Majorca wants to cap the number of cars on the roads and hopes that limiting the number of tourists on the road will help alleviate the large volume of traffic
Majorca is joining Ibiza in a rental car crackdown as the popular holiday destinations want to limit the amount of tourists on the roads. The island’s council is studying new plans to slam a limit on vehicles, which will be approved this year and come into force in 2026.
It intends to cap the number of cars on the roads and hopes that limiting the number of tourists on the road will help alleviate the large volume of traffic A multidisciplinary group made up of island officials is studying the regulations to draw up the future law. The council says limiting cars, establishing a ceiling and capping rental cars are its main objectives.
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“The Consell de Majorca is following in Ibiza’s regulatory footsteps and is rigorously analysing what measures it could replicate to limit vehicles from the summer of 2026,” says island newspaper Ultima Hora.
The raft of proposals will be send to Parliament as soon as possible. Local residents are pointing the finger at tourists for the congestion, saying visitors who rent a car during their holidays are adding to the clogged-up roads.
They say drastic measures should be taken, including banning all tourists from renting a car and introducing a mobility eco-tax.
Foreigners who have homes on the island with a car but only visit a few time a year should also be clamped down on.
One reader of Ultima Hora posted: “Follow in the footsteps of Ibiza? To follow the collapse of Ibiza? Make new roads now!”
Another suggested charging an mobility eco-tax of 20 euros a day on all rental cars.
The Balearic Parliament has already approved a new law to limit the entry of rental cars and caravans to Ibiza. Starting from June 2025, the island will implement measures to control vehicle influx, aiming to balance tourism with residents’ quality of life.
Vicent Marí, President of Ibiza council, said this law addresses social and environmental challenges resulting from Ibiza’s tourism success.
“We face new challenges that demand we work towards an essential balance between tourism and residents’ quality of life,” Marí stated.
The legislation provides legal tools to limit rental cars, caravans, and motorhomes entering the island.
Ibiza council said in a statement: “This summer, the island of Ibiza is taking another step forward in its commitment to sustainability and coexistence between the tourism sector and residents and will implement, for the first time, a regulation that will control the influx of vehicles.”
“The Island Council has already approved the maximum quota of 20,168 cars, which, in addition to those with tax residence on the island of Ibiza, will be allowed to circulate on the island between June 1 and September 30. Of these, 16,000 will be rental cars and 4,108 will be for tourists who want to disembark with their cars in Ibiza from the ports of Barcelona, Denia, Valencia, or Palma.”
“This first year of operation will serve, in addition to evaluating the actual effects of this measure, to obtain for the first time all the data that shipping companies, city councils, and the DGT (Directorate General of Traffic) will provide to the Island Council of Ibiza, the island’s highest authority, on the number of cars circulating on the island.
“To this end, the Island Council of Ibiza has launched the ibizacircular.es platform, which, upon payment of a fee of 1 euro per day, will allow you to reserve the quota necessary to enjoy your vacation.
“The goal is none other than to ensure that those who reside and visit our island can do so with the highest possible quality of life, while safeguarding natural environments that are affected by overcrowding.”
