"No one wants to give up traveling": UIB experts analyze the contradictions of mass tourism

PalmThe University of the Balearic Islands collaborates with the IEC-ARA cycle 'Qüestions IEC: we interrogate, we understand, we converse' in Palma, a proposal that invites to analyze some of the main questions of the present from a plural and expert perspective. The first session, titled From paid holidays to tourismphobia took place on May 14, in the Sa Riera space (Palma) and focused on the debate about the current tourism model and its tensions. Participants included Dr. Joana Maria Seguí, professor in the Geography department at the UIB, member of the Section of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the IEC and member of the Societat Catalana de Geografia, specialized in transport, and Dr. Macià Blàzquez, professor in the Geography department at the UIB and also a member of the Societat Catalana de Geografia, specialized in tourism. The session was moderated by Jaume Perelló, director of ARA Balears.

The conversation has brought to light an increasingly evident paradox: rejection of mass tourism is growing in cities like Palma and Barcelona, yet no one is willing to give up a vacation abroad. The speakers have analyzed how the large global tourism industry can be regulated to reduce its environmental and social impact without foregoing economic benefits.

Dr. Joana Maria Seguí has depicted how between 1990 and the year 2023 the number of tourists arriving in the Balearic Islands has gone from 6.5 to 19 million, "which represents an increase of 192%, a truly excessive figure," she explained. Between 1990 and 1995 alone, the number of arriving tourists rose by 31%, an increase that "has not occurred in any other Mediterranean territory," stated Seguí, who compared the Balearic Islands to saturated areas like Malta, far above the average for the rest of the Mediterranean islands.

Regarding passenger arrivals (a figure that includes the movements of resident persons), the increase has been even greater between 1990 and 2023, as it has gone from 15 million people transported by air to 47 million, representing an increase of 207%.

For his part, Doctor of Geography Macià Blázquez wanted to recall that "paid vacations are a social milestone, which in the case of Spain dates back to 1931," a fact he presented as a symptom of improving working conditions. "Everyone wants to enjoy vacations, and for this reason the first arrivals to the Islands were welcomed with interest and complicity from the local population," he assured. He also recalled that the problem has mainly arisen from the magnitudes reached in recent years, which in some way have caused disillusionment among the population "who see how they are dispossessed of public spaces such as terraces and public areas, which are being occupied by tourist businesses, roads, and natural resources. All of this generates the feeling of having lost quality of life, a fact that today is undeniable," he concluded.

Blázquez warned that "betting solely on luxury tourism would be a solution that would exclude vacation options for the working class, and therefore would make an absolutely elitist approach, which raises many doubts for me," he stated. In this regard, the geographer proposed dedicating part of the income from the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) to the well-being "of the local population. Right now, it is the best return that the ITS could make for the community that supports tourism." Finally, Blázquez explained that while we do not have competencies in airports, and therefore cannot control the number of passengers arriving, "we do have those for territorial planning, and what has been done for decades is to authorize and enable spaces for urbanization, and the result is evident. Therefore, wherever we had and have competencies, it is clear what we have done," he concluded.

This activity is organized by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) and the newspaper ARA Balears, with the collaboration of the Universitat de les Illes Balears. In fact, the rector of the UIB, Jaume Carot, attended the inaugural session this Thursday, who expressed himself "very satisfied" to be able to host a conference that aims to generate debate and answer the major questions facing Balearic society. For her part, Teresa Cabré, president of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, recalled that "we already hold these conferences in Catalonia in collaboration with the Diari Ara, and they are generating scientific and technical content in Catalan, and encouraging us to meet and contrast positions on the most relevant issues we face as a society. This contribution is essential because only through the confrontation of ideas can we move forward", she told those present.