PALMA, 7 (EUROPA PRESS)
Jaume Bauzá, the Balearic Islands’ Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sports, has not ruled out the possibility that the Balearic Islands could reach 20 million tourists by the end of 2026, although he has linked this potential increase to a decrease in the number of days visitors spend in the archipelago.
“I believe we shouldn’t just focus on the number of tourists passing through the airport; we also need to take into account other factors, such as the decline in overnight stays. They’re visiting us more often but for shorter periods, and that has to be taken into account,” he said Monday at a press conference when asked about trends in tourism data.
Bauzá acknowledged that there is a possibility of reaching 20 million tourists annually, a figure that would set a historic record for the archipelago. “We might get there,” he conceded.
In any case, he insisted on linking this possibility to the fact that visitors are spending less time in the Balearic Islands. “Overnight stays are down, and that leads to an increase in airport visits,” he reiterated.
The minister took the opportunity to criticize the government’s refusal to proceed with the bill on airport co-management—approved by the Balearic Parliament in late April—in the Congress of Deputies.
“And let’s not even get into the government’s response to the bill on co-management—which, well, basically just tells us ‘no’ because it would hurt revenue,” he argued.
When asked if one of the measures the regional government would adopt should the law take effect would be to reduce the number of flights, Bauzá avoided giving a direct answer. He limited himself to saying that the government’s intention is “to have a say in the management of the airports.”
They will continue to demand this “no matter who is in power,” he assured when asked if they would press ahead in the event that the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, were to become the next president of the Government.
Regarding the PP’s position on the airport co-management law, Bauzá said he was unaware of it. “I don’t know; what I do know is the regional government’s stance, which is that it would like to have a say in the management of Aena,” he concluded.
