The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, the Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Tourism, Culture and Sports, Javier Bonet, and the regional director of Air Arabia, Khalid Chakrane, as well as other representatives of the tourism and municipal sectors. One of the central points of the discussion was the improvement of the current air connection that would generate greater opportunities for tourism and business, vital for the local economic boost.
In addition, it was proposed that a new route be created between Palma and Dubai, a strategic destination that could act as an important gateway to Asia. This proposal is intended to position Palma as a key point in international connectivity, offering travellers new options and increasing the city’s presence in global markets. With these initiatives, the Palma council is reinforcing its commitment to sustained and diversified development that benefits both citizens and visitors.
Mallorca also has its sights set on direct flight with Doha in Qatar and on reviving negotiations which China, not to mention expanding connections with North America and Canada.
In 2023, according to data from the Spanish Statistical Office, over 380,000 people visited Spain from China. However, the figure is well below the level before the pandemic, when more than 700,000 Chinese tourists visited Spain in 2019. And last year the Balearic government contacted two Chinese airlines in order to study the possibilities of direct flights to Mallorca. The aim would be to promote Chinese tourism to the island.
This isn’t the first time that there has been talk of direct flights from China. Some five years ago, when the Routes World fair was held in Guangzhou, Aetib, the government’s tourism, attended in order to discuss possibilities. In 2019, Mallorca featured in a TV series for the Chinese market entitled Spain Passion.
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Sitting here reading these stories about China and USA tourism, and how the various tourist boards are targeting the various nations. I was struck by the thought. The people who are complaining about too many tourists. How do they feel about this, or is it the fact that US tourists maybe wont be doing the AI hotels, and will be using the bars and restaurants. At the end of the day all these other tourists are still going to be taking rentals and new hotels will still be built in places where social housing should go.