Too littlle too late?

By Jason Moore AT last the Balearic government has agreed to invest more money in tourism promotion. You could even say that Balearic leader Francesc Antich was shamed into doing so. Last weekend, Balearic Minister for tourism Miguel Nadal, (the leader of the Majorcan Unionists, the party which seems most at odds with Antich) said that cash was urgently needed. On Monday it was announced that the Balearics is one of the provinces in Spain which spends the least on tourist promotion and on Wednesday the hoteliers and the Chamber of Commerce said that something needed to be done (ie more cash). On Thursday Antich announces a 3.6 million euro aid package at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin. But is it too little too late? Already there is talk that some competing resorts on mainland Spain are doing better than the Balearics when it comes to holiday bookings from Britain Why? Simply because the hoteliers there have reduced their prices and their local governments have spent a small fortune on tourism promotion in Britain. While no-one is too sure what is going to happen this summer in the Balearics perhaps it would have been a better idea to promote the islands in November and December rather than in April when most people have already booked.