International tourism volume in the Balearics 2001-2021

The number of international tourists visiting the Balearic Islands plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After one decade of uninterrupted growth, inbound tourism numbers to the Mediterranean archipelago fell below the two-million mark in 2020.
This Spanish autonomous community, comprised of four main islands and a combined population of around 1.2 million people, is a popular sunny retreat for many Europeans.

Sun and beach tourism during COVID-19

Approximately 6.32 million foreign tourists visited the Balearic Islands in 2021, significantly improving upon the 1.72 million arrivals reported in 2020. In both years, the average stay of international overnight visitors was higher than a week, while the average spend for the entire trip amounted to more than one thousand euros.

Contribution of tourism to the Balearic economy

In addition to the foreign visitors, this Spanish insular territory also received around 1.35 million domestic tourist arrivals in 2020, though this figure was above two million in the previous years. Thus, the global health crisis was a harsh blow to an economy that heavily relies on tourism. In late 2010s, this sector accounted for around 40 percent of the Balearics’ GDP. In 2021, this share was at less than 30 percent, though significantly higher than in 2020. In total, the region lost more than 10 billion euros from tourism in that year alone.