https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed PP and Vox representatives in the Balearic Islands parliament this week voted down a proposal to limit property purchases by non-residents, the latest in a series of measures drawn up to try and combat market stresses on the archipelago. https://www.thelocal.es/20260227/spanish-right-rejects-limits-on-non-resident-property-purchases-in-balearics Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:21:59 +0100 spanish-right-rejects-limits-on-non-resident-property-purchases-in-balearics Devils, dancing, fire and dragons, discover all about the explosive correfoc festivals held in northeastern Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20240129/in-images-spains-devilishly-explosive-correfoc-celebrations Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:36:49 +0100 in-images-spains-devilishly-explosive-correfoc-celebrations New data shows that foreigners are buying almost half of all homes in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, amid calls by Spanish authorities and disgruntled locals for limits to be placed on overseas property buyers. https://www.thelocal.es/20251104/foreigners-buy-4-in-10-properties-in-spains-balearic-islands Tue, 04 Nov 2025 12:20:39 +0100 foreigners-buy-4-in-10-properties-in-spains-balearic-islands In less than a month, Palma de Mallorca Airport will be the fifth airport in Spain to start using the EU’s Entry/Exit System for third-country travellers, a real test for the new border checks given the millions of British tourists that visit the island every year. https://www.thelocal.es/20251021/ees-in-spain-border-checks-to-be-rolled-out-on-mallorca-in-november Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:19:04 +0200 ees-in-spain-border-checks-to-be-rolled-out-on-mallorca-in-november Mallorca has long been the favourite place in Spain for German tourists, residents and second homeowners, but recent data suggest that the Mediterranean island is losing its appeal among its main tourism market. https://www.thelocal.es/20250829/why-germans-are-falling-out-of-love-with-mallorca Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:36:47 +0200 why-germans-are-falling-out-of-love-with-mallorca Faced with a summer surge of tourists overwhelming the public health system, doctors on Spain's Balearic Islands are calling for holidaymakers to pay to have access to emergency medical services in state-run health centres. https://www.thelocal.es/20250819/doctors-in-spains-balearics-demand-health-fee-for-summer-tourists Tue, 19 Aug 2025 11:53:14 +0200 doctors-in-spains-balearics-demand-health-fee-for-summer-tourists Faced with a housing crisis, the regional government in the Balearic Islands on Tuesday approved plans to allow the construction of new homes on rural land where building was previously banned, including in a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. https://www.thelocal.es/20250417/spains-balearics-to-allow-building-on-rural-land-to-address-housing-shortage Thu, 17 Apr 2025 13:48:23 +0200 spains-balearics-to-allow-building-on-rural-land-to-address-housing-shortage Beaches in Mallorca’s capital of Palma will have far fewer sun beds next summer due to a climate change problem affecting many beaches across Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20250616/mallorca-to-cut-back-on-sun-beds-as-rising-sea-levels-eat-up-beach-space Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:35:17 +0200 mallorca-to-cut-back-on-sun-beds-as-rising-sea-levels-eat-up-beach-space Spain's island of Ibiza -- a hugely popular Mediterranean destination -- from Sunday started limiting the number of incoming tourist cars and caravans because of the huge numbers of visitors it gets. https://www.thelocal.es/20250601/ibiza-limits-tourist-cars-caravans Sun, 01 Jun 2025 15:45:43 +0200 ibiza-limits-tourist-cars-caravans Non-resident foreigners and Spanish nationals with homes on Mallorca will only be allowed one vehicle per property as local authorities look for ways to address the Spanish island’s overtourism and traffic problems. https://www.thelocal.es/20250527/mallorcas-second-home-owners-to-be-allowed-only-one-car Tue, 27 May 2025 13:21:42 +0200 mallorcas-second-home-owners-to-be-allowed-only-one-car Spain’s right-wing parties have rejected a proposal brought forward in the Congress and Senate to limit foreigners in the country’s two archipelagos from buying properties, with Vox labelling the move “xenophobic”. https://www.thelocal.es/20250507/spain-rejects-limit-on-foreign-home-ownership-in-canaries-and-balearics Wed, 07 May 2025 12:39:41 +0200 spain-rejects-limit-on-foreign-home-ownership-in-canaries-and-balearics The regional government of the Balearic Islands has come out against calls from the Canary Islands for EU help to restrict foreigners from buying homes, despite both archipelagos suffering mass tourism and property market crises. https://www.thelocal.es/20250425/spains-balearics-oppose-restrictions-on-foreigners-buying-homes Fri, 25 Apr 2025 11:55:41 +0200 spains-balearics-oppose-restrictions-on-foreigners-buying-homes Foreigners are increasingly moving to Spain's Balearic Islands but not paying their fair share of taxes as residents, the country's tax authorities have warned. https://www.thelocal.es/20250417/more-foreigners-moving-to-balearics-but-not-paying-tax-spains-tax-agency-says Thu, 17 Apr 2025 12:27:20 +0200 more-foreigners-moving-to-balearics-but-not-paying-tax-spains-tax-agency-says Authorities on the Spanish islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are looking to implement numerous measures to combat mass tourism, from taxing rental cars and vehicles from the mainland to fining illegal tourist flat owners €500,000. https://www.thelocal.es/20250311/taxes-bans-and-fines-the-new-mass-tourism-measures-on-spains-balearics Tue, 11 Mar 2025 10:51:49 +0100 taxes-bans-and-fines-the-new-mass-tourism-measures-on-spains-balearics Protesters on the Spanish island of Mallorca have defaced an iconic Osborne bull billboard with a message reading “Rich Foreign Property Buyers Go to Hell”, as the Spanish government eyes a possible supertax or total ban on non-EU non-resident buyers. https://www.thelocal.es/20250218/go-to-hell-osborne-bull-graffiti-slams-spains-foreign-property-buyers Tue, 18 Feb 2025 13:08:11 +0100 go-to-hell-osborne-bull-graffiti-slams-spains-foreign-property-buyers The Balearic Islands new scheme will enable tenants to get a 30 percent reduction on rents, assumed by the government, and landlords will be able to benefit from advance lump sum payments. Here's how it works and where to apply. https://www.thelocal.es/20241024/how-tenants-and-landlords-benefit-from-the-balearics-new-safe-rent-plan Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:27:30 +0200 how-tenants-and-landlords-benefit-from-the-balearics-new-safe-rent-plan Left-wing political party Més per Mallorca has proposed a new bill to restrict the sale of second homes on the popular Balearic Island, only allowing resident buyers. https://www.thelocal.es/20241022/renewed-calls-for-mallorca-to-ban-non-residents-from-buying-property Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:24:56 +0200 renewed-calls-for-mallorca-to-ban-non-residents-from-buying-property Spanish police said Friday they found a body where a British hiker went missing after flash floods in Mallorca, three days after the missing Brit's partner was found dead. https://www.thelocal.es/20240906/body-found-in-search-for-british-hiker-missing-in-spains-mallorca Fri, 06 Sep 2024 15:23:04 +0200 body-found-in-search-for-british-hiker-missing-in-spains-mallorca A British hiker has been found dead and another is missing on the Spanish island of Mallorca after heavy rains swept over the popular tourist destination, emergency services said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20240904/british-hiker-dead-another-missing-after-storm-in-spains-mallorca Wed, 04 Sep 2024 15:02:34 +0200 british-hiker-dead-another-missing-after-storm-in-spains-mallorca A protected natural area on the Spanish island of Ibiza has turned into a place for illegal parties, with revellers leaving behind trash and the hoards of daily visitors endangering endemic species. https://www.thelocal.es/20240809/ibizas-favourite-sunset-spot-drowning-in-selfies-djs-and-rubbish Fri, 09 Aug 2024 13:28:11 +0200 ibizas-favourite-sunset-spot-drowning-in-selfies-djs-and-rubbish