BUMPER BRITISH BALEARIC BREAK

THE Balearics is braced for another windfall of British tourists this Bank Holiday weekend.
An estimated 1.85 million Britons will be spending this weekend overseas, the majority in the Balearics, the Canary Islands and resorts on mainland Spain. The Association of British Travel Agents' spokesperson Sean Tipton said yesterday that this weekend is proving to be a record getaway Bank Holiday.
The exodus of 1.2 million Britons from UK airports started yesterday afternoon with 800.000 leaving from the seven British Airport Authority airports.
60.000 are leaving from Birmingham airport, 135.000 from Manchester, 35.000 from East Midlands and 74.500 from Luton.
In addition more than 600.000 are travelling over and under the English Channel to France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain including around 100.000 with Eurotunnel. The end of May traditionally signals the start of the peak of the summer period and as this Bank Holiday coincides with schools' half terms, thousands of families are setting off for the sun. Sean Tipton said yesterday that summer holiday bookings in the UK are buoyant. “I keep getting calls from journalists wanting comments on the poor state of the industry, but in fact the market has picked up very well, especially to traditional destinations such as the Balearics and the summer is looking good,” he said.

As well as the Balearics, Canaries and the mainland, Turkey and Italy are also proving to be the best-selling destinations.
Further afield, Florida and New York are proving extremely popular with travellers benefiting from the Pound's current strength against the Dollar.
The States is also proving popular for summer holidays in Spain on the back of the strength of the Euro.
Airlines and tour operators have also reported almost full flights to cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid while many of the less well known destinations served by the no-frills airlines are also expecting record numbers of visitors this weekend. ABTA president John Harding said yesterday “this weekend is the traditional curtain-raiser to the summer period and this bank Holiday promises to be one of our busiest.” But while the Balearics is selling well in the UK, there was also good news for visitors yesterday with hotel prices starting to settle down.
Last month, hotel rates in the Balearics rose by 1.8 per cent, the lowest increase in Spain.
Although, tour operators, in particular those highly dependent on the struggling German market, are encouraging hoteliers against raising their rates for next year.

THE FRENCH CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF MAJORCA

EARLIER this month Majorca-based airline Air Europa started operating direct flights to Paris from Palma and yesterday airline bosses said that over the past 21 days, all flights have been 80 per cent full with the majorty of passengers being French. Air Europa spokesperson, Gerardo Ariño, said yesterday at the official inauguration of the service, that flights to Palma are being sold at some 1.100 outlets across France and the response has been very positive with 63 per cent of passengers being French. French Consul to the Balearics, Michel Magnier, said that the response clearly shows that there is still enormous potential for the Balearics in the Northern France holiday market.