The Balearic Islands closed the year with a growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 14.2%, a skyrocketing figure that responds to the extraordinary tourist season that has been experienced in the archipelago, with more than 16 million tourists throughout the year. This increase of 14.2% almost triples the 5.5% that the Spanish economy grew in the same period and multiplies by four the forecasts of the average of the 27 EU countries, which is 3.5%.
The services sector has been the driver of the Balearic economy, to the point that growth has been 16.4% in the year. The agricultural sector has grown by 7%, while industry and construction have registered much less significant increases, with growth of 1% and 1.2% each of these sectors.
The extraordinary tourist data explains why the economy of the Balearic Islands has overcome the collapse it suffered during the pandemic in two years. The archipelago's dependence on tourism meant that the confinements and the successive waves of the covid weighed down economic growth, which fell by more than 21% in just one year. The double-digit growth of 2021 and 2022 means that the archipelago is already above the pre-covid data,
The tourist season will once again give wings to the service sector this year since the forecasts of the Government of Francina Armengol is that the economy will grow by 3.9% this year, the highest forecast of all the autonomous communities. The Minister of Economic Model of the Government, Iago Negueruela, points out that this extraordinary economic recovery shows that the plan for exiting the crisis designed by the Executive, based on dialogue with the social sectors, has been very effective.
The minister has also highlighted that there has also been a rise in GDP per capita compared to the data prior to the pandemic. The increase has been 1.1% per year in the last eight years and Negueruela believes that this is the demonstration that the creation of wealth in the Islands is benefiting everyone, businessmen and unions. "We have recovered better than other autonomous communities, such as Madrid, with a very different strategy, which shows that we were right," he said.
In fact, the minister has referred to the significant salary increase that has been registered in the hospitality sector, with the signing of an agreement that will have meant a salary increase of 25.5% in seven years. Employers and unions have just signed the renewal of this agreement, which stipulates an increase of 8.5 in two years, which is added to the 17% agreed in previous years.
