Crisis in Majorca as tourists abandon bars and clubs

Bars and clubs in Majorca are in crisis mode, with the nightlife sector "fragmented" because people "don't have the money" to spend after paying for hotels. Miguel Pérez-Marsá, president of the ABONE nightlife association rubbished the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation's assertion that the tourist industry needed more long-term investment and higher quality of product to recover from its financial dip.

It comes as reports of a decline in tourism have emerged from Barcelona, Benidorm, and parts of Majorca, following protests against over-tourism in the region. The latest tourism season was no exception, with just a small increase in tourists compared to the dip in numbers in 2024. Hotel stays remained similar, but there was a significant drop in tourists visiting bars and restaurants, which was also a trend in 2024. Pérez-Marsá, said the season "has not been good" with the average spending per person dropping as running costs rise, suggesting bars and restaurants had been left behindfollowing hotels' price hikes.

The Mallorca Hoteliers Federation's executive vice-president, María José Aguiló's compared hotels' lack of spending to a "sound pricing policy". She said: "Customers know that if they are paying more, they expect quality service in return. Some parts of the industry meet that expectation, others don't", as per the Mallorca Daily Bulletin.

Pérez-Marsá said: "The issue isn't whether you renovate or not, it's that people don't have the money". He said many businesses have made "greater investments than some hotels" but these portions of tourists budget end up dwarfing anything set aside for restaurants and bars.

He added: "Nightlife and restaurants have also made their investments, but we are more fragmented." The rising operating costs are down to the salary increases under the new collective bargaining agreement for the hospitality industry, as per Pérez-Marsá. The negotiations were led by the hoteliers federation, with heads of restaurants and bars left to bear the brunt of whatever was agreed with no say in the process.

It was decided there would be 13.5% increase in salaries over three years - six per cent this year, four per cent in 2026, and 3.5% in 2027. Pérez-Marsá. He said the hoteliers "signed an agreement with an increase in the first year that has affected us a lot." A spate of clubs have been forced to close this week to limit running costs.

The president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, Juanmi Ferrer, pointed to the "low-cost offer" as a contributing issue. This is particularly relevant to cheap supermarkets which "devalue beach areas". The knock on effect is that restaurants and bars "have constant problems with terraces, regulations that don't affect others, complaints from residents, etc.".

In Barcelona,tourists have been sprayed with water pistols and told to "go home". In Majorca Ferrer warned that the anti-tourism demonstrations are "scaring visitors away". PerezMarsa, head of the nightlife association, also raised concerns said: "The tourists we're interested in are being driven away; they don't feel welcome and are going to other destinations."