There is fury in Majorca over a “plan to attract more tourists” after a summer of protests.
PSOE, the opposition party at Palma City Council, has claimed that the city’s budget for tourism promotion will increase by 16% next year.
The spokesperson for PSOE, Xisco Ducrós, said that the deputy mayor was “living on another planet” and ignoring locals’ protests against overtourism.
He added that despite the mayor, Jaime Martínez, giving a speech on tourist oversaturation, “the first decision to have been taken is to increase the budget for tourism promotion”.
But Palma’s deputy mayor and councillor for tourism, Javier Bonet, responded to the opposition, saying there had been no such increase, Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.
Mr Bonet said: “I haven’t come across it and I would like to be told where (the claim) comes from.”
He added that funds for all tourism policies would in fact be €2,500 lower than in 2024. For example, €100,000 for renovating tourist information hubs in 2024 is not in the 2025 budget.
“But the left believes that an increase has been masked through other items,” said Mr Bonet.
The deputy mayor did confirm that there has been an increase to the Palma 365 Tourist Foundation’s budget – from €1.3 million to €1.6 million – but that this is mainly to cover salaries and office expenses.
“Obviously there is some money for promotion, but it can be done in many ways,” he said. “Promotion is not only about attracting more tourists. It also serves to select the type of tourist that is wanted.
“The Foundation was created precisely for this purpose and not to undertake general promotion as had been done previously.”
The increased budget comes from budget surpluses and will be used to fund a sponsorship deal for Palma Futsal, a campaign for the American market and extra funds for the Cycling Challenge.
It also includes a study on the impact of cruise ships that will serve as a basis for decision-making regarding cruise tourism in Palma.
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