A tourist shopping bonanza for Christmas

Local shopkeepers are rubbing their hands in glee at the news that German tourists are expected to spend 200 million pesetas in Palma in a Christmas shopping spree. For the sixth successive year, the German tour operator TUI and the department store El Corte Inglés have launched their Christmas Shopping in Palma programme, which will bring 2'000 German and 1'000 British tourists to the island, according to the promoters. This year the British tour operator Thomson and 123 Fly are taking part in the programme for the first time. The programme will run from December 11 to January 5. The tourists will stay in three and four star hotels on the Playa de Palma, and each will receive a 5'000 peseta voucher to spend in El Corte Ingles a bus travel voucher and plans of the city. Based on the experience of previous years, each tourist spends an average of more than 85'000 pesetas.