Mallorca, Spain, has been recognised as a best practice by the Sustainable EU Tourism project for its pioneering transition toward a circular tourism economy.

As the largest of the Balearic Islands and one of Europe's most visited destinations, with over 18 million arrivals and 43 million overnight stays in 2023, Mallorca has faced mounting environmental challenges, especially in waste management.

To address these, the regional government introduced a forward-thinking legal framework through the Waste and Polluted Soil Act (2019) and the Circular Economy in Tourism Businesses Act (2022). The latter requires all tourism accommodation providers to develop and regularly update circular economy strategies based on key performance indicators.

These regulations are complemented by practical initiatives. TIRME, the island’s waste management company, operates advanced treatment facilities and runs the Finhava project, launched in 2021. This initiative leverages blockchain technology to track the life cycle of organic waste - from hotel kitchens to local farms as compost - and to measure the carbon and circularity footprint.

Public awareness is another pillar of success, with communication campaigns in hotels, including QR-coded buffet signs and public-facing educational centres such as the CIEA. In 2024, the first Mallorcan wine produced under circular economy principles, “CERCLE,” was launched.

Mallorca’s experience demonstrates how large-scale tourism destinations can implement system-wide sustainability transformations through policy, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration. 

For more details on the key challenges the destination has faced, and the solutions implemented to address them, please refer to the attached document.

#Destination management #Sustainable tourism #Circular tourism economy #Waste reduction #Innovation in tourism #Stakeholder engagement #Carbon footprint reduction