06/12/2003 00:00
TW
0
By Humphrey Carter THIS Constitution Bank Holiday weekend in the Balearics is going to be pretty quiet, according to the President of the Majorcan Hotel Federation, quite simply because so many hotels have closed for the winter. Pedro Cañellas, said yesterday that no increase in demand has been reported, just as well as the number of hotels open is “rock bottom.” He also said that, being so close to the Christmas holidays, the Constitution Bank Holiday is never really a busy one for hoteliers. “The Spanish like to try and get away this weekend, but coming so close to Christmas many think twice. “Even the few hotels which are open, will not be full,” he said. Pedro Cañellas admitted that, as far as the hotel sector is concerned, “things are not good at the moment,” and added that hotel occupancy in Paguera, for example, is between 60 and 70 percent. Palma can expect to be busier because of overseas visitors coming on city breaks. However, despite the doom and gloom from the local hoteliers, yesterday was Palma airport's busiest day of this Bank Holiday weekend. Airport officials said yesterday morning that some 30.400 passengers were expected, over a third of all the long weekend traffic and 1.27 percent busier than on the first day of the five-day holiday last year. Over the next few days, air traffic controllers will handle 1.352 flights with Monday being the next hectic day, with hundreds of thousands of Spaniards rushing home to start work again on Tuesday. Palma airport will handle some 24.400 passengers on Monday and a further 15.000 on Tuesday. 1.871.000 Spaniards are catching domestic flights this weekend with Palma's Son Sant Joan airport the third busiest after Madrid and Barcelona. However, the Balearics is only the fifth most popular destination for the long weekend. Extra flights have been organised to Egypt, the number one spot, followed by Italy, the Czech Republic and the Canary Islands and then the Balearics. A large number of people want some pre-Xmas sunshine.