Half of the island´s hotels will close for the winter

HALF the hotels in Majorca will close for the winter from tomorrow, after the end of the long weekend caused by today's holiday, the feast of All Saints. A higher number than usual of hotels have stayed open until the end of October, because of the continued arrival of visitors, especially in the resorts of Playa de Palma and Paguera. Pere Cañellas, the chairman of the Majorcan hoteliers federation, said that hotels will gradually close throughout November, until by the end of the month only about 30 per cent will be open to cater for winter tourism. Cañellas said that it was thanks to an increase in the number of German visitors, and to a lesser extent, Spaniards, that more hotels than usual had stayed open until the end of October. But despite the high rate of occupancy in recent weeks, Cañellas ruled out the possibility of more hotels staying open in November because many tour operators have made substantial cuts to the number of direct flights. Over the long weekend, half the hotels in the Playa de Palma (about 75) have remained open and were about 70 per cent full.
This area had better occupancy levels than expected in September and October, according to Francisco Marin, head of the Playa de Palma hoteliers association. Other resort areas, such as Pollensa, have reported a similar tourist season.
The general opinion is that it got off to a poor start, picked up in July and August and did better than expected in September and October.