“Rushing” to limit tourist vehicles

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Following the protest held in Maó demanding a maximum limit on tourist vehicles in Menorca, the Mobility Councillor has, for the first time, acknowledged that the island has an excess of tourist cars. This is a major step forward.

However, he immediately added that restrictions cannot be implemented this summer because such measures cannot be applied “overnight”.

To give people an overview of how this issue has developed in Menorca, we offer a brief timeline of events:

  • 2019: The Balearic Parliament passes Law 7/2019, allowing the restriction of tourist vehicles entering the island of Formentera.
  • 2020: GOB proposes including an article on this issue in the draft version of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Law. The proposal is accepted.
  • 2021: GOB produces a video — its second on the issue of tourist overcrowding — explaining the problems of beach saturation and traffic congestion, and calls for vehicle controls similar to those in Formentera.
  • 2022: The Island Council commissions a study to assess vehicle load on Menorca.
  • 2023 (February): Law 3/2023 on Menorca as a Biosphere Reserve is approved.
  • 2023 (May): Elections are held and a new Island Council government takes office.
  • 2023 (July): The study is submitted to the Council. It estimates a 30% excess of vehicles in July and August, and 20% in June and September.
  • 2024 (February): The Ateneu of Maó and GOB organise an event with the representative from Formentera who implemented vehicle regulations.
  • 2024 (March): GOB stages a demand to limit tourist vehicles through a public question at a Council meeting by the president of the organisation. The Council states this is not a priority and dismisses the study as unreliable.
  • 2024 (June): The government meets with GOB to discuss the proposal. The Council again discredits the study highlighting saturation.
  • 2024: Ibiza and Mallorca announce plans to pass laws allowing them to limit tourist vehicles.
  • 2025: A protest is organised in Menorca to demand effective measures against summer congestion.
  • 2025: The Mobility Councillor admits that a new study they commissioned also shows that the number of vehicles exceeds the island’s carrying capacity and that action is needed. But he maintains that it “cannot be done overnight”.

Looking at this timeline, it’s clear that the issue has been on the table in Menorca for quite some time. The information provided now allows for an assessment of the various arguments used by the Island Council to avoid seriously addressing the problem of vehicle congestion.

Let’s analyse:

  1. The political persecution argument:
    The proposal to limit tourist vehicles is not new. As shown, the matter was already under discussion when the previous government was in office. It was during that term that the measure was proposed and incorporated into the Law.
  2. The denial of saturation argument:
    Menorca has already had to close access to Macarella, Turqueta, Favàritx and Punta Nati. Other areas also require restrictions due to excessive vehicle pressure. The 2023 study warned of saturation, and the 2025 study confirms it.
  3. The ideological position argument:
    The Island Council has previously stated that their political agenda had other priorities. But the fact that Ibiza and Mallorca — governed by the same party — are also moving forward with vehicle restrictions completely undermines this reasoning and leaves Menorca trailing behind the other islands.
  4. The increased pressure argument:
    The government says that GOB is ramping up pressure now that they are in office. But the timeline clearly shows that Menorca only obtained legal authority to limit tourist vehicles when the Biosphere Reserve Law was passed in February 2023, and that the vehicle capacity study was delivered in July 2023. Elections took place in between.
    It is therefore the responsibility of the new government to decide on vehicle limits. GOB waited until spring 2024, hoping the Council would act in time for that summer. That did not happen.
    Now, in spring 2025, GOB has intensified its campaign — because two years have passed.
  5. The lack of time argument:
    The Councillor’s claim that there isn’t enough time no longer holds. This is just a new excuse, again lacking substance, to keep postponing action. Procrastination is the habit of putting off important tasks in favour of more pleasant, but less urgent ones.

But this delaying attitude is far from harmless. Menorca is degrading due to excessive mass tourism.

Our natural beaches show saturation levels that are often three or four times higher than what they should be. Congestion on rural roads leading to the coast is increasingly common. Finding parking in urban areas during the summer is becoming more and more difficult.

This is harmful to the island’s natural heritage and to its residents’ quality of life. It also damages the island’s tourist appeal. Visitors to a Biosphere Reserve do not expect to find overcrowding. It is hard to understand — even for tourists — why an island with this international recognition is the last to take action against mass tourism.

GOB calls on the Island Council to stop wasting energy looking for arguments that eventually fall apart, and instead focus that energy on limiting tourist vehicles as soon as possible.