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With the centre of attention yesterday on Madrid in the aftermath of the general elections, Balearic Chief Minister, Francesc Antich, arrived in Berlin for a round of talks with Germany's leading tour operators at the Berlin International ITB Travel Fair. He and the Balearic delegation, which includes Tourism Minister, Celesti Alomar, Finance Minister, Joan Mesquida and the Mayors of Palma and Calvia, arrived as reports broke of a three per cent increase in the number of Germans holidaying in the Balearics this summer, suggesting that the overall ten per cent fall in German tourism to Spain is affecting mainland resorts more than the islands. Yesterday morning, Germany's leading tour operators were presented with dossiers outlining how the Balearics intends to solve the water crisis, the black spots on the region's beaches and measures which will be introduced to ensure everything runs smoothly this summer. Throughout the day, the delegation held “behind closed doors” talks with the country's top seven major tour operators. Last year 4'166'043 German tourists visited the Balearics, an increase of 14.1 per cent on 1998.