Tourist board says the winter season is looking grim

The president of the Majorcan Tourist Board, Miquel Vicens, said yesterday that the condition of the winter season is “awful,” adding that all businesses in the tourist industry are extremely worried about the situation. Vicens said that all of the Balearics' markets, with the exception of the UK, are well down on last winter. The tourist board boss admitted that many businesses have written off the winter, having been forced to accept that many will operate at a loss, and have set their sights on getting ready for next summer, “which the forecast indicates will see a marked recovery in the UK market. Vicens said that this summer, parts of the hostelry sector say business fell by 15 per cent and in the complementary market, the decline was as high as 30 per cent. “What is clear is that visitors this year have not had as much spending power as in the past because of weak European economies,” Vicens said.