Fomento del Turismo de la Isla de Ibiza is calling for a change in the way the island's tourism success is measured, arguing that the priority should no longer be simply attracting more visitors but ensuring that tourism generates greater value for the local economy and society.

The organisation's president, Alejandro Sancho, made the case during Fomento's Ordinary General Assembly on Thursday, September 10, where around 80 representatives from businesses, institutions and the tourism sector gathered at the Hotel Vibra Algarb.

The meeting reviewed Fomento's work during 2025 and examined the challenges facing Ibiza's tourism model, including housing, mobility, water, energy, labour, unregulated activity, sustainability and competitiveness.

Fomento Wants a Different Definition of Tourism Success

Sancho argued that the number of tourists arriving on the island should no longer be treated as the main indicator of a successful tourism model.

Instead, he wants greater emphasis placed on the economic value generated by visitors and how that value is distributed throughout Ibiza.

According to his approach, the benefits of tourism should reach hotels, restaurants, shops, leisure businesses, transport operators, activity providers, local suppliers and society more broadly.

"The future of Ibiza does not necessarily involve having more tourists. It involves those tourists generating greater value for the local economy," Sancho said during the assembly.

The statement represents a shift towards measuring tourism performance through economic contribution rather than simply visitor volume.

Quality Does Not Have to Mean Luxury

Sancho also addressed the way Ibiza's tourism offer is often associated with premium and luxury travel.

He argued that quality tourism should not be understood as synonymous with luxury.

Ibiza's tourism economy includes large hotels and high-end establishments, but also small businesses, family-run companies and businesses connected to traditional island culture.

According to Sancho, all of these contribute to the destination's identity and authenticity.

The argument is significant for an island where luxury tourism has become an increasingly visible part of the international brand, while thousands of smaller businesses continue to depend on tourism throughout the year.

Fomento Promotes a More Diverse Ibiza

Fomento del Turismo has been working through several specialised product clubs to promote different aspects of the island.

These include Eating in Ibiza, Enjoy Ibiza Activities, Ibiza Health & Beauty, Ibiza Luxury Destination and the Ibiza Convention Bureau.

The organisation also works through Descubre Ibiza and other tourism-promotion initiatives.

During 2025, these different areas participated in national and international tourism fairs, promotional campaigns, professional meetings, press trips and familiarisation visits.

The aim has been to show that Ibiza offers considerably more than its traditional summer nightlife image.

Extending the Tourism Season Is a Priority

The focus on generating more value is closely connected to Fomento's efforts to extend the tourism season.

Sancho has previously argued that Ibiza's tourism season, which now extends to around seven months, could be pushed further towards March and November through a more diversified tourism offer.

The organisation sees areas including gastronomy, wellness, active tourism, luxury travel and MICE tourism as potential tools for generating demand outside the busiest summer period.

Its September and October programme this year includes activities connected with those different sectors, both on the island and in other markets.

MICE Tourism Offers One Route Beyond Summer

Meetings, incentives, conferences and events, collectively known as MICE tourism, have become an increasingly important part of Ibiza's strategy for extending the season.

The Ibiza Convention Bureau is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and has highlighted September, October and November as particularly important months for this market.

Unlike traditional holiday tourism, business events can bring visitors during periods when leisure demand is lower.

They can also generate spending across hotels, restaurants, transport companies, event production, venues and other local services.

For Fomento, this type of tourism fits the wider objective of generating greater economic value rather than simply increasing visitor numbers.

The Island's Main Challenges Go Beyond Tourism

During the assembly, Sancho emphasised that tourism cannot be separated from the wider problems facing Ibiza.

He identified housing, mobility, water, energy, human resources, unregulated activity, sustainability and competitiveness among the island's most important challenges.

His position is that none of these issues can be resolved by a single administration or sector working independently.

Instead, he called for a combination of island-wide planning, legal certainty, investment and collaboration between the public and private sectors.

The argument reflects the increasing recognition that Ibiza's tourism model is closely connected to the island's infrastructure and residents' quality of life.

Housing Has Become a Tourism Issue Too

Housing is one of the most significant challenges identified by Fomento.

The cost and availability of accommodation affects not only residents but also businesses that need to recruit and retain workers.

Hotels, restaurants, leisure companies and other tourism businesses depend on employees being able to live on the island.

The housing shortage can therefore become a constraint on tourism itself.

For Fomento, addressing the problem requires cooperation between administrations and businesses rather than treating housing as separate from the tourism economy.

Mobility and Infrastructure Under Pressure

Mobility is another issue directly connected with visitor numbers.

During the summer, Ibiza's roads experience substantially greater pressure as residents are joined by seasonal workers and millions of visitors over the course of the season.

Congestion affects tourism businesses as well as local residents.

Fomento's call to focus on value rather than volume therefore comes alongside an acknowledgement that the island has finite infrastructure.

The objective is not necessarily to reduce tourism, but to ensure that the tourism Ibiza does attract generates sufficient economic value without placing unsustainable pressure on the island's systems.

Water and Energy Are Part of the Equation

Water and energy were also identified as structural challenges.

Ibiza's resources and infrastructure must accommodate a much larger seasonal population, making demand management increasingly important.

Fomento has previously promoted a more sustainable tourism model that takes environmental limits into account.

The organisation's own public mission includes preserving Ibiza's authenticity, cultural heritage, landscape and natural environment while promoting sustainable tourism.

The latest assembly reinforces that approach by placing sustainability alongside economic competitiveness.

Tackling Unregulated Tourism Activity

Another issue discussed was unregulated or illegal activity, often referred to in Ibiza as intrusismo.

This includes tourism-related businesses or services operating outside the established regulatory framework.

Fomento argues that this can create unfair competition for businesses that comply with regulations and contribute to the formal economy.

Greater enforcement would therefore fit directly with the organisation's objective of increasing the value generated by legitimate tourism businesses.

It also forms part of a wider political effort in the Balearic Islands to tackle unregulated tourism accommodation and other activities.

The Role of Small Businesses

Sancho's comments about quality not being synonymous with luxury also place renewed attention on Ibiza's smaller businesses.

Many independent restaurants, shops, activity providers, family businesses and traditional enterprises contribute directly to the visitor experience.

They may not generate the spending associated with the island's most exclusive tourism products, but they form an important part of Ibiza's character and economic ecosystem.

Fomento's position is that these businesses should be seen as part of a quality tourism model rather than as something separate from it.

Public-Private Collaboration Is Essential

The organisation is also calling for closer collaboration between institutions and businesses.

Sancho said that the island's major challenges require a shared approach and highlighted the need for "island vision", planning, legal certainty, investment and joint working.

That would involve local councils, the Consell de Ibiza, the Balearic Government, businesses and industry organisations working towards common objectives.

For Fomento, tourism policy cannot simply be about promotion. It also has to address the infrastructure and social conditions that determine whether tourism is sustainable in the long term.

Eighty Professionals Attend the Assembly

Around 80 institutional representatives, associated businesses, collaborators and tourism professionals attended the Ordinary General Assembly at the Hotel Vibra Algarb.

The meeting provided an opportunity to review Fomento's activities during 2025 and discuss its priorities for the coming period.

The assembly was also attended by representatives of the island's tourism administration, including AETIB managing director Pere Joan Planas and Ibiza's Director of Tourism Juan Miguel Costa.

Their participation underlined the importance of cooperation between tourism industry organisations and public authorities.

Fomento's Promotion Work During 2025

The organisation presented a review of the initiatives undertaken during the previous year.

Its product clubs participated in tourism fairs and promotional events in Spain and international markets.

They also organised or contributed to press trips, familiarisation visits, professional meetings and communication campaigns.

The strategy has been built around highlighting different reasons to visit Ibiza, from food and outdoor activities to wellness, luxury experiences and business events.

The intention is to broaden the island's appeal and encourage tourism demand throughout more of the year.

Gastronomy, Wellness and Active Tourism

Gastronomy and active tourism are among the areas Fomento is using to diversify Ibiza's tourism offering.

Eating in Ibiza promotes the island's culinary identity, while Enjoy Ibiza Activities focuses on outdoor experiences and active travel.

Ibiza Health & Beauty develops the wellness and health segment.

Each area offers a different reason for visiting the island, and collectively they reduce reliance on a tourism model centred almost exclusively on beaches and nightlife.

Luxury Remains Part of the Offer

Fomento is not abandoning luxury tourism.

Ibiza Luxury Destination remains one of the organisation's established product clubs and forms part of its international promotional strategy.

The distinction made by Sancho is instead that luxury should not be treated as the only definition of quality.

A small family restaurant, traditional business or local activity provider can also contribute to a high-quality visitor experience.

That broader definition allows Ibiza to promote premium experiences while preserving space for the island's more traditional economic and cultural identity.

What "More Value" Could Mean for Ibiza

The idea of generating greater tourism value can mean several things.

It can involve visitors staying longer, spending more across locally owned businesses, travelling outside peak months or participating in activities that distribute spending across a wider range of sectors.

It can also mean reducing the concentration of tourism in a few particularly pressured areas.

Fomento's strategy of developing gastronomy, active tourism, wellness and MICE markets is designed in part around these objectives.

The organisation's argument is that a visitor who contributes significantly to the local economy may be more valuable than simply increasing the total number of arrivals.

Longer Stays Could Become More Important

Recent tourism data provide some support for the idea that value does not always rise at exactly the same rate as visitor numbers.

In July 2026, tourists visiting Ibiza and Formentera spent around €1.06 billion, an increase of 6.4% compared with the previous year, while the number of visitors increased by only around 0.65%.

The stronger growth in total spending was largely associated with visitors staying longer, with overnight stays also increasing.

That does not prove Fomento's strategy is already being achieved, but it illustrates why total visitor numbers alone can provide an incomplete picture of tourism's economic impact.

The Challenge of Balancing Growth and Capacity

Ibiza's tourism debate is increasingly centred around the question of how much growth the island can physically accommodate.

More visitors can mean more revenue for businesses and public finances, but they can also increase pressure on roads, water supplies, energy infrastructure, waste management and housing.

A strategy based on economic value rather than visitor numbers attempts to address that tension.

The aim is to maximise the benefits generated by tourism without making simple increases in arrivals the primary measure of success.

A Strategy Focused on the Whole Island

Fomento is also advocating a more island-wide approach to tourism.

Rather than concentrating promotion on the best-known destinations, its various product clubs highlight different parts of Ibiza's economy, culture and landscape.

The approach can help spread activity across different sectors and periods of the year.

It also creates a stronger connection between tourism promotion and the island's cultural and natural identity.

The Next Stage for Ibiza Tourism

The message from Fomento's annual assembly is ultimately a call for a different tourism objective.

The organisation is not arguing that Ibiza should stop welcoming visitors.

Instead, it wants success to be measured by what those visitors contribute to the island rather than simply by how many arrive.

That means increasing the economic value of tourism, distributing spending through more sectors, extending activity beyond the traditional summer peak and ensuring that tourism operates within Ibiza's environmental and infrastructural limits.

Ibiza's Tourism Model at a Crossroads

Fomento's position comes at a time when Ibiza is facing a series of interconnected challenges.

The island remains one of Europe's best-known tourism destinations, but that success has brought pressure on housing, transport, natural resources, energy and labour.

The question for the coming years is therefore not simply how to attract more visitors.

It is how to create a tourism economy that generates enough value to support businesses and residents while respecting the island's limits.

Alejandro Sancho's message is clear: more tourists are not necessarily the measure of a better tourism model.

For Ibiza, the next phase may be about attracting the right visitors, encouraging longer and more diverse experiences, strengthening local businesses and ensuring that the value created by tourism reaches more of the island's economy and society.