Tourists with cars have invaded Sóller this summer: it is the municipality in the whole State with the most visits
The Majorcan municipality almost quadruples the records of Marbella and has suffered during the summer queues that have reached up to Can Penasso, 13 kilometers from the entrance to the town
PalmaSóller has become this summer the most visited municipality in Spain by car by international tourists. This is indicated by a study on parking habits prepared by the mobility platforms EasyPark and Arrive, which places the Valley at the head of the national ranking of preferred destinations for foreign drivers.
The data give an idea of the magnitude of the influx: the number of foreign drivers who parked in Sóller during the summer almost quadruples that registered in Marbella, which occupies the second position in the ranking. This, taking into account that Sóller has a total area of about 40km² and Marbella, almost double, since it has 117km², means that the level of vehicle pressure per square meter and per citizen is even higher. Campos also appears in third place, while Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Girona) occupies the fourth position.
The snapshot drawn by the study aligns with a reality that the residents of Sóller have repeatedly denounced over recent years regarding the pressure the municipality endures during the high season months, both within the urban center and on the access roads.
During this summer, traffic jams to enter Sóller have reached on numerous occasions as far as Can Penasso, in Bunyola, a point located at kilometer 14.7 of the Sóller road. The distance between this point and the municipality's entrance is about 13 kilometers, meaning the queues have managed to occupy a large part of the main access to the Valley. Traffic intensity is also reflected in the data from the Sóller tunnel. During August, an average of 15,294 vehicles passed through each day, with an average intensity of 637 vehicles per hour, according to DGT data.
A weariness that reached the streets
In this context, it is understandable that a portion of the residents of Sóller express fatigue in the face of the pressure the municipality experiences during the tourist season. This unrest was made evident last August 8th when 2,500 people took to the streets under the slogan 'Sóller, at the limit'.
The mobilization, called by the Young Movement of Sóller and the platform Less Tourism, More Life, demanded a change in the tourism model and denounced, among other issues, the saturation of the roads, the difficulty in accessing housing, and the pressure on the municipality's services and spaces.
Germany, the main market for foreign drivers
Likewise, the study by EasyPark and Arrive also allows for outlining the profile of international tourists traveling through Spain by private vehicle. Germany is the main source country, with more than 24,000 unique users during the summer season.
France occupies the second position, followed by Italy and the Netherlands, with similar figures, while Sweden completes the group of the top five countries of origin. Marbella is, precisely, the only municipality that appears among the favorites for both foreign and domestic drivers. Sóller, on the other hand, clearly leads the international ranking.