Palma has taken a new step towards its goal of prohibiting new tourist-rental places across all types of housing throughout the entire municipal area, following the initial approval of the targeted amendment to the 2023 General Plan relating to tourist stays in dwellings (ETV).
With this measure, promoted by the Gerència d’Urbanisme of the Palma City Council, the whole municipality is now considered a single area not suitable for the marketing of ETV, which prevents any future growth and paves the way for a progressive reduction in supply as permanent deregistrations occur. The text must now continue through the administrative process until its final approval.
Key figures on tourist rentals in Palma
At present, the municipality has:
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4,473 places for tourist stays in dwellings (ETV).
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632 authorised properties, distributed as follows:
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381 in Palma city.
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76 in Platja de Palma and Can Pastilla.
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175 on rural land.
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The amendment to the General Plan provides that:
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No new places for tourist rentals will be granted under any category.
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Non-permanent ETVs may not be renewed.
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The relocation or transfer of existing places will not be permitted to other locations. If any of these are deregistered, no new places may be opened to replace them.
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The forecast increase of 374 new places included in the previous planning framework is removed (231 in Palma city and 143 on rural land).
The aim is for the maximum number of tourist-rental places not only to be frozen, but to decrease gradually over time.
Reordering the tourism model
The ban on new ETV places forms part of a broader strategy to reorder Palma’s tourism model, presented by Palma’s mayor, Jaime Martínez Llabrés, last October. The objective is to strengthen the quality of the destination, tackle illegal supply and move towards a comprehensive revaluation of Palma as a benchmark tourist destination, Martínez Llabrés underlined.
The mayor also announced the ban on opening new hostels and the conversion of existing ones, as many operate as “low-grade hotels”. Likewise, “party boats” will be banned along the entire Passeig Marítim from this year. “The Port of Palma is a fundamental piece of infrastructure for the city and, therefore, its integration must be total, and that integration must involve banning ‘party boats’,” he insisted.
Less seasonality and higher tourist spend
Martínez Llabrés also highlighted in October that Palma has managed to reduce tourism seasonality by 2.01% over the last two years and by 4.57% compared with 2018, the record year before the pandemic. In addition, average spend per visitor has increased by 15%, which, according to the mayor, demonstrates a positive shift in the quality of both the offer and the visitor profile.
The mayor also pointed to an improvement in the city’s hotel rating, with a decline in 1- to 3-star accommodation and an increase in higher-end establishments.
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