Palma27/02/2021 12:50
GREECE is ready to welcome British tourists this summer regardless of whether they have had a coronavirus vaccine, Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis was quoted as saying.
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I read with great interest Jason Moore’s race between Greece and Majorca for tourism. Firstly we must consider reality, Europe is coming out of a worldwide pandemic that has affected people in many ways across the globe,many businesses have closed, many people have lost their jobs, many people are living on two thirds of their annual income. Holidays for 2021 for many will be put on the back burner or it may all boil down to cost, what people can afford to do or not afford to do. If we simply look at the Post Office holiday barometer which is a survey of 40 European resorts of the likely costs a tourist might incur to enable them to determine what currency they need for a week's holiday abroad we have a reality check. The top three resorts being Bulgaria, Turkey and Portugal, the Spanish Costas occupy the 4th position and Majorca that occupied 11th in 2019 slips down the resorts lists. Corfu and Cyprus sit in the middle of the top 12 with Sorrento who sat 20th in 2019 climbing up to 12th. A straw pole on Majorca and Corfu holidays based on similar self catering apartments flights transfers etc gives us a saving of £42 in Corfu, the tourist tax in Corfu 10.5 Euro (£9.38) and Majorca 42 Euro (37.50). If we consider Majorca has slipped down the table from 11th it’s 30% cheaper to go to Corfu than Sorrento who hold the 12th spot with Majorca not in the top 12. The so called race for tourism will not be about who opens the doors first but who can afford to come, if you can save £32.50 per day based on meals, drinks and consumables, over a 7 day stay in Corfu you could save £227.38 over the week. Majorca does not need to consider who opens the door first but who has set up its stalls to attract the tourists, we have no doubt that tourism has changed worldwide, the reset button has been pressed, the big question being how competitive are you. Regards B.Rowe.
Whilst I agree that tourism is vital to Mallorca and we desperately need an action plan as Jason says, the plan absolutely must include the safe vaccination of Mallorca’s population. If the Greeks aren’t doing that, there is the USP for Mallorca. The islands could plan to welcome back tourists safely. That’s a positive message for a change.