Ibiza declares old town, Platja d'en Bossa and Talamanca as saturated tourist zones

The Plenary of the Insular Council of Ibiza declared, in an ordinary session on September 25, 2026, tourist subzones 1.1 (old town and Passeig Marítim), 1.2 (Platja d’en Bossa) and 1.3 (Talamanca) of the municipality of Ibiza as saturated and reconversion tourist zones. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) no. 131, of October 15, 2026, Section III, page 55709, with edict 10232 and file TAO no. 2026/00021008R. The declaration enables limits on supply and reconversion plans for establishments and mandates the processing of comprehensive renovation plans.

The legal figure stems from article 77.1.c) of Law 8/2012, of July 19, on tourism in the Balearic Islands, which reserves the competence to declare tourist reconversion zones, saturated zones, or saturated and reconversion zones to the Plenary of each insular council. The mixed category requires the cumulative concurrence of tourist saturation, the need for reconversion, and urban, environmental, and resource overload or overexploitation.

The procedure began with the agreement of the Plenary of the Ibiza City Council on February 18, 2026, file 1659/2026, which requested the declaration and urged the Insular Council to process it. On September 11, 2026, the head of the Tourist Planning section issued a favorable report, and the agreement appears signed in Ibiza on October 9, 2026, by Mariano Yepes Tur.

Three subzones and a boundary that remains untouched

The agreement declares the three subzones as saturated and for reconversion based on their currently valid boundaries, incorporated into the Insular Territorial Plan. Subzone 1.3 Talamanca has territorial continuity in the municipality of Santa Eulària des Riu, but the declaration has no effect on this part, which must follow its own procedure.

The text expressly states that the agreement does not modify, expand, reduce, or redelineate the subzones, does not alter the boundaries between municipalities, and does not replace the current zones with the four municipal diagnostic areas. Any eventual redelimitations will correspond to the future PIAT of Ibiza or the competent territorial instrument, according to article 5.3 of Law 8/2012.

The four municipal areas are incorporated only as technical units for diagnosis and proposal:

• Zone 1: Es Viver, la Punta, Ca les Ànimes and Can Bossa.
• Zone 2: Ses Figueretes, es Puig des Molins and sa Capelleta.
• Zone 3: Es Prat de Vila, es Pratet, s’Alamera, Dalt Vila, sa Penya and la Marina.
• Zone 4: Passeig Marítim, s’Illa Plana, Talamanca and ses Figueres.

Prior consultation and binding municipal report

Article 77.2 bis of Law 8/2012 requires a strategic document with prior consultation with social, economic, and business agents, the affected citizenry, and the involved administrations. The municipal consultation obtained 14 responses and was addressed, among others, to the Hotel Business Federation of Ibiza and Formentera, Oci d’Eivissa, Foment del Turisme, PIMEEF, AVAT, CAEB, the Chamber of Commerce, CCOO, UGT, CSIF, Ibiza Preservation, GEN, Amics de la Terra, the Institute of Eivissenc Studies, professional colleges, neighborhood associations, Local Police, National Police, Government Delegation, ABAQUA, and taxi and transport associations.

The Strategic Document and Reconversion Plan of the Municipality of Ibiza, along with its annex, constitutes the mandatory and binding municipal report of Article 77.6, which requires the definition of seven matters: land; tourist accommodation and non-accommodation buildings, residential, equipment, and commercial; mobility, public transport, and renewal; water and materials consumption; biodiversity; deseasonalization; and new technologies.

Indicative budget, deadlines, and regime for establishments

The municipal economic forecast is preliminary and indicative in nature, and does not authorize expenditure or generate a budgetary commitment:

• Infrastructure and accessibility: €6.9 M without the Boulevard parking lot, or €29.9 M including this action.
• Sustainable mobility: €1.5 M.
• Urban reorganization and improvement: €22 M.
• Sustainable offer: €3 M.
• Management of resources and natural spaces: €1.8 M.
• Governance and participation: €0.5 M.

The municipal roadmap points toward the 2026-2029 horizon, with phases of planning, execution, commissioning, and monitoring, and a programmatic nature. Legally existing tourist establishments within the declared sub-zones may opt for the extraordinary improvement regime provided for in the fourth additional provision of Law 8/2012, with applications submitted to the competent tourism administration before June 1, 2029.

Strategic interest and monitoring

Plans, projects, and actions aimed at improving, rezoning, rehabilitating, or reconverting the declared zones are declared of insular strategic interest, and the zones have a strategic character to prioritize public aid for rehabilitation. The Insular Council may approve comprehensive tourist rehabilitation plans, processed as special plans as long as there is no specific regulatory regulation, and the corresponding comprehensive reform plans must be processed.

The agreement must be notified to the Ibiza City Council, to the Santa Eulària des Riu City Council regarding the intermunicipal subzone 1.3, to the Government of the Balearic Islands, and to the rest of the affected administrations. It also establishes a monitoring system with indicators for human pressure, legal and illegal supply, water and sanitation, mobility, noise pollution, coastline, heritage, housing, and the execution of investments.

The declaration turns the old town, Platja d’en Bossa, and Talamanca into priority intervention areas: hoteliers gain access to the extraordinary improvement regime, residents see the pressure on housing and services recognized, and urban planning must incorporate comprehensive reform plans coordinated with the PIAT.

Source: Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands, no. 131, October 15, 2026, Section III, p. 55709 (official reference: edict 10232, exp. TAO no. 2026/00021008R).