Twelve years on, the Balearics still won't change its model

Between 2007 and 2011 the Balearic Islands had a dedicated government department for one very specific purpose: changing the archipelago's tourism model. The idea was to reduce dependence on sun and beach and open the island economy to other activities that were never properly defined. As Preferente recalls, the department was shut and the productive structure stayed the same.

Twelve years on, the debate is identical. Overtourism, pressure on resources, housing squeezed by short-term rentals, airports at breaking point. The names of the ministries change, the plans get new titles, but the indicators that matter keep pointing the same way. There has been regulation, there have been higher taxes, there have been moratoriums. Cash in the door is up. The structure is not.

My take: the problem is not political will, it is the absence of a real economic substitute. Without industry, technology or financial services at scale, tourism will be 40% of the islands' GDP today and in 2035. Criticising that is easy, building the alternative is the hard part. For hoteliers and revenue managers the useful read is different: regulatory pressure will keep coming, and margin will go to whoever works the mix, the length of stay and off-season pricing better. That is where real innovation happens, without waiting for anyone's master plan.