New group tour rules proposed by authorities in Palma, Mallorca could push ticket prices up and violate guides’ privacy, according to agencies and operators on the Spanish Balearic Island.
Palma City Council wants to limit guided groups to 20 people, a massive cut to the up to 70 currently allowed. But the move, currently under consultation, has prompted a backlash from professional associations such as Proguias Turisticos de Baleares and the islands’ Travel Agencies Business Association (Aviba).
🟦 A raíz de esta noticia:https://t.co/XDsG786vJx
— AVIBA (@AVIBA_oficial) February 7, 2025
AVIBA presenta esta nota de prensa para manifestar su firme oposición a dicha ordenanza municipal del @ajuntpalma , expresando nuestra preocupación por el impacto que esta medida podría tener en el sector. pic.twitter.com/jRRZnFwGvV
Financially unsustainable?
Tour groups usually comprise between 30 and 50 people Proguias says, claiming that anything smaller would affect not only their bottom line but could have a knock-on effect across the sector. The worry is that, with only 20 people per group, ticket prices per person would need to rocket, meaning tourists will simply stop booking tours, or find they have nothing left to spend with other businesses.
Gabriel Rosales, President of Proguias said, “With groups of just 19, it will be impossible to sell tours, as they’ll be financially unsustainable.” He has also suggested that tour sites, such as the 13th-century Cathedral of Mallorca, will see a drop in revenues.
The practical side of the new rules is also raising questions, as Rosales pointed out that tourists often tag along uninvited with a guided group. “What happens when people join the group on the fly? Are we going to tag them like animals?” he asked.
Are smaller tours more meaningful?
However, the idea that uncontrolled numbers of guests can just join any tour may raise eyebrows. Indeed, when councillors first proposed tour size limits in autumn 2024, many locals were pleased, commenting online that “Groups of 50 people are totally ridiculous in our narrow and busy streets.” Large groups cause congestion, residents said, making marketplaces feel like “an assault course.”
And it is not only local residents who want smaller tour groups on their streets. When it comes to treating visitors like animals, herding them around with several dozen other people seems unappealing, especially in a world where personal and authentic experiences are increasingly valued. It’s a point echoed by Christian Petzold, Marketing Director at BCN Travel who told Metro that smaller group sizes are “beneficial for individual attention,” promote more meaningful storytelling and protect cultural heritage sites.
More guides needed and ID must be worn
Smaller groups require careful management though, so they do not all arrive in the same place at once. And the more groups there are, the more tour guides are needed, increasing wage costs for employers. There is already a shortage of guides in Mallorca, as no new official guide positions have been advertised for 16 years but the island’s Council has promised a recruitment drive in 2025. Whether anyone will want the job when the new rules also mean guides must wear identity badges, remains to be seen. Proguias points out that requiring guides to identify themselves “violates our privacy rights and clashes with data protection laws.”
The disagreement over guided tours illustrates perfectly how officials are juggling the economy, employment, and anger around overtourism. Over the last four years, GDP has fallen more across the Balearic Islands than anywhere else in Spain, at a time when house prices have soared by over 20%. Simultaneously, tourism is around 7% up on Mallorca, according to Niels-Holger Teichmann of Isla Magazine, who notes record numbers of arrivals in 2024. Persuading those tourists to spend more and improving their experience (and that of locals) is the ongoing challenge islanders face.
