Best of British

What the British proved in 2019 is that they are loyal to the Balearics. Their resilence was tested by a lower pound against the euro, Brexit and even the demise of Thomas Cook but still the British Balearic love affair continued. To be honest the British are the almost the “ugly ducklings” for some of Balearic tourism. The Germans get far better press than the Brits with Magalluf often in the spotlight even though the Playa de Palma (the German-dominated resort) suffers more problems.

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Hotels delaying opening until May because of falling demand

But for once, the British are in the Balearic tourism good books. They stayed loyal at a time when they could easily have been tempted away to cheaper resorts in the eastern Mediterranean. They spent heavily even though sterling was worth 20 percent less than three years ago and the message from the British tourist industry to the Balearics last November was Keep Calm and Carry On, all will be alright on the night.

So why are hotels opening later? I suspect that the problem lies with the dominant German market. The Germans are going elsewhere. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is still a very loyal and enormous market, but I do get the impression that Majorca’s principal tourist market is starting to turn its attention elsewhere.