The U.S. is Palma's fastest-growing source market for visitors, and tourism leaders want more sustainability-minded Americans to visit Mallorca's capital.
Located in the Mediterranean, the island of Mallorca gets more than 300 days of sunshine each year, making it a popular resort destination. Palma's Moorish influence remains visible through the city's architecture. Despite the growth, tourism leaders said the island still remains largely unknown to Americans.
U.S. travel to Palma has grown 17% year-over-year since 2023, officials said at a Feb. 19 event in New York. United Airlines has been operating summer service to Mallorca from Newark since 2022.
Visit Palma held the event to promote tourism, citing its sunny weather, outdoor activities and gastronomy as big draws.
Palma is a popular wedding destination, but also has outdoor tourism opportunities, including for golf and ocean-based activities, making it "extremely attractive for American travel," said Magi Castelltort, the New York director of TourSpain, which promotes tourism to the country.
Pedro Homar, the director general of Visit Palma, called the city "a quite unique destination" given the cultural gems Americans expect when visiting Europe paired with the nature found on the island.
The agency began promoting Palma in 2022 and plans to market the city to New Yorkers before expanding efforts to other U.S. cities. Key markets include New York, California and Florida.
"Palma desires travelers who can not only care for our island, but maintain the island's scenery and resources when visiting," Homar said. "Palma is a year-long destination, and we encourage travelers to seek out a Palma escape during the off-season where both cultural and incredible scenic experiences are abundant during shorter months of the year."
Air Europa, which is headquartered in Palma, has increased its number of daily flights between mainland Spain and the city because of growing interest, said senior director of sales Betty Lamas, who added that there has been a 60% increase in passengers traveling to the island over the last three years.
The airline currently operates five weekly flights from New York JFK to Madrid but will begin flying seven times a week in June, Lamas said. Daily flights are available from Miami.