At what point did the Balearic Islands become the most saturated islands?

PalmIf 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 French island welcomed 3.7 million tourists in 2024, compared to the 18.7 million who landed 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.

The Chair's coordinator, geographer Joana Maria Seguí, portrayed these differences and the commonalities among the Mediterranean islands in the inaugural lecture of the UIB course. It largely highlights the fundamental role that social tourism has played in weaving economic models. This intensification of the model, which, in addition to millions of tourists, has led to a significant influx of people: "The population growth rate over the last twenty years once again distinguishes the Balearic Islands far above all the islands analyzed," explains Seguí, who points out that "Ibiza-Formentera has seen almost double the population increase of Malta (83% for the Pitiüses compared to Mallorca), and 41% for both," she states.

All of this raises an inevitable question: at what point did the Balearic Islands decide to take this path that has led them to having to welcome 18 million visitors to accommodate just over a million inhabitants? "The answer must be sought at the beginning of the 20th century," explains Carles Manera, professor of economic history and advisor to the Bank of Spain. "The Balearic Islands have had an outward orientation for more than a century. This path does not begin with tourism. We had industry and exported leather to other countries; we already sent flour and shoes. Other large Mediterranean islands had mining, which played an important role for many years, and today they still retain a greater proportion of the primary sector, in a model more similar to Menorca," adds Manera.

It was precisely in this context that tourism development began, starting in the 1950s, "and the same way of doing things was applied. An international outlook, a sales capacity, and an undeniable entrepreneurial talent, which combined led to a significant development, which Menorca joined much later, in the 1980s, and which is why it is more similar to other Mediterranean islands," with "and with the Mediterranean."

The fact is that the Balearic Islands have experienced sustained internationalization for a century, regardless of the government or regime in power. "During the Franco regime, it was very clear that this connection with Europe was synonymous with income and foreign currency, and there was a major commitment, at all levels, and with first-rate infrastructure," recalls UIB Economics professor José Antonio Pérez Montiel.

This sustained specialization led to "a significant division of land, with the exception of Menorca, and thus agricultural and industrial activity was gradually abandoned to make way for urbanization, which has shaped not only economic activity but also the territorial model, while other Mediterranean islands have at least partially preserved these spaces," Pérez Montiel continues.

The arrival of 'all-tourism'

Although tourism has been a key economic and territorial force for the islands since the 1980s and 1990s, it was still concentrated in different areas. "It was the era of tour operators; people bought packages, took the bus from the airport to the tourist area, and concentrated there. This was also important in terms of territory," explains Canarian professor and researcher David Ramos, who is currently a professor of Geography at the University of Salamanca. Ramos has conducted various analyses of tourism planning and is clear that something similar has happened in the Balearic Islands in the more tourist-intensive Canary Islands: "The so-called collaborative economy and low-cost flights have boosted arrivals and, above all, have spread the concept of 'all tourism.' Everything is tourism, everything can be rented: a house, an apartment, whatever. It has also driven us from access to human resources and, above all, has driven us from access to housing," he says.

In this sense, Ramos affirms that "the most tourist-intensive islands in the Mediterranean, such as Mallorca and the Pitiusas, and those in the Canary Islands, have exactly the same problem. The overdependence on tourism has become a problem of income distribution and the possibilities of pursuing a life plan. And this is serious. The diversification we have, which in our case is, for example, bananas," he asserts.

For his part, Manera emphasizes that "the total orientation toward services that has been experienced is excessive and, furthermore, often with the discourse that before tourism there was practically no economic activity, and that is not true at all levels. We were able to export manufactured goods; later, tourist experiences, and we can do the same if we want to, but the narrative of all tourism or nothing helps."

What is clear in the comparative study among the large Mediterranean islands is that the Balearic Islands are ahead in terms of human pressure, tourist arrivals, and GDP, "but we may need to debate whether the resulting saturation no longer harms quality of life, which is also an indicator," concludes David Ramos.