"It's too early to know if fewer German tourists will come to the Balearics, but the increase is not good news because anything that taxes travel is one more obstacle for consumers. The amount will vary depending on the distance, but even if we are at short radius, tourists will be affected. In addition, it will surely start a trend that other countries will follow."
The tax, introduced in 2011, affects all passengers departing from German airports with charges between 12.73 and 58.06 euros per ticket, depending on the distance of the journey. Airlines are responsible for paying this amount and decide whether to assume the tax or pass it on.
According to Der Spiegel, the tax currently brings in around 1,000 million euros of revenue. The increase would generate a further 580 million euros.
A spokesperson for the German federal association for air transport says that taxes and fees for air transport in Germany are already the highest in Europe by far. For the DRV travel association's president, Norbert Fiebig, "the increase in the tax could make summer holidays considerably more expensive for many millions of Germans".
Germany is the largest tourism market in Mallorca and in the Balearics. The president of the Aviba travel agencies association in the Balearics, Pedro Fiol, says that the increased tax will have repercussions "for our main market", but he doesn't believe that the measure will have a significant impact on the arrival of German tourists.
"Those who visit us are from a medium-high quality segment and usually have a higher budget for their vacation than that of other markets." The impact, he suggests, could be more on choice of hotels. "If the travel becomes more expensive, to make the package competitive it is likely that operators will have to downgrade the hotels."
Fiol adds that as all routes from Germany will become more expensive, Mallorca and the Balearics will at least be competing on equal terms with other destinations.
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