British and other European tour operators have gobbled up places this summer. | Daniel Espinosa

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Spanish tour operators face difficulties in being able to market places in Majorca's hotels during the high summer. That's because the places have been snapped up by British, German, Swiss and Scandinavian tour operators. Unless the Spanish companies have their own hotels, they are unlikely to find much availability for July and August, though there is less scarcity for other months (April to June and September-October).

At Madrid's Fitur international tourism fair, which starts tomorrow, the domestic market tour operators will be hearing from Majorca's hoteliers that if they pay well, then there may be beds for the high summer. But it has been evident for some months that tour operators from other countries have been very active in securing places and paying for them.

During Fitur, tour operators and airlines are expected to reveal altered schedules for this summer. They are not trusting that the destinations which were unsafe last year are going to recover. Therefore, there seems little doubt that Majorca will be benefiting and once more be registering record occupancy levels. The British and German travel agencies' associations, Abta and DRV, are both reporting that sales over the Christmas period were surpassing expectations.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia will open the fair tomorrow. In addition to numerous tourism sector representatives from the Balearics, the islands have their own stand (promoting in particular the "Better in Winter" campaign). President Armengol and Vice-President Barceló are attending the fair as are the national minister for energy, tourism and the digital agenda, Álvaro Nadal, and the tourism secretary of state, Matilde Asián.