Balearic government enthuses about its “little gem”

Balearic Minister for Tourism, Celesti Alomar, nursing his political bruises after the bashing the tourist tax received in Berlin from Spain's Minister for the Economy, Rodrigo Rato, has described German tourism to the islands as a “little gem.” Alomar has also revealed the results of a market survey of his “little gem” which has shown that the majority of German tourists, similar to the majority of all tourists to the Balearics, come for the climate and the beach. In co-operation with Dresden University, Ibatur and Turespaña have looked at the profile of a German tourist, 3.934.173 of which visited the region last year. According to the study, 79.5 per cent come for the climate and 61.7 per cent for the beaches and, on average, a German tourist spends 11.277 Pesetas per day. The bulk of the market, 3.2 million, holidayed in Majorca with the average stay being just over ten days. 70 per cent of German tourists prefer to stay in hotels, all of which will have to pay the tourist tax should the levy be introduced, if they return next year as 23 per cent claim they will “probably” come back. Drawing up a profile of a German tourist, Alomar claims, will help the Balearic tourist industry, which is currently facing a 20 per cent drop in German holiday bookings this year.