Authorities in Palma de Mallorca have announced plans to reduce the number of cruise ship tourists permitted to visit the port city during the peak summer season, with the new limits scheduled to take effect from 2027.
Under the proposed framework, the daily passenger berth capacity in the Port of Palma will be reduced from 8,500 to 7,500 between June and September. The measure will apply during the period from 2027 through 2029. Outside the summer season, the current daily limit of 8,500 cruise passengers will remain unchanged.
Municipal officials indicated that the adjustment is intended to regulate cruise operations while safeguarding the interests of the city, particularly in the historic districts that receive the majority of visiting passengers.
The revised arrangement will also introduce a limit on the number of vessels permitted to berth each day. Under the plan, a maximum of three cruise ships will be allowed to dock in Palma on any given day, and only one of those vessels may carry more than 5,000 passengers.
The initiative follows several years of public concern in the Balearic Islands regarding the impact of tourism volumes on local infrastructure and daily life. Residents have periodically staged demonstrations, maintaining that the pace of tourism growth has exceeded the capacity of local communities and that stronger regulatory measures were required.
The Balearic Islands, with Mallorca as the largest island in the archipelago, continue to receive substantial visitor numbers. Tourism figures indicate that approximately 18.7 million travellers visited the islands in 2024, while arrivals surpassed 19 million the following year. The resident population of the islands is estimated at roughly 1.2 million people.