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Article

Tourism-Related Gentrification: The Case of Sóller (Mallorca)

by
Joan Rossello-Geli
1,2
1
Estudis d’Arts i Humanitats, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08080 Barcelona, Spain
2
Grup de Recerca CLIMARIS, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma, Spain
Urban Sci. 2025, 9(7), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9070246
Submission received: 1 May 2025 / Revised: 19 June 2025 / Accepted: 20 June 2025 / Published: 30 June 2025
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Abstract

The research herein presented aims to analyze the impacts of gentrification in a medium-sized Mallorca municipality because of the tourism accommodation changes. Using the available data from national and regional official sources, qualitative research is undertaken. The main findings show how gentrification has exacerbated issues such as rising real estate prices and the loss of houses, which are nowadays devoted to tourist rentals or boutique hotels, thus not available for the local population. Another effect is a displacement of young local residents from Sóller towards other island municipalities and, finally, the presence of conflicts over the use of public spaces. Even if the local authorities already implement some measures, it is concluded that more measures should be included in order to avoid the increase in “tourismphobia” attitudes related to the gentrification process and the public space occupation.

1. Introduction

Gentrification is defined as “the displacement of working-class residents of a neighborhood by wealthier professionals” [1]. It is nowadays a worldwide process, related to globalization and new urbanism [2]. In that sense, it affects not only cities located in the Western hemisphere but also cities around the world, becoming a new form of colonialism [3].
Initially, the gentrification was the change in neighbors within a city, from low-income residents living in old houses to a new resident, of middle and upper income, that changed the quality of their living quarters, thus making them unaffordable for low-rent citizens. Such an approach changed during the 2000s when the term tourist gentrification started to appear. According to Ref. [4] it “refers to the transformation of a middle-class neighborhood into a relatively affluent and exclusive enclave marked by a proliferation of corporate entertainment and tourism venues.” Gotham’s research was focused on New Orleans but the concept rapidly expanded towards other tourist-related cities located around the world. It is nowadays a transnational occurrence, related to real estate interests, that increases the value of urban spaces thus reducing the access of low-income residents as they cannot compete with high-income migrants or tourists [5].
The growth of urban tourist destinations is a common trend worldwide, often driven by the local authorities themselves [6,7]. Such changes resulted in societal and economic effects and led to the overtourism concept [8]. Overtourism refers to an excessive influx of visitors to a destination, thus leading to negative impacts on the quality of life of residents, a degradation of the visitor experience, and damage to the environment and cultural heritage. It is a relative phenomenon as its perception depends on factors like the size of the destination, the distribution of the tourist’s flow, and the local infrastructure’s capability to absorb such flow [9,10,11]. There are examples of the negative impact of tourism in large cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Amsterdam, or Venice but the concept affects as well other tourist destinations such as Riga, Tallinn, Dubrovnik, or Stockholm [10].
The leading solutions regarding this problem highlight the need for balanced policies that prioritize sustainable tourist models, and the use of technological tools to mitigate impacts and improve the resident’s well-being [10,11].
Urban tourism has affected local communities, with effects such as rising costs of commodities and housing, occupation of public space, and noise [12]. In that sense, gentrification creates socio-spatial injustices [13], which result in “anti-tourism” positions amongst local residents. The negative impacts of overtourism led to a new concept, tourismphobia, a term that appeared in Barcelona in 2008 and refers to resentment and even hostility among local residents toward tourists. The term implies an irrational dislike, even if can often reflect legitimate grievances about tourism-related effects such as overcrowding or rising living costs [14].
The Spanish press popularized tourismphobia use, especially after protests in Barcelona, but it has also been used to discredit anti-tourism movements as such actions create negative experiences among tourists, who feel unwelcomed. There is a growing number of cities worldwide affected by some degree of tourismphobia, related to factors like the expansion of short-term rentals, the arrival of cruise ships, disrespectful tourist behavior, and social media-driven overcrowding. Not only large tourist destinations like Barcelona, Berlin, New Orleans Paris, or Venice but also less-known urban destinations like Hanoi, Malaga, Porto, Reykjavik, or Santorini [15,16,17].
Examples of the effects of tourist gentrification and local opposition answers are widely available, with case studies ranging from the large city level to a small-scale neighborhood analysis [18,19].
The research herein presented focuses on the impact of tourism gentrification in a medium-sized town located in Northwest Mallorca. Despite having a seaside area, with a tourism presence since the 1950s, there has been a change in tourism-related activities, which have moved inland, occupying nowadays spaces within the city itself, spaces not long ago locally owned and now on foreign hands and devoted to accommodating tourists. That change has provoked a local reaction, as opposed to the gentrification of dwellings and public spaces, which has caused conflicts between the different affected parties.
From the available data, obtained through official databases, an analysis of the evolution of tourist accommodation facilities since the start of the 21st century is developed. Numerical and qualitative data are studied analytically and descriptively and the results aim to show how gentrification provoked an increase in the cost of housing, an increase in ownership on foreign hands, and a public space loss for local residents.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research Area

The city of Sóller is located in Northwestern Mallorca, lying in between the Tramuntana mountain range (Figure 1). Inhabited since the Prehistory, the geographical trends of the area shaped the human settlements located there. The town is located on a valley, surrounded by mountains of medium and high altitude, one of them the highest peak of the island at 1453 m above sea level. Such locations are important regarding tourism as a large number of hiking routes start or end in Sóller. Moreover, the climate belongs to the Mediterranean temperate variety, with hot summers and mild winters and an average of 779.4 mm of rain a year [20].
Also of paramount importance is the location of the municipality along the western coast. There is the lone large bay of that coast, thus allowing the existence of a harbor with capacity for small to medium-sized ships. Furthermore, the bay has a large beach, formerly made with pebbles and nowadays sandy, as tons of sand were dumped to create comfortable spaces for tourists. The harbor was intensively used during the 19th and first decades of the 20th century as a commercial port, linking Sóller to the south of France and mainland Spain, with an important traffic of citrus fruits and other goods like olive oil. In that sense, for centuries, the main economic activity of the area was agriculture.
The tourism industry in Sóller, Mallorca, began to flourish in the 1960s with the rise in mass tourism in the Balearic Islands. Initially, the town attracted a small but affluent group of tourists, but by the 1960s, the industry shifted toward cheaper, large-scale tourism, catering mainly to working-class visitors from Western Europe. This period saw the construction of hotels, pensions, and leisure facilities, particularly around the beach and port areas [21]. The 1973 oil crisis temporarily slowed growth, but Sóller’s family-oriented tourism model helped sustain the industry during the downturn.
In the 1990s, Sóller faced challenges due to outdated infrastructure and declining competitiveness, leading to a loss of tourist spots. However, the approval of the Plan to Order the Tourist Offer in 1995 and the opening of the Sóller Tunnel in 1999 marked a turning point. These developments improved accessibility and revitalized the port area, extending the tourist season beyond the traditional summer months. By the early 21st century, Sóller had diversified its tourism offerings, focusing on hiking, nautical activities, and boutique hotels, which attracted a more upscale clientele [22].
The rise in online platforms for holiday rentals in the 2010s transformed the tourism landscape once again. Short-term rentals of private properties became a dominant trend, leading to a surge in tourist accommodations, particularly in the historic center and the coastal areas. It was the start of a new modality of “mass-tourism”, nowadays not hosted at hotels but on private properties. Such a process is related to the increase in online platforms selling flights and holiday home rentals, thus avoiding tour operators and searching for a do-it-yourself holiday organization [22,23].
In the Balearic Islands, the urban tourism growth caused an impact on an already tourism-focused space. There was a change from a “sun and beach” offer to a new type of visitor, who demanded different activities. While initially focused on large cities like Palma [24] or Ibiza [25], the process moved towards other locations, often not directly affected by the traditional tourist offer of the islands [26,27,28,29].
The need to structure such a situation and organize the tourist sector led the regional government to publish a new Balearic Islands Tourism Law 8/2012, which was modified partially by Law 6/2017 [30].
The new law stated clearly, what the definition of new tourist-related lodgings was. Moreover, it included two important concepts:
-
Turisme d’Interior (TI) hotels: they are defined as “establishments in which the tourist accommodation service is provided in a building located in the old town neighborhood with similar characteristics to those of a hotel, and must have been built before January 1st, 1940 or must be listed for its historical heritage values. Other building dates of age or distance from tourist areas may be established by regulation, where justified. Finally, those TI hotels must have a minimum of five accommodation units”.
-
Establiments Turisme Vacacional (ETV) houses: “they are considered to be a tourist accommodation if you rent your entire dwelling for short periods of time, days or weeks, but no stay may exceed one month. The rent must be in conditions of immediate use and you cannot demonstrate a dwelling purpose other than tourist use”. ETV regulations state as well that you can rent a detached house or a flat in a holiday rental building but not a flat in a multi-owner building where the primary use is not tourism.
Such regulations have been implemented by the above-mentioned regional laws and by municipal standards. Local urban and regional plans also identify the location of apt rental zones, according to environmental and population factors, and can even reduce the duration of the rental period to two months a year. The main purpose of such rules is to prevent illegal renting and avoid nuisances to local residents as well as environmental impacts.

2.2. Data and Methods

For this research, the most recent data available has been used. The sources range from the official statistics office of the Balearic Islands regional government, IBESTAT, to the municipality archives. Moreover, the data regarding the TI and ETV dwellings in Sóller is obtained from the official database of the Consell de Mallorca Tourism Department and data about occupation is the result of informal talks with the President of the Hotels Association in Sóller, Mr. Lluis Rullan. The spatial conflicts generated by the gentrification process are observed through lengthy conversations with two of the leaders of the local association SOS Sóller, who do not want to be identified. Informal conversations are accepted generally for qualitative research, as they allow for gathering useful and authentic data despite validity issues that can arise regarding the proper capture of the conversation words. Moreover, the obtained data is valid as it is possible to compare with numerical data, and can be integrated into other data acquisition processes and the academic community should accept the researcher’s integrity [31,32].
The quantitative data gathered was analyzed in a qualitative way, as we want to observe relationships between variables. In that sense, demographic information, obtained from the regional census and the municipality records, is employed to observe the changes affecting local inhabitants, especially those with ages between 20- and 40-year-old, as it is the age range when people in Spain tend to leave their parental household [33].
Moreover, the tourism-related information is used to show the “touristification” of the municipality and the change from a hotel guest towards tourism linked to holiday homes and boutique hotels. Official sources data allow locating the spatial distribution of the newest tourist accommodations while conversations highlight the spaces of conflict between the new uses of the space and those related to the local residents of the city.

3. Results

3.1. The Case of Sóller: New Tourist Lodgings

As stated previously, the 1960s were when the tourism industry became highly significant in Sóller, a common trend in Spain and Mallorca [13,34]. The island became an important destination, attracting thousands of tourists and Sóller was drawn towards a tourist economy. Since the 2000s the number of visitors has not ceased to increase, accompanied by a change in the demand, less and less seasonal and distributed throughout the year and reaching values in excess of 100,000 people before the COVID pandemic and currently being surpassed year after year (Table 1).
Such an increase in the demand caused a growth of the lodging offer. As of 2025, 17 hotels were located in the municipality, offering 2357 beds. The arrival of new tourist accommodations, like the rural hotels at the end of the 1990s and the newest hotels d’interior (TI) and the holiday houses (ETV) had increased the number of places (Table 2), nowadays listed at 6582 beds in a municipality of 13,491 inhabitants, more than 30 tourist places for every 100 inhabitants [35].
Table 1. Evolution of the number of visitors in Sóller, 2010–2024. Source: own elaboration from [36].
Table 1. Evolution of the number of visitors in Sóller, 2010–2024. Source: own elaboration from [36].
YearNumber of VisitorsYearNumber of Visitors
201048,4172018126,720
201159,7562019125,295
201272,10820207850
201391,206202167,790
201493,5842022123,836
201587,5892023128,355
201687,2602024142,039
201780,390
Table 2. Number of accommodation places in Sóller. Source: [37].
Table 2. Number of accommodation places in Sóller. Source: [37].
Accommodation TypeEstablishmentsNumber of Places
Agro-tourism12221
Tourist apartments2121
Guest houses115
Rural hotels164
Hotels172357
Aparthotels1208
Hostels3136
Turisme Interior (TI)26259
Holiday rentals (ETV)5783594
Those values should be larger if the unlawful offer is taken into account. As of 2017, more than 1000 places were considered illegals [38], a figure unknown today due to the lack of official data. Moreover, the industry includes a wide range of commercial facilities, like restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, etc.
The main change regarding tourist accommodation is the arrival of boutique hotels and the development of holiday rentals, which existed before but were never close to the current numbers.
Another related effect of the change in seasonality and accommodation options for the visitor is, according to Mr. Lluis Rullan, the changing behaviors of the tourists. On the one hand, the tourist attracted to the hotel d’interior is usually looking for a quality stay, with room prizes ranging from €130 to more than €300 per night. It is a visitor that searches for local gastronomy, and culture and expends time and money in the town. On the other hand, the users of holiday rentals tend to be families with children, who are looking for a suitable space where enjoy their holidays, and groups of friends looking for a more fun holiday [24]. In that sense, there is an increase in nuisances towards local residents, which cannot be compensated for by the expenditure tourists make.
The next subsections focus on the analysis of the development of TI hotels and ETV houses from 2000 to the present day. While the former was already in existence at the end of the past century, the latter is a new phenomenon that has had a profound impact on the local tourist market.

3.1.1. Turisme D’interior Evolution

The first Hotel d’Interior in Sóller opened in 1998 and the second one in 2000. Since that year, there has been a steady increase in the number of establishments, reaching 26 in 2025. From those numbers, we selected the ones located within the historical quarters of Sóller, 16 TI hotels overall (Figure 2).

3.1.2. Holiday Rental (ETV) Evolution

The ETV concept was something unknown by the start of the 21st century. There was tourism rental from private owners but it was usually an unlawful activity, using webpages and foreign contacts to attract clients. Nowadays, ETV are mainly villas located in the outskirts of the town but an important number of rentals, basically flats, are located in the harbor area and, especially, within the old fishermen’s quarter, known as Santa Catalina. More than 500 ETVs are legal in Sóller and almost half of them are located in the coastal area (Figure 3). As of 2024, almost 10% of the houses in Sóller are for rental purposes, while in the coastal area, those values reach 20% [39].

3.2. Santa Catalina, a Space of Conflict

Santa Catalina is the paradigm of gentrification in Sóller. Initially, local owners rented the ground floors of the houses as bars or restaurants. The increase in visitors led to an intensive occupation of pavements and the streets by chairs and tables, causing nuisances to the neighbors, sometimes the same ones who had rented their houses ground floors (Figure 4). Complaining was frowned upon, as tourism was a business that made money for the population as a whole. The arrival of foreigners with a higher purchasing power led to the sale of houses and flats, especially from older people or their heirs. Initially, the new arrivals were using the properties for their own holidays but soon the new trend of holiday rental appeared and the dwellings were occupied for more months and the new visitors, there for days or weeks, were not sharing the owner’s respect towards the local inhabitants. Furthermore, an increasing number of houses and flats were bought either by companies or by private individuals with the aim of using them for tourism rental and obtaining quick profits [40,41].
The result was an impressive increase in real estate prices for both buying and renting, which caused many local residents to abandon their lifelong homes. Moreover, the traditional “way of life” of the neighborhood was lost with these changes, something common in other cities of Spain [11,12,17] and worldwide [42,43].
Another effect of the arrival of holiday-rental residents and the nuisances caused by them is the protest of local residents, who organized themselves into neighborhood-affected platforms to make their voices heard by public administrations but also by tourists (Figure 5). There have even been outbreaks of fighting and insults that have required the presence of the police.

4. Discussion

An important effect of the gentrification process in the valley of Sóller has been the increase in the rental and purchase prices of flats and houses. In 2021, the average price per square meter in Mallorca was 3353 euros while in Sóller it was 4504 euros for already built properties. If a property has to be refurbished to become a holiday home, an additional 1000 euros can be added to the price per square meter [44]. As of 2025, the cost of the m2 reached 4947€ according to the web Idealista [45]. Moreover, the rent for a 90 square meter flat is easily 1200 euros per month and prizes during the summer season can be higher. The same process has been identified in cities of Sweden or Germany, where gentrification increases housing values near gentrified neighbors or rental prices increase close to gentrified areas [46,47].
To complicate the situation further, local planning regulations prevent the use of large old houses to build flats, as they cannot be lawfully divided horizontally. This causes them to be sold as a single unit, making the price more expensive. In that sense, only private companies or foreigners with high purchasing power can buy them, with the aim of using them for holiday-related purposes. Those high real estate prices are also a consequence of the arrival of hotels such as the TI, which increase market prices to levels unaffordable for middle-class citizens.
Such real state costs make it very difficult to live in the municipality, especially for the young population, who have to leave in search of more affordable prices in other locations on the island. Thus, the population between 20 and 39 years of age has declined in the last decade from 4026 to 3193 inhabitants (Figure 6). On the other hand, there has been an increase in the total population, mostly the result of the arrival of foreigners, especially during the second decade of the 21st century. As of January 2024, more than 16% of the municipality inhabitants were foreigners [48].
Another problem that can relate to the gentrification process is the increase in the cost of living, which is seen in the prices of foodstuffs as well as in the increase in the prices of restaurants and bars, which often lose local clientele as they focus their service on tourism. During the winter of 2024, there were public protests using social media as there were no bars or restaurants open for local residents, as being the low season, the businesses were closed and not available for the local population.
While the ETV industry in areas such as the harbor led to social tensions, the TI hotels within the historical center of Sóller have had a lesser impact in terms of problems, probably because most of the establishments are located in areas dedicated to tertiary activities, thus causing less nuisance to local neighbors. In addition, the restaurants and bars are concentrated in the main square of the town, which also reduces the amount of disturbance. Thus, in the town center, the main issues concern the affluence of rental cars, which tends to block parking spaces, combined with the lack of capacity in restaurants and bars which together with the increase in the prices of products, makes them unaffordable for the local residents.
Some protests led to the creation of a social platform against gentrification, which promotes a social mobilization to fight the gentrification process, following the example of places like Lisbon, and other European and Spanish cities [50,51,52]. As an answer, the city council started to act with an ordinance that regulates the distribution of tables and chairs in pedestrian zones, providing for substantial fines in case of continuous non-compliance. Such ordinances are common already in other Spanish tourist cities, such as Barcelona or Palma [53,54,55]. Moreover, as of 2024, an increase in the parking cost for rental cars and those driven by non-residents has been implemented as well as green parking zones, where only resident cars are allowed. Local authorities hope such policies will reduce traffic congestion as parking areas are projected outside the city center, as other tourist locations have previously done [56,57].
According to [8], there are overtourism indicators such as congestion of infrastructures, facilities, and commercial activities, noise pollution, inflation and reduction in the availability of gods, investment in tourism-specific infrastructures, which can lead to an exodus of residents, the reduction in accessibility due to crowdedness and the marginalization of the resident population. All of the above indicators can be identified in Sóller and the solutions, also proposed by [8], are being implemented nowadays: improving traffic management, reducing seasonality, increasing parking prices and giving real-time information about parking spaces, and reducing tourist promotion.

5. Conclusions

Our research states how the shift in the tourism market, from hotels to rental holiday units and boutique hotels, has exacerbated issues of gentrification, as rising real estate prices and the conversion of homes into tourist rentals displaced local residents in Sóller. The influx of tourists also led to conflicts over the use of public spaces, noise, and the loss of traditional neighborhood life, highlighting the challenges of balancing tourism growth with the needs of the local community.
Therefore, there is an increase in tourismphobia amongst the local residents, related to a feeling of expulsion from home due to the excess of visitors and the occupation of spaces, a well-developed research topic nowadays in Spain and Mallorca [58,59,60]. It is clear that it is necessary to achieve a balance between residents and visitors as well as to make compatible the uses of spaces that both claim for themselves.
Regarding real estate market prizes, the local population seeks solutions but at the political level, there does not seem to be much interest in finding valid answers, always citing European regulations as limiting factors for solutions.
The case of Sóller highlights how a medium-size city is affected by urban development challenges, arising from tourist gentrification, housing displacement, and the privatization of public spaces. Those issues reflect broad urban trends where tourism-driven activities reshape cities, often at the expense of local communities.
In terms of the limitations of this research, there is a lack of reliable data related to population displacements due to gentrification. Local and regional authorities should improve the statistical data related to this phenomenon. Moreover, there is a lack of updated statistical information from official institutions regarding holiday rental dwellings, which hampers the analysis of the tourist-related impacts in the past years.
Future research should include the analysis of the impact of online short-term rental platforms, such as Booking or Airbnb, and their evolution in the area.
To conclude, it is clear that there is a problem of gentrification related to new sorts of tourism accommodation, but only time will tell whether solutions are to be found that satisfy all parties involved, something that seems complicated at present. The mobilization of local residents, and the creation of social protest platforms, imply that politicians can no longer look the other way and must start searching for solutions to existing problems.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study is available on request from the author.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Lluis Rullan for his help and time explaining the situation of the tourism industry in Sóller as well as allowing the consultation of data. Another acknowledgment is towards two of the leaders of the social movement SOS Sóller, which fights the gentrification process affecting the municipality and the nuisances related to mass tourism.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

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Figure 1. Location of Sóller within the island of Mallorca.
Figure 1. Location of Sóller within the island of Mallorca.
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Figure 2. Location of TI hotels within the historical center of Sóller. Source: Consell de Mallorca, 2025.
Figure 2. Location of TI hotels within the historical center of Sóller. Source: Consell de Mallorca, 2025.
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Figure 3. Location of ETV rentals in the Port de Sóller area. Source: Consell de Mallorca, 2025.
Figure 3. Location of ETV rentals in the Port de Sóller area. Source: Consell de Mallorca, 2025.
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Figure 4. Occupation of a pedestrian street in Santa Catalina.
Figure 4. Occupation of a pedestrian street in Santa Catalina.
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Figure 5. Neighbors’ protest against tourism-related activities.
Figure 5. Neighbors’ protest against tourism-related activities.
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Figure 6. Population evolution from 2001 to 2021. Source: [49].
Figure 6. Population evolution from 2001 to 2021. Source: [49].
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Rossello-Geli, J. Tourism-Related Gentrification: The Case of Sóller (Mallorca). Urban Sci. 2025, 9, 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9070246

AMA Style

Rossello-Geli J. Tourism-Related Gentrification: The Case of Sóller (Mallorca). Urban Science. 2025; 9(7):246. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9070246

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rossello-Geli, Joan. 2025. "Tourism-Related Gentrification: The Case of Sóller (Mallorca)" Urban Science 9, no. 7: 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9070246

APA Style

Rossello-Geli, J. (2025). Tourism-Related Gentrification: The Case of Sóller (Mallorca). Urban Science, 9(7), 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9070246

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