Formentera Study Identifies Potential for 3,767 More Tourist Places, but No Increase Has Been Approved

08 October 2026

A new tourism capacity study commissioned by the Consell de Formentera has identified a potential increase of 3,767 tourist places under the study's maximum operational scenario.

The study places Formentera's current operational tourist capacity at 15,069 places and establishes a “Maximum Operational Tourist Capacity” of 18,836 places.

That would represent an increase of 3,767 places, or approximately 25%.

However, the figure is not an approval to add 3,767 tourist places to the island. A decision on any increase must still go through the relevant institutional process.

What the Study Actually Says

The study, prepared by Seeketing for the Consell de Formentera, analyses several possible scenarios for the island's future tourist capacity.

The 18,836-place scenario is described as the highest scenario analysed in which none of the indicators used by the model reaches the category of a limiting factor.

At that level, water resources, waste and environmental pressures require monitoring, while mobility and the residential market are described as being in a conditioned situation.

The study therefore does not present 18,836 places as a point at which all pressures disappear. Rather, it identifies that figure as the highest operational scenario before the model begins to classify certain factors as directly limiting.

Three Growth Scenarios

The study examines three principal scenarios.

The first would increase the current capacity by 20%, taking the total to 18,083 tourist places.

This is described as a lower compatible scenario.

The second would increase capacity by 25%, reaching 18,836 places.

This is the study's Maximum Operational Tourist Capacity.

The third would increase capacity by 30%, reaching 19,590 places.

At that level, mobility and the residential market become limiting factors in the model, while pressure on water, waste and the environment also increases.

The PTI Allows a Higher Number

The 18,836 figure is not the same as Formentera's existing maximum under its Territorial Plan.

The PTI establishes a ceiling of 20,585 tourist places.

Compared with the 15,069 operational places used as the starting point in the study, that represents a potential difference of 5,516 places.

However, the study separates the legal PTI ceiling from the capacity it considers operationally sustainable under the conditions analysed.

There is therefore a difference of 1,749 places between the 18,836 operational scenario and the 20,585-place PTI ceiling.

The 3,767 Places Would Not Automatically Become Available

The publication of the study does not automatically activate the additional capacity.

Formentera's tourism councillor Artal Mayans has stressed that any decision to activate the potential additional places requires a political decision and must ultimately go before the island's Pleno.

The proposal being discussed by the governing Sa Unió group is for approximately 1,800 additional places, which would use around half of the operational margin identified by the study.

The final number, distribution and conditions would depend on the proposal that is eventually processed and approved.

The Tourism Commission Will Consider the Proposal

The study has been presented to the Comissió d'Ordenació i Promoció Turística, the island's tourism consultation body.

The commission brings together representatives from the island administration, political groups and tourism and economic organisations, including representatives of the hotel sector, tourist accommodation, trade unions, the Chamber of Commerce and business organisations.

The proposal would then need to continue through the relevant institutional process before any new tourist-place ceiling could be definitively established.

The Study Also Recommends a Different Tourism Strategy

The report does not simply recommend maximising the number of tourist places.

It also recommends that Formentera's tourism model should prioritise reducing seasonality, increasing average stays and making more efficient use of the tourist capacity that already exists.

The study therefore frames the additional capacity within a broader discussion about how tourism should develop on the island.

Concerns About the Study's Methodology

The conclusions should also be read with some caution because questions have been raised about parts of the study's methodology.

A separate analysis of the document has identified discrepancies in some of the population and tourism figures used in different sections of the study.

Among the issues identified are differences between figures used to calculate the number of people simultaneously present on the island and the population figure ultimately used in the model.

There are also questions concerning some calculations related to water, waste and mobility.

These criticisms do not change the fact that the study identifies 18,836 places as its Maximum Operational Tourist Capacity, but they are relevant when interpreting the figure as a technical assessment rather than as an independently established limit.

A Decision That Could End the Current Tourist-Place Freeze

The capacity study is significant because the Balearic tourism framework links the suspension of acquiring new tourist places to the evaluation or reassessment of each island's tourism carrying capacity.

The 2022 legislation requires such assessments to consider, among other factors, the needs of the resident population, available resources, infrastructure, mobility and waste-management capacity.

For Formentera, the new study provides the technical basis for the island to consider a new tourist-place ceiling.

That does not mean the island has already approved a new ceiling or authorised the release of all 3,767 places.

What Happens Next

The next stage is political and administrative rather than automatic.

The proposal will continue to be considered through Formentera's tourism bodies before any definitive decision is taken by the Consell's Pleno.

If the proposal for around 1,800 additional places advances, the final number and distribution will still have to be determined.

For now, the key figure is therefore not “3,767 new tourist places approved”, but 18,836 places identified by the commissioned study as its Maximum Operational Tourist Capacity, compared with 15,069 operational places currently counted by the study.

The difference represents potential capacity that could be considered, not tourist places that have already been authorised.

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