Hotels warned to put quality before price

Hoteliers have been told to stop worrying about rising prices and concentrate more on increasing the level of quality provided. Secretary of State for Tourism, Juan Costa, warned the hotel industry yesterday that hotel prices have risen sufficiently this year to the point that cost could put people off coming to Spain. The mainland has seen the number of tourists rise by one per cent this summer, while the Balearics has seen a slight decline and a complete change in the market. Costa said yesterday that he wants to see tourism numbers increase next year and his department has drawn up a series of promotional campaigns which the Balearics will have to adhere to. Costa is not an advocate of less tourists is good for tourism, as is the general consensus of the Balearics' coalition government.