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 The Spanish island of Mallorca has always been appealing to foreign buyers and now even more so as law firms and estate agents are selling it as an "inheritance paradise". https://www.thelocal.es/20260522/foreign-buyers-allured-by-mallorcas-medieval-inheritance-laws Fri, 22 May 2026 11:40:50 +0200 foreign-buyers-allured-by-mallorcas-medieval-inheritance-laws Palma is Spain's latest airport to roll out the new EES passport checks for travellers from outside of the EU. https://www.thelocal.es/20251124/spains-palma-airport-implements-ees-border-checks Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:45:19 +0100 spains-palma-airport-implements-ees-border-checks 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 continues its fight against overtourism with rules to prohibit new tourist apartments, party boats and the creation of new hostels in the capital of Palma. https://www.thelocal.es/20251020/spains-mallorca-to-ban-tourist-rentals-party-boats-and-new-hostels Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:09:19 +0200 spains-mallorca-to-ban-tourist-rentals-party-boats-and-new-hostels Graffiti and stickers targeting Germans have appeared on shops and cars in Mallorca's Santanyí area, representing an escalation in simmering anti-tourism sentiment in Spain that blurs the line between protest and outright anti-foreigner feeling. https://www.thelocal.es/20250707/germans-out-anti-foreigner-graffiti-appears-in-spains-mallorca Mon, 07 Jul 2025 15:56:25 +0200 germans-out-anti-foreigner-graffiti-appears-in-spains-mallorca 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 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 Several environmental and resident groups on the Spanish island of Mallorca have sent an open letter to tourists in four languages asking them not to visit because they are “the source” of the problems the island is experiencing. https://www.thelocal.es/20250318/were-angry-dont-come-locals-on-spains-mallorca-tell-tourists Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:23:53 +0100 were-angry-dont-come-locals-on-spains-mallorca-tell-tourists 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 New rules for tour groups on the Spanish island have led the British tabloids to claim holidaymakers are being "treated like animals", attributing the words to a local tourism boss. But is Mallorca really being so harsh with tourists? https://www.thelocal.es/20250221/is-spains-mallorca-really-treating-tourists-like-animals Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:40:09 +0100 is-spains-mallorca-really-treating-tourists-like-animals 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 Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has given his views on the over-tourism problems plaguing his “second home” - Mallorca - pointing the finger at Airbnbs and car rental companies on the Spanish island. https://www.thelocal.es/20240729/michael-douglas-weighs-in-on-mallorcas-mass-tourism-debate Mon, 29 Jul 2024 15:53:17 +0200 michael-douglas-weighs-in-on-mallorcas-mass-tourism-debate Some 20,000 protesters hit the streets of Palma de Mallorca Sunday for another mass demonstration against overtourism, demanding changes to a tourism model they say is harming the Spanish Mediterranean island. https://www.thelocal.es/20240722/our-island-isnt-for-sale-spains-mallorca-protests-against-mass-tourism-again Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:45:54 +0200 our-island-isnt-for-sale-spains-mallorca-protests-against-mass-tourism-again Spanish police said Wednesday they have arrested, for manslaughter, the owner of a beachfront restaurant on the island of Mallorca where four people died when a terrace gave way. https://www.thelocal.es/20240627/owner-of-spanish-restaurant-in-mallorca-where-4-died-in-terrace-collapse-arrested Thu, 27 Jun 2024 11:17:17 +0200 owner-of-spanish-restaurant-in-mallorca-where-4-died-in-terrace-collapse-arrested There’s a lot more to the Balearic island’s capital than the postcard sights and the hordes of tourists. Here are five lesser-known places off the main strips where you can discover the city’s rich past for yourself. https://www.thelocal.es/20230502/discover-spain-five-hidden-gems-that-reveal-palma-de-mallorcas-past Tue, 02 May 2023 14:50:46 +0200 discover-spain-five-hidden-gems-that-reveal-palma-de-mallorcas-past