Back in Palma, she faced certain questions about the islands' tourism. One of these concerned prices. Responding to the suggestion that the Balearics might engage in a price war this summer with competitor destinations, Morillo was clear: in the Balearics, it's about quality and not price. "The strategy of the Balearic tourism sector and other regions has not been to compete on prices with Turkey or Egypt, but to offer security to the visitor." Those competitors, she noted, are in any event having to look at price increases because of energy costs. But price, in general terms and in her view, is not proving to be a "demotivating factor" for holiday bookings.
Any talk of a price war for Balearic tourism, erroneous though this may be, focuses on the summer and not the winter. The November tourist figures were released on Wednesday, and the Balearics were where the Balearics always are once the summer season has concluded - sixth among Spain's regions behind the Canaries, Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid and Valencia. Rather than the seven-figure foreign tourist numbers of summer, the Balearics attracted 165,000 in November. Valencia, the fifth-ranked region (Benidorm and all), received 520,000.
For Morillo, the European funds offer "a great opportunity to diversify and seasonally adjust Spanish sun-and-beach tourist destinations"; not just the Balearics then. These funds will help to extend the season, diversify and create new products to capture demand.
Which is the great hope of both the Spanish and the Balearic governments. As it has been for many a year.
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Stan The ManWell, aside from a few like you, nobody's really noticed the tourist tax. But it does become noticeable when you're only paying 600 per week for a crap hotel or a room in a hostel. Frankly, we really don't need that. There's plenty who seek something better and see willing to pay for it. And if 20 quid is going to break your bank, then perhaps you might want to reconsider whether a luxury holiday in a hostel is really what you need. And we all know that the majority of tourists stay for 90 days or more (not). Surely you can think of more effective ways to imagine a collapse of tourism?
Extra funding for Mallorca is welcome. But do Turkey and Egypt have a Tourist Tax? If not, then to compete with those Countries Mallorca needs to scrap the Tax along with the 90 day rule.
Yes, well, considering the popularity of Mallorca (especially amongst the more affluent), aspiring to be the cheapest doesn't really make good business sense. And the ones who seek the cheapest are generally the less desirable types (and most expensive to accommodate, yet more likely to complain about it).