Tourist taxes set to rise in Ibiza and Majorca during summer months

The Balearic Islands, which includes Ibiza and Majorca, have announced plans to increase tourism taxes in a bid to curb overtourism.

While plans have yet to be officially authorised by the local government, it’s expected they will be passed. Tourist taxes will rise from a maximum of €4 a night during the summer to €6 a night per person at peak season during June, July, and August.

However, the cost per night of the tourist tax is dependent on the property. It will also be applied at four different rates across the year depending on the month of the year, ranging from March to December. Although January and February are exempt from the tax.

Following the announcement, Jaume Bauzá, tourism minister in the People’s Party Balearic government, explained the decision for the price hike: “The islands have reached their limit.”

The price increase could potentially add an extra €56 to the cost of a couple spending a fortnight away in Ibiza. Children who are under the age of 16 are expected to be exempt from the tax.

In November, political Més per Majorca announced plans to roll out the new “regressive policy” in a bid to “degrow” tourism in the popular Spanish islands, outlining a 40 per cent cap alongside announcing a yearly restriction on the amount of tourists permitted access to the holiday destination.

Lluís Apesteguia, a spokesperson for Més for Mallorca, said that the measures announced by the president of the Balearic Islands were “insufficient in the face of the collapse situation we are living in,” adding that it is “essential to make policies to reduce tourism and economic diversification.”