's decisive about-face didn't come until May 2024. Fearing that social unrest would corner her, the president escalated her rhetoric against mass tourism. "The first thing I must do is listen to the growing social discontent (...) which expresses a shared outcry that our model can no longer grow in volume, that our islands have reached their limit, that going from almost 18 million visitors to potentially reaching 20 million is not sustainable. That's why we have to talk (...) about limits, we have to talk about restraint." 50,000 people protested in Palma against mass tourism. In the following weeks, despite pressure from employers—especially hoteliers—the government unveiled major measures: an increase in the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS), a tax on rental cars, and an increase in the water levy for large property owners. It also launched the Pact for Sustainability, a mechanism to implement these proposals. At that time, the Balearic PP even distanced itself from the discourse of its own party at the national level. But left-wing parties and numerous social organizations distanced themselves from the Pact, which they considered a smokescreen to postpone decisions.

The setback before summer

While some 50,000 people—according to organizers—protested against overcrowding in 2024, that number dropped to 30,000 in 2025. Gradually—with the influence of Vox—the social debate shifted towards other issues, such as irregular immigration. Meanwhile, the People's Party (PP) has distanced itself from its more forceful measures. This, as the government explained, was based on data indicating progress in reducing seasonality and a decrease in tourist pressure. "We are heading in the right direction, and perhaps it is not so necessary to implement extraordinary measures," explained First Vice President Antoni Costa. However, 2025 saw another record number of arrivals, with 19 million tourists. Two years after the government's course correction, none of its major announcements have been approved, nor are they expected to be, as ARABalears reported. However, more moderate proposals have been put forward, similar to those Prohens had previously advocated. These included targeted restrictions on tourist flows, combating illegal tourist rentals, and promoting tourism off-season. As the final season of the legislature approaches, the People's Party (PP) is reversing the course it began in May 2014 and reviving the slogan it brandished that summer of 2018 from the steps of its Palma headquarters: 'We love tourism'.