The Ibiza 2024 Sustainability Report, prepared by IbizaPreservation with funding from the Consell Insular d’Eivissa, also reflects a historic record in the resident population.
Ibiza, 04-04-2025 – The IbizaPreservation Sustainability Observatory has published data from the Balearic Islands Statistics Institute (IBESTAT), collected in its latest report, currently in the process of being prepared, which indicate that, compared to the previous year, the island registered a 3.3% reduction in the total number of visitors during 2024, reaching 3,275,579 compared to 3,385,609 tourists in 2023. Regarding the resident population , the study shows a record figure, reaching 161,485 inhabitants, which represents an increase of 1.4% compared to the previous year. These data are part of the Ibiza 2024 Sustainability Report , the preparation of which is fully financed by the Consell Insular d’Eivissa.
From the Observatory, its coordinator, Elisa Langley, warns that the slight percentage decrease in the total number of visitors to Ibiza in 2024 compared to the previous year “is not significant enough to speak of a trend toward declining tourism, since 2023 was a record year in terms of tourist influx.”
As the coordinator points out: “Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism experienced a strong rebound in 2022 and 2023, probably due to the recovery of pent-up demand, the easing of restrictions, and the desire to travel after years of limitations.” Therefore, she emphasizes: “In this context, many tourist regions, including Ibiza, reached historic visitor numbers, driven by the reactivation of the sector and the post-pandemic tourism boom. Therefore, the slight reduction recorded last year should not be interpreted as the beginning of a tourism decline, but rather as a return to normal after an exceptionally high year.”
In this sense, if we look at the trend over time, the report shows that, in the period between 2019 and 2024, Ibiza has experienced an average increase in visitors of 8.1% , a growth that, however, is below the Balearic average, which reaches 13.72%, and also slightly below the Ibiza-Formentera (Pitiusas) group, which stood at 10.26% in the same period .
By nationality, the data show that domestic tourism has increased significantly, by 54% since 2019, while the number of international visitors decreased by 1.3% . Thus, in 2024, of the total number of visitors, 24.4% were domestic (799,227 people), compared to 75.6% from abroad (2,476,352 people).
Furthermore, the report specifically details the monthly variation in tourism across the Pitiusas as a whole, as there is no disaggregated monthly data for Ibiza and Formentera, with increases recorded in the middle of the year and decreases in March, April, July, September, October, and December. Particularly notable are the decreases recorded in July, with 51,804 fewer visitors than in 2023, and October (-47,451), according to data from the FRONTUR survey, available on IBESTAT.
Since 2016, this is the first time a decline in visitors has been recorded in July, although the numbers remain higher than those recorded before the pandemic, with 45,274 more visitors in 2024 than in 2019.
The quarterly analysis on the island of Ibiza also shows a 3.84% increase in the number of tourists in the first quarter compared to the previous year. The second quarter also saw a slight increase of 1.11%, while the third and fourth quarters saw a decrease of 5.63% and 8.06%, respectively.
Regarding tourist pressure , it decreased in Ibiza from 2,123 visitors per 100 residents in 2023 to 2,028 in 2024. In comparison, the island of Formentera continues to register a higher relative tourist pressure than Ibiza.
The report also notes a decrease in average human pressure , which fell from 218,384 people in 2023 to 214,688 in 2024. Despite this, it’s worth noting that the minimum pressure has increased, which means a greater presence of people during off-peak times. “We urgently need to assess the sustainability of the current model, especially considering the limited natural resources and the importance of strategic planning for tourism and population growth,” concludes Elisa Langley.
