Local residents being charged over the odds to enjoy their own island.

Local residents being charged over the odds to enjoy their own island. | Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter

Humphrey CarterPalma11/10/2024 09:29
TW
1

I have just returned from my annual end of summer break at a superb sea front hotel on the island. I’m off flying for the moment and why not holiday in Mallorca? Millions flock here every summer.
And I was pleasantly surprised to see that a good 80 percent of the guests at the 250-room hotel were from the UK, the rest were from Poland, perhaps that is one of the new emerging markets.

Anyway, I would not say that our stay was particularly cheap, plus the tourist tax, despite the considerable amount of tax I already pay, so I decided to see how much the similar holiday on the same dates would have cost from the UK. One of Europe’s largest tour operators, mentioning no names, has an exclusive contract with the hotel, so I went through the process of booking with them and they were charging just under half of what we were paying and that included flights from Gatwick and transfers.

I brought this to the attention of one of the “veteran” receptionists on the grounds that we were thinking about returning next year. “Well now you know what to do, if you want a good deal on a hotel in Mallorca, book it via a UK tour operator,” was his advice. So, it would appear that not only are we residents Mallorca having to pay tourist cost of living prices and the tourist tax, it also appears that we are being charged well over the odds by the hoteliers. And I did not use a booking platform, I booked directly with the hotel. Wonders never cease in Mallorca.