THE online tourist rental company Airbnb expects more than 160,000 visitors to Mallorca this year, staying in the 8,000 holiday homes being offered through their website.
The rise of the Airbnb company on the island has been spectacular. From 2013 to 2015, the number of travellers using the online platform has increased sixfold. According to the company, Mallorca is ‘the first in holiday homes.’ More than 83,000 tourists used Airbnb to find lodging in Mallorca last year (excluding rentals in the city centre), and the numbers are expected to double this year.
During the Easter Holidays, the growth was evidenced with 3,668 people renting lodging on the island compared to 2,000 in 2015. Last summer, around 45,000 people rented housing in Mallorca through Airbnb.
If the trend continues, numbers could reach up to 90,000 for this summer season.
Airbnb pointed out that the 83,000 visitors who stayed in homes advertised on their website represented only 0.7 per cent of the 12 million tourists who came to Mallorca last year and are not part of ‘mass tourism,’ but rather ‘responsible tourism’ which respects the environment.
The company added that half of the money spent goes into the local economy where the rental is located.
Airbnb has more than 1,500,000 listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries.
