Steve Heapy, who has been the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at Jet2 Plc since 2020, talked to the Bulletin at the World Travel Market about how this year has performed, especially in the Balearics, and the outlook for the coming year for the UK holiday market.
Q.— How is the season looking for Mallorca and the Balearics in 2025?
Steve Heapy. — We are coming towards the end of 2024, which has seen Jet2.com and Jet2holidays enjoy another incredibly successful year in Mallorca and across the Balearics, with more holidaymakers travelling with us than ever. Looking ahead to 2025, we have real confidence and positivity about our operations across the Balearics, as our customers continue to enjoy their favourite holiday hotspots in Mallorca, Ibiza and Minorca.
Q.— You are expanding into other destinations such as Morrocco, do you think Mallorca should be concerned?
Steve Heapy. — Our plans for Mallorca are a cause for excitement. For starters, we have more capacity and choice than ever, with flights and holidays now available to Mallorca from 12 UK airports thanks to the launch of our newest UK base at Bournemouth Airport from early February 2025. We continue to grow and invest in our operation but with sustainability at the heart – meaning we are using more fuel-efficient and quieter Airbus A321neo aircraft to fly in and out of Mallorca - as well as increasing the number of Certified Sustainable Hotels on the island. These hotels meet GSTC-Recognised standards aligned to sustainable hotel management, social and economic support of the local community, promoting positive cultural impacts and environmental protection – meaning that our customers can choose the holiday that is right for them.
As a successful company, we are of course continuing to expand the number of destinations that we operate to, but our commitment to destinations such as Mallorca will never waver. Our track record of growth and the strength of our partnerships with hoteliers, industry and Government is testament to that.
Q.— You have signed The Pledge, the Council of Mallorca’s blue-print for environmental protection, do you think it is important to safeguard the island for future generations?
Steve Heapy. — Jet2holidays is very proud to be the first UK tour operator to sign Mallorca’s Responsible Tourism pledge. We want people to continue enjoying this beautiful island for years to come, so it is important that we all preserve the nature, values and beauty of Majorca whilst ensuring the long-term prosperity of the island for visitors and residents. The Responsible Tourism Pledge is a fantastic initiative and on top of this, we are pleased to be playing our part through our own Certified Sustainable Hotels labelling scheme which means that customers can choose from over 100 hotels in Majorca that meet globally recognised standards for sustainable hotel management.
Q.— How important is protecting the environment within the tourist industry?
Steve Heapy. — Protecting the environment is critical not only for the tourism industry, but for all industries. Earlier this year, Jet2 published an updated sustainability strategy which details the tangible actions that we are taking on route to net zero by 2050. I am very proud of what we have achieved, and continue to achieve, including investing in new and more fuel-efficient aircraft as well as in SAF production. We have also launched our Certified Sustainable Hotels collection, removed millions of single use plastics from onboard our aircraft and met our carbon intensity reduction targets to date.
We cannot do this alone though. We need tangible Government support, both here in the UK and in Europe, to help our industry decarbonise faster. Take investment in SAF and the issue of airspace modernisation as examples. The pace around these issues from Governments has been nowhere near fast enough, which is incredibly frustrating when you look at the benefits of both. The time to act has to be now.
Q.— There have been protests against tourism on Mallorca, do you think this will impact on holiday bookings?
Steve Heapy. — We are of course aware of protests in some destinations, however we know that this is driven by unlicensed tourism. The unlicensed tourism market means that house prices in some destinations have increased, as increasing amounts of private properties have been purchased for buy to holiday let purposes. Jet2holidays works with licenced accommodation providers in holiday resorts meaning that we do not negatively impact house prices. It also means that we continue to make a positive contribution to local economies. We have urged local governments to stamp down on the unlicensed tourism market and we continue to call for this.
We work incredibly closely with a wide range of partners in our overseas destinations such as Mallorca, including government officials, hoteliers, and tourist boards, and we continue to enjoy excellent relationships with these partners, who welcome the contribution that we and our customers make when they enjoy our licensed holidays in their destinations. There has been no impact on our bookings and Mallorca continues to enjoy the same popularity as always.
Q.— The Balearic government has raised the rate of the tourist tax, do you think this is a good idea?
Steve Heapy. — Introducing a tax such as this comes with a lot of risk, as it can impact demand. Tourism is such a huge part of the economy, so to tax it sends out the wrong message to customers. If you give the impression that you do not want holidaymakers or that you want to hit them in the pocket, the risk is that you drive them to visit somewhere else instead. That in turn means less tourism, less income, less GDP and less economic productivity. Also, if tourist taxes are put in place, then people should be told exactly what these taxes are being spent on. There is no reason why Governments cannot publish a full statement of expenditure so that people can see how the money is spent.
Q.— What is Jet2’s long term plan for Mallorca?
Steve Heapy. — Our short-term and long-term plans are the same. To continue filling our aircraft and our partner’s hotels with happy customers. Because we own an airline, we invest significantly into the Balearics as we have to capacity to fill. That means the priorities of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are perfectly in step with hoteliers in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera because we are in the business of filling seats and they are in the business of filling beds. That means that nobody works harder than Jet2holidays to fill hotels, because we have to sell seats on our flights too. That will remain the same, as will our partnership approach to working with hoteliers, Government and the industry in Mallorca.
Q.— Do you think the industry is moving away from so-called bucket and spade tourism?
Steve Heapy. — There have always been holidaymakers who want to enjoy a traditional sunshine holiday on the beach. Because the UK is so continually wet, cold and gloomy that will always be the case, and we will always be there to deliver award-winning holidays for those customers. Of course, every person is different, so everyone’s idea of the perfect holiday is different. What we do best is make sure that every person is treated like a VIP on that holiday no matter what. Whether they are on a beach holiday, a city break or intend to clock up the miles on a cycling holiday, we know that their time away means the world to them and so we want to get everything right for them.
Q.— The local authorities want to make the island an all year around holiday destination, do you think this is possible?
Steve Heapy. — Jet2.com and Jet2holidays operate to Mallorca all year round. Our flying programme is weighted to the summer season however, we continue to invest in developing the winter season too. We have increased capacity to over 42,000 arriving seats for Winter 24/25, and for Winter 25/26 we have increased on-sale capacity by another 25%, meaning over 50,000 arriving seats for next winter.
To support this investment and to attract customers, it is critical that hotels, local authorities, bars and restaurants commit to providing the same level of service in the shoulder seasons as they do in the summer. It is unacceptable to expect a holidaymaker to stay in a hotel or resort where bars and restaurants are closed, and the level of service is diminished.
The local authorities must also commit to promoting Mallorca as a destination to visit outside the summer season, particularly through co-marketing. In the UK market, Mallorca is a top holiday destination for the summer, however, the winter season is different. Co-marketing campaigns are a shared investment that will entice customers to choose Majorca for their winter holiday over other well established year-round destinations and city break options. Jet2holidays has a proven record of working with destinations to create and execute hugely successful co-marketing campaigns.
Q.— If you could improve Mallorca, what would you do?
Steve Heapy. — Mallorca is my favourite destination in the world. It is somewhere that you cannot improve as a destination. I know that our customers feel the same way, however it is important to remember that they make an enormous contribution to the local economy, so we want to make sure we can do everything we can to encourage that, whilst of course looking after the needs of the island too.
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Well he needs to get out more.