Despite select markets slightly declining in 2025 performance, visitor spend is up 16% year-on-year: regardless of Palma's strategic spending success, managing director of Palma Tourist Board, Pedro Homar, believes there is "room to grow"
The UK remains the top source market for Palma—Pedro iterated, "We want to maintain our relationship with British tourists, especially in the city, because of the importance that UK tourists have with Palma, but also for what the city has to offer.
"We believe that there is room to grow our UK market appeal in the city of Palma."
Palma's ongoing journey to balance the ever-popular beach product with its growing luxury cosmopolitan city break status began over a decade ago. Pedro explained, "As a government body, in 2010, 2011, and 2012, new laws were passed to incentivise the more luxurious type of lodging... if the product you were going to develop was the typical city hotel, we don't need that. If that product regenerates a protected building that is closed, we approve those types of licenses."
Those properties have a growing presence throughout the city; Can Cera was one of the first to capitalise on the new laws when they passed in 2011 in a renovated palace in the city's old town. IT Mallorca Unique Spaces, the hotel management group behind Can Cera, continues to expand its boutique footprint throughout Palma.
"The worst thing that a tourist destination can have is everything closed: that's a shadow city. We've worked hard to reduce the risk of that ever happening. Shops, restaurants and hotels are frequently open, the city is packed with art galleries."
The focus on smaller boutique properties is one facet of the destination's mid- to long-term strategy. "Demand will always be okay... our strategy is not demand-driven, but it is a strategy to slightly change the profile of visitors. Palma is always going to be a family vacation spot, but that needs to be diversified without losing that family appeal.
"The other type of profiles that we want to be associated with, be it expenditure, a more upscale client, or a high-end package."
The 16% rise in expenditure amidst visitation doubts, Pedro believes, "is proof that the strategy is working. We are not losing in terms of arrivals, but we are incrementing expenditure."
Pedro was speaking at World Travel Market in London, which took place between November 4th and 6th, 2025.
