A company has been reported by the Artà City Council for organizing a mega scavenger hunt with no less than 900 people. It involved touring the urban center doing absurd things like painting on the ground or sticking adhesives on traffic signs or the town's walls.

The Artà City Council has opened a disciplinary file against a company that organizes tourist routes in Mallorca, following actions detected recently in the municipality, which constitute a breach of current regulations. The events occurred last Tuesday, after a citizen alerted about the presence of people spray-painting in the public street. Based on this alert, the responsible company was identified, the City Council documented the facts, and has prepared the corresponding report.

The Balearic Islands received a total of 134,659 foreign tourists last January, 8.8% fewer than in the same month of 2015. These tourists spent €193 million in the archipelago, a 3% increase. This data comes from the Surveys of Tourist Movements at Borders and Tourist Expenditure published this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The surveys also show that the average expenditure of foreign visitors was €1,434, 12.9% higher than in 2015. The average daily expenditure of this type of tourist was €152, 1.7% higher than in January 2015, with an average trip duration of 9.4 days, representing an 11% increase. As for the other regions, the Canary Islands lead the list with 1,427,922 tourists, followed by Catalonia with 1,010,902; Madrid with 766,365; Andalusia with 720,164; the Valencian Community with 578,720; and the Balearic Islands with 134,659, while the remaining autonomous communities account for a total of 488,523 visitors.

Government spokesman Antoni Costa expressed his hope on Friday that next season will see "zero growth" in the number of tourists, especially in overnight stays, although the total number of visitors for the year may continue to grow.

The Consell de Eivissa (Island Council of Ibiza) will participate in the International Tourism Berlin (ITB) trade fair from March 3rd to 5th, with the aim of strengthening its position in the German market at a time marked by growing debate about the limits of the tourism model. This institutional presence comes after the Balearic Islands have once again broken visitor records, approaching 19 million tourists. a figure that has an impact on the political and social discussion about overcrowdingFor its part, Germany is seen by the Council as a strategic source market due to its "long average stay and loyalty." According to Aena data, 349,763 German travelers arrived in Ibiza in 2025, slightly below the 352,715 of 2024, but above the 319,886 of 2023.

Terraferida's latest analysis has confirmed the trend: overcrowding in the Balearic Islands is no longer a phenomenon exclusive to the summer months. Based on data from the Balearic Institute of Statistics (Ibestat), the organization indicates that the winter months of 2025 already register more people—residents and tourists alike—than the peak tourist seasons of 25 years ago, demonstrating a sustained increase in population density throughout the year.

The Ibiza Council has proposed setting a maximum daily limit of 18,918 vehicles on the roads for the upcoming summer season, which is 1,250 vehicles less than last year's limit. This figure will serve as the basis for the public consultation process the Council has opened for affected sectors before approving regulations for the 2026 and 2027 summer seasons.

The Formentera Council has presented to the Council of Entities a multi-year proposal for the continuity and evolution of Formentera.eco, the initiative of the smaller Pitiusa island to regulate vehicle access during the summer. The proposal aims to gradually reduce the entry of the most polluting vehicles, distribute visitor quotas according to environmental criteria, and maintain the quota of rental vehicles, which have already decreased by 16% from 2019 to 2023This proposal is based on the technical reports submitted to evaluate the operation of the island's ecological initiative, which reveals that more than 74% of the vehicles circulating in Formentera this summer belonged to tourists. The reports confirm the effectiveness of the measures implemented through the Formentera.eco program and should serve as the basis for defining the multi-year proposal to regulate the entry and circulation of vehicles on the island for the period 2026-2029, Castelló explained. The Minister of Mobility and the Environment, Verónica Castelló, explained that they are also considering creating a specific quota for non-resident workers and consolidating a more efficient, organized, and sustainable mobility model, moving towards a seasonal Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and promoting the use of public transport and bicycles.

Palma tops the ranking of most sought-after destinations for German travelers to start 2026. This is according to data from the flight search engine Jetcost, which confirms a renewed surge in European end-of-year tourism and places the Balearic capital as the top choice for the German market between December 26, 2025, and 2025. Interest in traveling during this period continues to rise. According to Jetcost, flight searches for the end of 2025 have increased by 10% compared to the previous year, a trend that solidifies Christmas and New Year's travel as one of Europeans' favorite getaways. And, once again, Spain is positioned as the most searched country to start the new year, ahead of Italy, France, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The weight of the German market

In this context, Palma stands out strongly. Besides leading the preferences of Germans, the city also occupies prominent positions in other markets: it is the eighth most sought-after destination for the British and French, the ninth for the Dutch, and the eleventh for the Italians and Portuguese. This data confirms the broad appeal of the Balearic capital beyond the peak season.

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The Balearic Islands received a total of 13,709,686 foreign tourists between January and September, a 3% increase compared to the same period last year. In September alone, 2,187,288 international visitors visited the archipelago, a 1.8% increase. Spain registered a record 76.5 million foreign tourists in the first nine months of the year, a 3.5% increase compared to the same period in 2014 (73.6 million), according to data published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The accumulated spending of foreign visitors to Spain reached a record €105.828 billion between January and September, a 7% year-on-year increase. In the Balearic Islands, this figure was €18.378 billion, a 5.9% increase.

]]> The flights low cost They are, today, an entry and exit gateway with undeniable repercussions for the Balearic Islands. They have given many people the opportunity to fly and have improved the islands' connectivity. But they are also one of the main channels that fuel the mass tourism that has become one of the most significant collective headaches for island society today. The paradox is more than evident: we complain about the massive arrival of visitors via these flights, but at the same time we depend on them to go out, to travel, and to feel connected.

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The most touristic season in the Balearic Islands is coming to an end. and airlines choose to cancel flights related to seasonal demand. Since that time,

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The CCOO union presented this Thursday a package of 52 measures that it will present in the second phase of the Pact for Sustainability, among which stands out the proposal to raise the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) to 15 euros per person per day in the months of July and August with the aim of making it a "disincentive".

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The Balearic Islands welcomed 14.01 million international passengers during the first nine months of 2025, 2.6% more than in the same period last year, according to data published this Monday by Turespaña.

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Who says summer is over? In Mallorca, we're about to experience the miracle of a year-round summer. It's true that with autumn comes rain, which for some time now has become torrential and overwhelming: not so long ago this happened occasionally, but now it's the norm. Experts tell us time and again, with the patience of a saint, that climate change is precisely this: phenomena that years ago (just a few years ago) were occasional or sporadic and less powerful are becoming more frequent and more intense.

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What behaviors make a good Mallorcan? This question is answered in a video posted on the Instagram account. @lapalmesanadesigns where he talks about up to five behaviors and actions that define what they consider "a good Mallorcan."

]]> In just 67 meters, Florence shows us a reality that we can recognize in the Balearic Islands—and in many other places. Barely three minutes separate them on foot. On one side, the Galleria de l'Accademia, with Miquel Àngel's David, is a scene of fame and expectation, with outrageous lines marked out in corridors and controls regulating the massive flow of visitors, a lot of noise. On the other, the convent of San Marco, with its cells painted by Fra Angelico, seems to hide from the world, discreet and silent, as if waiting only for those who know how to look without hurrying. In this literal proximity, we are given an unexpected lesson about how we perceive and treat beauty: what is famous calls, but the discreet can offer a great experience.

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The Civil Society Forum has demanded that the Government implement "a real change" in the tourism model in the Balearic Islands and abandon "cosmetic" and ineffective measures. The platform appeared at a press conference this Tuesday, after the figures from the 2024 Residents' Perception Survey on Tourism by the Government's Tourism Strategy Agency (AETIB) were released. This study shows that 78% of Balearic citizens believe there are too many tourists at certain times of the year and that 62.3% denounce that tourism has a significant impact on the degradation of the islands' natural resources. Furthermore, it criticized the Government for exploiting citizens' discontent to promote tourism, real estate speculation, and construction. "It's perverse. They're using time and discontent for political gain. The initiatives they're implementing are to buy time to reorganize the business," criticized GOB spokesperson Margalida Ramis.

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If we were to divide the number of tourists among the residents of the large Mediterranean islands, we would find that while each Balearic island receives 15 visitors, the inhabitants of Sardinia only "support" two to one. With five times the land area, the Italian island welcomed 3.7 million tourists in 2024, compared to the 18.7 million who arrived in the Balearic Islands. This disproportion is repeated in most of the large Mediterranean island territories, with the exception of islands like Malta. Not surprisingly, Mallorca and Malta top the ranking of "Urbanized, Densely Populated, and Tourist-Intensive Islands" compiled by the UIB Chair of Insularity and the Catalan Government, which places the Balearic Islands in first place in most indicators of land use, population growth, and hotel overnight stays.

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What will the Balearic Islands be like in 2075? ARA Baleares has consulted experts, and they all share a common message: if decisive and significant measures are not taken to reverse certain trends, the outlook for the islands in 50 years is anything but optimistic. More population, dependence on tourism, political polarization, waste, and territorial destruction. Less housing and basic resources, such as water, while facing the deepening effects of climate change. The Balearic Islands are in a race against time, and there is no guarantee without action.

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