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Tourists heading to popular holiday islands such as Majorca are set to face new restrictions when visiting beaches.

The Balearic Islands will launch a "pioneering" app to monitor beach occupancy in a fresh bid to tackle overcrowding, the archipelago's president has announced. Starting in the second quarter of 2026, the app will allow users to monitor how busy the most popular beaches are, water temperatures, and flag flying, Marga Prohens said at the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) in Madrid.

Ms Prohens revealed that sensors will be installed on "hundreds" of beaches and a web platform for tourist data will be launched, open to administrations, the general public and operators, with the aim of moving towards management based on accurate and shared information. "It will allow administrations to redirect flows and tourists and residents to make decisions that result in greater comfort and peace of mind," she said.

Also speaking on sustainability in the popular holiday islands, the president highlighted progress in deseasonalising tourism and transforming the current model, including measures such as negotiating the tourist tax and offering certain incentives for stays in the low season.

During her speech at the islands' stand at FITUR, Ms Prohens expressed her pride that the region is "once again exercising tourism leadership" while combining this "success" with the "well-being" of its residents.

"We are very proud to be a tourist community, of our sector, of our economic and social agents, of our past, of the leadership exercised from islands in the middle of the Mediterranean, influencing the world," she added.

"Tourism is, will be and will continue to be welcome," she said, adding that the Balearics have recorded the best low and middle season figures in their history, with 741,000 visitors between November 2024 and March 2025 - 12% more than in the same period last year.

She also celebrated the fact that 2025 marked "a historic milestone" in the domestic market - the third most important for the Balearics - with "real deseasonalisation" being recorded for the first time, with a reduction in tourist flows during the busiest months and "unprecedented" growth during the quieter months.

The app rollout coincides with a significant reduction in beach furniture. In Palma, approximately 1,700 sun loungers - about 20% of the total - are being removed by 2026 to create more free space for locals and combat beach erosion.