Where are all the tourists?

By Jason Moore I do not want to be alarmist but where are all the tourists which the Balearic government had been so boldly forecasting for the Easter period? Official figures said that the Balearics would be having a bumper Easter...well in my humble opinion some resorts don't look as if they have even opened yet. I was in one of Majorca's biggest resorts over the weekend and I was alarmed to see that you could count the number of tourists on a single hand and you didn't need that many fingers to count the number of bars and restaurants which were open. Surely the holiday season begins at Easter? While I am sure that the Balearics this year will get the desired numbers what is of concern is the fact that the summer season continues to get shorter every year and now revolves around July and August. It wasn't too long ago that it lasted for six months supported by quite a good winter season. As we know the airport figures can be misleading especially if you take into account that quite a sizeable number of tourists, which are still counted by Palma airport, are in transit or joining a cruise ship. While many only spend a few hours on the island they are still counted as full blown holidaymakers. Figures from the British Airport Authority said that a record number of British tourists were going away for Easter, unfortunately it appears that the Balearics was not top on their list.