Majorca panic as study finds island has ‘way too many’ cars

Majorca smashed its so-called vehicle ceiling this summer as its roads buckled under the strain of mass tourism.

The vehicle ceiling is the number of drivers on the roads that an area can support “with levels of comfort”. Anything above the ceiling leads to congestion and road chaos as well as a “perception of saturation”.

The Council of Majorca conducted a recent study and found that the largest Balearic Island can, at most, support 863,061 cars. In the most restrictive model, the island can only support 834,263 cars.

In August last year, the popular tourist hotspot broke the vehicle ceiling, recording around 956,660 vehicles on the road. Therefore, the ceiling was exceeded either by 122,397 or 93,599 vehicles on the road.

As recorded in 2023, the number of permanent vehicles in Majorca is 829,825. This means that if more than 4,438 tourists hire cars during their trip, the roads will become a nightmare for residents.

The population of Majorca has soared in recent years and currently sits at around 962,000 people.

The study is the latest sign of over-tourism straining resources on the island.

This summer, popular tourist destinations across the Balearic Islands and the Spanish mainland saw protests against the tourism industry.

Campaigners blame the mass influx of tourists for increases in rent prices, anti-social behaviour, and strain on public services.

In 2023, more than 3.7 million British tourists visited the Balearic islands, including Mallorca.

It is thought that 2024 will break that record.

This comes as a report suggests Majorca will see record visitor numbers this winter, with as many as 10 million tourists flocking to the Balearic Islands.

Around 7.8 million of the visitors will fly to Majorca.

However, island authorities hope that welcoming more visitors outside of the summer will lessen the burden on locals during the island’s tourist peak, pushing islanders to the brink in recent years.