Tough Mallorca competition

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many adverts for holidays and cruises. From New Zealand to Australia, Turkey, Greece, the United States as destinations and all types of cruises, be they on rivers or the high seas, I get the impression that either the travel industry knows that demand is going to be unusually high this year for holidays or sales are not performing as well as expected. Some of the cruise offers are ridiculously cheap: That said, you will still not get me on one.

According to market research this week, nearly one in five consumers in the UK plan to spend more on holidays this year, so says a report by NatWest. Research into the spending habits of 2,000 people has suggested that holidays are increasingly being considered a ‘necessity’ rather than a ‘luxury’.

But the big question has got to be where Mallorca and the rest of the Balearics sit on their bucket lists? It’s a small world and money is tight with members of Gen Z and Millennials under more pressure than those over 60 to cut back on holiday spending, according to the research.

Approaches to saving money might include taking shorter trips, opting for shorter flights or taking a domestic trip than going abroad.

Hotel prices have risen in the Balearics and now there are warnings that air fares may also have to be hiked to Spain as a result of airport operating fees being increased by over four per cent.

The Balearic authorities sang from the rooftops about how important the British market is to the region at the World Travel Market in London in November and how British tourists are more than welcome. But is the talk going to be enough to distract UK consumers from the impressive visual adverts bombarding them nearly every 15 minutes on TV in the comfort of their own living rooms?