Visiting the Balearic Islands is about to get more expensive if proposed new visitor taxes on accommodation, cruises, and car hire, and limits on rental room licences go ahead. The “tourism containment measures” were put forward on 7 March 2025 by Marga Prohens, president of the Spanish Autonomous Community’s government.
Following widespread complaints about the negative effects of overtourism in a range of mainland Spanish and regional destinations, the new regime for Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca would see the archipelago’s Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) go up from €4 (£3.36) to a maximum of €6 (£5) per person, per night in peak season. Visitors during the winter months of January and February would be exempt from paying but for the rest of the year increased seasonal rates will apply, calculated according to property type. In summer, the levies will be hiked by between 66% and 200%.
Administracions i sector hoteler a Eivissa treballen conjuntament amb la plataforma@airbnb_es per liderar un front comú contra l’oferta d’allotjament turístic no reglat a l’illa.
— Consell d'Eivissa (@Consell_Eivissa) February 20, 2025
👇https://t.co/vLZh73e9Qj pic.twitter.com/ZHFgVFTuyi
Taxes of up to €70, plus cruise and car hire increases
The Independent has calculated that for a couple the price of a two-week vacation on one of the Mediterranean islands could rise by around €70 (£59) – and that is not the only impending increase in costs. Their figure doesn’t take into account the fact that the availability of rental accommodation could be about to take a hit, pushing prices up further, due to a suggested veto on new tourist rentals located in residential apartment buildings.
Booking platforms will also be required to have a registration number displayed for every accommodation offer. Fines for booking sites that do not show the rental’s registration number will reach €500,000 (£420,000), the proposals say.
Donam una passa endavant amb propostes valentes per a la contenció turística i la sostenibilitat de les nostres Illes, propostes per donar resposta als objectius de les Bases de l’Agenda de Transició de les Illes Balears.
— Marga Prohens (@MargaProhens) March 7, 2025
Mesures amb les que posam límits al mateix temps que… pic.twitter.com/4KTPrPxZ6Z
Additional car hire fees ranging from €30 (£25) to €80 (£67) are also in the offing, with a scale based on emissions and time spent on the islands applying both to cars hired on the spot and those brought onto the islands by ferry.
Those holidaying on the water will not escape the hand of authorities either. Cruise ship passengers making a port call in the Balearics will pay three times more than they had to previously, with the cost per night increased to €6 (£5) from a base of €2 (£1.68).
Tackling overtourism
The moves are designed to respond to local residents’ discontent about crowding, the cost of living, and the use of scarce resources such as water. A wave of protests and demonstrations since the post-Covid resurgence of tourism has included anti-tourist graffiti, damage to infrastructure, and visitors being sprayed by water in the street.
Mesures concretes, valentes i definides per garantir la sostenibilitat i el benestar dels ciutadans de les Illes Balears.#ElCanvideVeres#CentratsenelQueImporta pic.twitter.com/R1DoYcSuGW
— Marga Prohens (@MargaProhens) March 11, 2025
The latest Balearic proposals are “aimed at managing and ensuring the sustainability of tourism in the Autonomous Community”, the government said. But one group of tourists being encouraged to holiday on the islands is locals themselves, who will benefit from an income tax reduction of up to €250 per year for booking a domestic holiday, The Olive Press reports.
