Airport figures confirm that the Balearics are on course for a new record number of tourists

Written on 19/11/2024
Andrew Ede

Almost seven per cent more international arrivals from January to October.

There is no doubt that Mallorca and the Balearics as a whole will end 2024 having set new records for the annual numbers of tourists. The total for the Balearics in 2023 was 17.8 million, an increase of 1.3 million compared with 2022. For 2024 it is a question of by how many the 17.8 visitors will be exceeded, not if they will be.

The latest figures for Spain's airports show that the three airports in the Balearics registered 1.6 million international arrivals in October, 7.6% more than in 2023 and giving a ten-month total of 15.3 million. For January to October there was a 6.6% increase in these arrivals.

At Palma in October there were 1.3 million international arrivals, a year-on-year increase of 8.6%. For the ten months the figure was 11.7 million, a 7.7% increase.

The airport numbers provide one source for the monthly tourist statistics. For October, these won't be released until the start of December and will include Spanish tourists arriving at the ports as well as the airports plus other arrivals by sea.

The October airport information indicates that 43% of all people who travelled from Germany to Spain arrived in the Balearics and that there was a 13% increase in the number of German travellers.

Germany, always the main tourism market in the Balearics (Mallorca especially), has been particularly buoyant this year despite any domestic economic issues.