I hated maths at school

Humphrey CarterPalma22/11/2017 00:00

So, it has been cast in stone. The Balearics is going to lose one million overseas holidaymakers next year. This little chestnut roasted on the festive fire was kept until the last day of the World Travel Market and it made banner headlines across the region, if nowhere else.

We know who came up with that figure, but how? Let’s look at the UK market, where this bombshell was dropped, people have not started booking yet.

Yes, destinations, especially Andalusia, Greece and Turkey, for example, are blanket advertising in the British media, on radio and TV, but the litmus test comes in January when everyone has digested their turkey, are halfway through a wet, windy and frozen winter and, unless they are off for a ski, are starting to dream of lounging around in the Mediterranean sunshine.

According to Abta, the Association of British Travel Agents, one of the industry trends it noted last year was people heading to destinations in the western Mediterranean, in particular mainland Spain, the Balearics and Portugal.

And looking ahead to 2018, 63% of Britons are planning to travel to Europe and spend more, so the outlook for the UK market, which is the second most important to the Balearics, is looking encouraging. Granted bookings may be slightly down on last year at the moment, but give the market and consumers time. There’s no need to start cooking the bookings!