Islandness as a conditioning factor for the production of tourist space in the Balearic Islands

Abstract

Islandness is a concept that can be understood as having both positive and negative connotations: on the one hand, in terms of openness to the outside world and on the other, in terms of being closed off to territories across the sea. Studies on islands have used both approaches, with some authors emphasising the attractiveness of islands as tourist destinations and others focusing on the problems in achieving economies of scale that boost the economy. This article attempts to qualify both approaches by using different production strategies for tourist space in the Balearic Islands as a basis. The idea of ‘island paradises’ has boosted tourism and turned the Balearic Islands into one of the top destinations in the Spanish Mediterranean, creating tourist capacity on a par with or exceeding their continental counterparts. In turn, the difficulty in generating economies of scale on the islands and the lack of ground-based transport links with the mainland have contributed to curbing real estate development. The high volume of regulated tourist capacity and the success of holiday rentals, alongside the lower level of artificial man-made coastal areas and the proliferation of holiday homes, are just some of the effects felt from islandness.