Ibiza to limit cruise ship arrivals amid Spain’s overtourism crisis

Authorities in Ibiza are have implemented new regulations for cruise ships docking at their ports.

The Council of Mayors on Friday announced plans to limit the simultaneous arrival of cruise ships to the Spanish island by allowing no more than two cruises to dock at the same time.

Ibiza remains one of the most popular destinations for British tourists, attracting partygoers to the vibrant club and DJ scene, as well as families seeking white sandy beaches and crystal-clear coves.

However, like many other Spanish and European destinations, overtourism has become an issue in recent years, affecting landscapes and the lives of residents.

The council has agreed to speak with the Balearic Port Authority so it can assess the annual schedule of cruise ship arrivals in Ibiza and ensure that the volume arriving at the same time is limited to a maximum of two.

The officials also proposed to discuss a more “controlled” and “planned” schedule of arrivals.

Mallorca was the first Spanish holiday hotspot to limit the cruise ship arrivals last year, with a cap of three ships per day that can arrive in Palma.

The president of Ibiza’s council, Vicent Marí Torres, said that while the island is not against the arrival of tourists on cruise ships, better planning needs to be carried out to ensure overcrowding does not affect their residents.

open image in gallery

“When the arrival of more than two cruises occurs simultaneously, the port and transport services collapse, which generates a problem in Ibiza town," he said, according to The Daily Express .

"We are not against the arrival of cruises but we ask that it occurs in a more orderly and planned way.

"This lack of planning affects both the residents, who suffer this saturation at the time of arrival and tourists who take a bad image of their stay."

Last year, Ibiza logged a record number of cruise ship passengers arriving in Ibiza. Data analysis from the non-profit Ibiza Preservation revealed that a total of 548,969 cruise passengers docked at the island in 2023.

This was an 86 per cent increase on the 295,468 passengers registering their arrival in 2022, and surpassed pre-Covid numbers.

Considering Ibiza’s population is around 159,000 residents, this means there were 3.45 times the number of cruise tourists than Spanish locals in 2023.

While the Spanish island heavily relies on its tourism industry to sustain its economy, with 84 per cent of its GDP depending directly on travellers, the 21-mile-long island can only sustain so many visitors at once.

Ibiza residents and authorities have previously voiced concerns about marine and wildlife damage, the rental market crisis inflated by illegal tourist rentals, and oversaturation due to the influx of tourists.

The authorities have also considered staggering the amount of cruise ship passengers disembarking the ships instead of allowing thousands of tourists to flood the island all at once.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast