Holiday vacancy cutback

THE island authorities have eliminated plans for 17,000 new hotel and holiday rental vacancies in tourism hotspots in Mallorca.

The aim is to restrict the growth of all tourist areas and not just those classed as “saturated” by the Balearic Environment Commission.

Mallorca Island Council President Catalina Cladera announced the restriction of new tourism vacancies back in March, when the Commission advised suspending the awarding of new hotel and tourist rental places in saturated areas such as Platja de Palma, Palmanova, Magaluf, Santa Ponça and s’Arenal.

But Sra Cladera went one step further and announced that the measure was to be extended to the whole island and not just those spots.

Recent modifications to the Mallorca town planning regulations eliminate the possibility to build more than 2,370 new tourist places, with land declassifications enforced in Son Duri in sa Rapita, Campos, Llucmajor, Soller and Plama, among other areas.

Under the new legislation, the Council no longer specifies where Town Halls are required to build new developments, but rather outlines how they must do so to respect the scenic value of each area and contribute towards the fight against climate change.