Is Spain’s Mallorca really ‘treating tourists like animals’?

Another day, another wave of misguided sensationalist British newspaper headlines about the Spanish tourism sector. 

More specifically, outrage about new rules set to be implemented on the Balearic island of Mallorca that, according to several outlets, mean tourists will be “treated like animals”.

The headlines, pushed by some English-language tabloids in Spain and regurgitated in the UK, stem from new tourism regulations proposed by Palma city council. But how true is it, and is Mallorca really “treating tourists like animals”?

Firstly, this seems to be partly down to a mistranslation and a misquote going viral. 

The proposed rules regulate a wide range of tourist behaviour related to various issues such as the use of scooters, vandalism, alcohol consumption in public places, signs and advertising, and spitting, among others, while limiting guided tourists that clog up the centre of Palma, Mallorca’s capital. 

The line about ‘animals’ seems to come from a comment from a Mallorcan tourism bigwig complaining about limits on tour guide group numbers in the city centre.

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Gabriel Rosales, president of the Proguies Balearic tour group association, expressed his concern about the changes in the Spanish press. “Currently the average group size is between 30 and 50, but it is striking that the city council did not take regional regulations into account before taking this step,” he told local daily Crónica Balear.

“What do we do with tourists who join the group, without being part of the initial group, when we are giving explanations? Do we microchip them like dogs so we know who’s who? Do we hand out truncheons to dissuade those who are not part of the group?” he asked.

So it appears that his sarcastic comments about having to ‘microchip tourists like dogs’ have been mistranslated as tourists being ‘treated like animals’, which has far harsher connotations and doesn’t allude to Rosales’ point that tour guides could struggle to keep track of the number of tourists or prevent others from spontaneously joining the group.

This hasn’t prevented news sites and tabloids back in the UK such as The Metro, Heart Radio, Daily Express and Birmingham Mail from running with the ‘tourists treated like animals’ in their headlines.

Another of Rosales’ gripes is the obligation for tour guides to visibly display their accreditation with their name and ID number, something that Rosales believes is a violation of privacy. 

“Privacy rights are being violated and it conflicts with the data protection law. How can it be that a police officer identifies himself with a number and we have to expose all this information? We are being treated like criminals,” Rosales complained again rather hyperbolically. 

Note that a police officer in Spain can ask anyone for their ID card, which includes people’s full name and ID number. 

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So is Mallorca really ‘treating tourists like animals’?

In essence, the head of the Balearic’s tourist guide association is complaining that the limitation of guided tours to a maximum of 20 people, as set out in the new rules, goes against regional regulations in force since 2015, which allow groups of up to 70 people. 

In the case of tours on scooters, bicycles or Segways, the maximum group size will now be four people. Similarly, loudspeakers and megaphones will not be allowed. The bylaw includes these as minor offences punishable by fines of up to €750. 

Rosales claims these changes will hurt tourist numbers, the local economy, and could even make tour guides unprofitable.

These changes will come into force after their final approval in the plenary session in February. 

Do such measures involve ‘treating tourists like animals’? Not at all.

Regardless of whether the original quote that sparked the alarmist headlines was poorly translated or misconstrued, these reforms seem like sensible measures to regulate tourism on the saturated Balearic island.

The Balearics received 15.3 million tourists in 2024, a 6 percent increase compared to 2023.

Last year, Palma de Mallorca held two protests against mass tourism and its negative effects on residents and there were other demonstrations on the Mediterranean islands.

So there is clearly a desire among locals for change. It’s also worth noting that limits on tour groups have already been introduced in cities such as Valencia and Barcelona where hoards of tourists were clogging up squares and narrow streets in the city centre.

READ ALSO: ‘Theme park for idiots’ – Locals in Spain outraged by dancing city tours

Mallorca’s tour group head may be concerned over the financial implications of having fewer people joining tour groups, but reducing the limit of people per group from 70 down to 20 is in the best interests of locals on the island, and certainly does not involve ‘treating tourists like animals’.

READ ALSO: UK tabloids awash with fake headlines about ‘tourist ban’ in Spain