By Maisie Rhia Kaye-Priestley
Vamos de fiesta!
The development of Party Package holidays on Ibiza
A Brief History of Ibiza:
A rocky history of Ibiza: both literally and metaphorically. The thousands of years of ongoing invasions, differing settlers and reshaping of the land has changed the way in which we view the island in the 21st Century.
So, Why Ibiza?
Maya Kachroo-Levine, 2021“The party culture in Spain is about feeling the music and leaning into the captivating atmosphere.”
Ibiza is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, located in the picturesque Mediterranean Sea. The island is very well known for its idyllic beaches, beautiful landscapes, and welcoming local populations. The majority of Indigenous populations reside on farms scattered throughout the island. The 21st century, however, has seen a large influx of immigrants from northern European countries who have been drawn to the island due to its moderate winter climates and opportunities to supply the demand for tourist attractions and activities.
For many Britons abroad, Ibiza is an ideal location for a holiday; It has beautiful sprawling beaches with crystal blue waters and the temperature has an average of 27 °C to 31 °C in the summer months. British tourists still account for almost a quarter of tourist arrivals each year to the island.
Statistics from Statista.com, 2024
Since 1961, when the annual report on Ibiza’s economy highlighted that tourism was ‘the main source of island wealth’, Spanish inhabitants have been gearing the demand for partying and consuming alcohol towards British tourists. (Ramon, 2001)
The Med: Lure for Brits Abroad?
‘Going south meant entering a different moral territory … as a territory of sexual possibilities.’
Lofgren, 1999, page 200
With the rise of party package holidays exploding in the 21st century, Ibiza has inevitably become a hotspot for this type of tourism. Well-known holiday agents have even introduced spin-off companies such as Jet2holidays introducing their new brand Vibe by Jet2holidays. Intended to cater to British tourists and established in November of 2019, the company offers a whole host of party packages in categories they label as:
- Iconic VIBE: Collection of standout, world-renowned hotels and events.
- Party VIBE: Great value hotels at the heart of the best party resorts.
- Pure VIBE: Hotels with live DJ performances and pool parties on-site.
- Chilled VIBE: For luxury lovers including sophisticated and exclusive extras.
Paraphrased distinctions from Jet2.com VIBE
The rise of package holidays catered to fun-loving, freedom and partying have encouraged young British tourists to feed into the hedonistic style of tourism in more recent years. In more recent years, the idea of a party package holiday has become somewhat a right of passage for young British tourists, enabling them to seek experiences separate from their families. Luke Iles makes a compelling argument to support this by suggesting party holidays allow young Brits to use the holiday as a excuse to ‘let loose’ and ‘unwind and de-stress from the day-to-day realities of life’. In this sense, package holidays are presented as a stress-free way to experience other cultures and lifestyles as they distract Britons from the underlying difficulties young adults may be facing at home. The package holiday also allows younger adults to have all aspects of their holiday pre-organised by a travel company, making it more accessible and popular as a choice of holiday for Brits escaping the mundane of everyday life in the UK. (Iles, 2023)
This idealistic way of viewing holidays is not a new concept. Lofgren also suggests that ‘since we construct vacations in terms of otherness, of getting away from it all, they make facets of our everyday lives and tensions more visible.’ This could be used as a suggestion as to why more young British tourists choose to use party package holidays to really let go of their responsibilities at home. The standardised party package holidays include: short flights, all-inclusive resorts and events specifically set up to encourage self-indulgence and pleasure-seeking Brits to travel abroad. (Lofgren 1999, page 7)
Booze & Brits Behaving Badly
The east coast of Ibiza is notorious for the introduction of clubs and nightclubs that host various types of party packages that Brits have at their disposal. The map details some of the most prominent clubs on the island. The clubs listed are approximately twelve miles apart and has infrastructure which means you can get a 45-minute bus from San Antonio Bay to Carrer des Molí for 6 euros or a taxi for 55 euros and only a 16-minute journey.
Image: Map from Spotlight Ibiza, 2021
‘Economic growth gave rise to a significant accumulation of physical capital that would form one of the foundations on which to sustain future tourism development.’
Ronald James Cooper Smith & Joan Carles Cirer-Costa, 2023, p. 484
Growth in infrastructures meant that ‘networks expanded and interrelated, so that almost all Ibizan locals soon had access to more than one network, thus expanding their power by incorporating bridging social capita’ and allowing them to transport tourists around the island with ease. (Wynne, 2007)
The clubs in the above image all have substantial links to package holidays and booking in advance will get British tourists discounted entry to the bars and beach clubs. Infrastructure has been developed on the island to cater to the mass tourism the locals have experienced since the arrival of the Hippies in the 1960’s. Drunkenness, drug-use, and dancing have become essential characteristics of the island. Meaning party package holidays have paved the way for the tourism industry in the Balearic Islands:
- In 2023, tourist spending soared to 4.5 billion euros in the first five months of the year. This is an increase of 25.1% on 2019, pre-pandemic figures.
- Between January and September, the average tourist spend in Ibiza was 1,168.53 euros per person during their stay on the island. That is an average of 198.51 euros per day.
Figure 1: theolivepress.es
Figure 2: maninsanan.es
Photographs: Derek Ridgers on Ibiza, 1983
Although British tourists had maintained their role of continuing the tourism industry on the island, they have also been acknowledged as problematic by locals and officials. Countless articles detail the unacceptable behaviour of British tourists on the island. That’s when we ask ourselves, has this style of party holidaying gone too far? The package holiday promising ‘sun & sand’ poses real threats to the livelihood of Ibiza’s residents and Brits have become labelled as boisterous and rowdy as a result of this.
Since the establishment of major clubs on the island, notably Pacha opening its doors in 1973, local communities have suffered from; environmental damage from enormous amounts of single use plastic, physical damage to shop fronts as a result of drunken British tourists and economic instability as the tourism sector makes up for 84% of the islands GDP. In the summer months, the population swells from around 150,000 inhabitants to nearly 500,000 dwellers, also placing strain on the island’s natural resources.
Rowdy Roamers
“The most extreme cases of transformation are linked to party destinations such as Eivissa and Falaraky, where people travel to take part in round the clock dance parties and loose themselves in the alcohol, the music and the drugs.”
Thrift, 1999, p. 127
Since the 1960’s, British tourists have been known to partake in illegal activities on the island. The tourism industry in Ibiza are now taking steps towards holding themselves accountable for marketing party package holidays which encourage the unwanted behaviour. Ashling O’Connor reported on this issue for the Financial Times Newspaper. The results are astounding, presenting that even over 20 years ago police were struggling to reprimand criminals on the island, reporting that ‘two British men were arrested carrying 2,000 ecstasy tablets which they were planning to sell in a single night in a pre-club bar.’ This displays how the issue of drug-use and illegal activity has remained a problem since the early 2000’s. (O’Connor, 2000)
Bellos argues that the tourism industry in Ibiza has encouraged the overconsumption of alcohol on the island. He suggests that ‘tourists tend to be young and Club 18-30 channels many young tourists to Ibiza’ by promoting adult-only holiday packages that include unlimited drinking events and lists of challenges for the tourists to complete before they return to England. (Bellos, 1995, p.23)
Banning Brits Abroad?
Despite the booming economy as a result of British tourism in Ibiza, things could be heading south…
The mass tourism industry in Spain has recently been contemplating introducing restrictions on drinks in all-inclusive resorts on the island to prevent British holidaymakers from causing chaos on Ibiza. Suggestions to limit the amount of alcohol consumed by Brits have been brought into the public realm by online newspapers such as Vice and The Mirror. This presents the issues surrounding party package holidays in the present day and challenges how Ibiza is viewed by British tourists in the current climate.
Read more: Banning British Tourists… & Boozy Brits…
Bibliography
Bellos, A. (1995) “Island in a sea of E.(Social Aspects of Ibiza),” The Guardian, p. 23
Cooper-Smith, R.J. & Cirer-Costa, J.C. (2023) Social involvement and adaptation to the 1960’s tourist boom on Ibiza, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, Chapter 21, pp. 480-500
Iles, L. (2023) What Is a Party Holiday? Make The Most of Your Next Vacation, HandL Blogs, p. 1
Kachroo-Levine, M. (2021) How Ibiza Became the Most Sought-after Party Capital in the World, Travel & Leisure, p. 1
Lofgren, O. (1999) On Holiday: A History of Vacationing, University of California Press, p. 7 & p. 200
Obrador-Pons, P. (2016) Cultures of Mass Tourism: Doing the Mediterranean in the Age of Banal Mobilities, Taylor & Francis, Chapter 1, p. 1
O’Connor, A. (2000) ‘Ibiza faces up to its own addiction: The island has become Spain’s richest enclave on the back of its renown as a tourist resort of nightclubs and drugs, Financial Times Article, p. 1
Ramón, E. (2001) Història del turisme a Eivissa (History of tourism in Ibiza). Genial publishing, p.65
Thrift, N. (1997) The Still Point: Resistance, Expressive Embodiment and Dance, in Geographies of Resistance, London: Routledge, pp. 124-151
Wynne, B. G. (2007) Social capital and social economy in sub-national island jurisdictions, Island Studies Journal, pp. 115–132
Websites Accessed:
Images & Audio Cited:
Ibiza Coves, Amare Hotels Brochure, 2021
Ibiza Skyline: Mariusz Stanosz, GETTY IMAGES
Amnesia Nightclub Ibiza, 2016
EDEN Club Ibiza, 2022
Ocean Beach Club Ibiza, 2023
Pacha Nightclub Ibiza, 2017 Opening Ceremony
Image: Map from Spotlight Ibiza, 2021
Photographs: Derek Ridgers on Ibiza, 1983
Brits take on the San Antonio Strip, The Independent Newspaper, 2019
British Male Tourists at Ocean Beach Ibiza, Daily Star Newspaper, 2023
We’re Going To Ibiza, The Vengaboys, 1999, The Party Album (accessed via Spotify Music)
Britons Abroad 