German tourists abandon Majorca as prices soar

While Majorca is known as one of the most popular holiday destinations for Brits, a huge proportion of the island's tourism also comes from German tourists. For example, Peguera, 17 miles west of Palma, has become a top choice, earning itself the nickname of "Germany on Sea". However, it appears that Majorca's growing prices have finally taken their toll on these Europeans, like in the UK, leading to a downturn in tourism.

In 2024, the total number of German tourists in the Balearic Islands reached five million for the first time. Incredibly, 93% of these visitors came to Majorca. By contrast, of the 3.6 million Brits that descended on the archipelago, only 64% visited Majorca. But, while a decline in UK tourism has been evident since last year, a similar fall in German tourism is only just starting to take hold. In both May and June, German tourism fell, with fears that this trend will continue this summer.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Spain's tourism institute, Turespaña, highlighted a slowdown in German bookings for the Balearics, particularly Majorca, that was far more noticeable than for any other region in Spain.

"German demand appears to have reached its limit in terms of price sensitivity after two years of accepting substantial increases in package deals and flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, and other products and services," the institute said. "Although demand, in terms of volume, will remain significant, it is more sensitive to price trends."

Meanwhile, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) tourism fair in Berlin in March, tour operators were met with increased interest in cheaper alternatives to the new "luxury" Majorca. Previously, Melanie Linz, 50, who has lived in Majorca for 20 years, said: "What bothers me most is that now everything on the island is so 'luxurious'".

While mass-tourism protests by locals are said to have contributed to the change, Pedro Fiol, the president of the Aviba travel agencies association in the Balearics, believes that this downturn is a result of prices.

"There are signs of exhaustion in source markets. Supply is not adapting to the main source markets," he said.

Despite the number of visitors from the UK and Germany falling, Majorca saw a 3% increase in foreign tourism in June. This stemmed from a growth in the market from other European countries, notably France, Italy (both over 30%) and Nordic countries (over 40%).

However, these markets are far smaller in real terms compared to Germany and the UK. The largest, France, supplied roughly one-third (196,000) of the former's totals in June.

This news comes as Capdepera, a historic village in the east of the island and Soller, one of Majorca's most beautiful towns, are seeing a big drop in tourism numbers. In what should be the height of the summer season, bars and restaurants in Capdepera have half-empty terraces, while car parks that should be rammed have unusually high availability.