Spain’s Balearic Islands to cut ties with influencers in bid to stop ‘selfie tourism’

Spain has said it will stop using social media influencers to promote popular Balearic Islands destinations in a bid to control overwhelming “selfie tourism”.

The Balearic government backtracked on the use of influencer marketing campaigns after a cove in Mallorca was swarmed by 4,000 visitors a day last summer.

Caló des Moro only has the space to welcome around 100 beachgoers each day.

Influencer content showcasing the small cove prompted tourists to travel for pictures of the golden sands and clear waters.

The local mayor of Mallorca’s Santanyí, Maria Pons, said at a press conference last June that 4,000 people and 1,200 vehicles were descending on Caló des Moro daily.

In June 2024, hundreds of activists descended on the once secluded cove to demand sunbathers leave the beach with a giant banner that declared, “Ocupem les nostres platges” – “We will occupy our beaches”.

Previously, the Balearics had hoped that the use of influencer content would redirect tourist flow to more remote parts of the popular holiday islands and highlight hidden gems.

However, following a push on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, the tourism marketing strategy has seen remote and protected parts of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza overrun with holidaymakers looking to snap a selfie.

Last weekend, a spokesman for the Balearic tourism department said selfie tourism had “had the completely opposite effect to what was intended and runs contrary to government policy on containing tourism”, reported the Guardian.

The local authority has since removed all images of the cove from its website and pleaded with journalists and tour operators to stop promoting the location altogether.

Similarly, in March, residents in Ibiza vowed to continue anti-tourism protests this summer, barricading a famous viewpoint with boulders and “no entry” warnings.

Angry locals in Cala d’Hort de Sant Josep blocked tourist access to the Es Vedra lookout and its car parks in a bid to curb overtourism and “wild parties” in the area.

Hundreds of unregulated holidaymakers flock to the islet viewpoint on Ibiza's southwest coast each day in summer, using unofficial car parks on private land to watch the sunset.

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