Over the past year Palma has become one of Europe's leading cities for luxury tourism. Boutique hotels, fine food and shopping are all contributing to this. The director general of the Turespaña national tourism agency, Manuel Butler, said a year ago that Palma was very well positioned for attracting a luxury tourism market, and so it is proving.
British, German, Swiss, Austrian, Scandinavian and Spanish visitors are all part of this market. They are said to be attracted by excellent all-year air routes. These, according to the president of the Palma hoteliers association Javier Vich, have brought about a change to the type of tourist who comes to Palma. Sun and beach are not important. The change to the centre of the city has become the main attraction, and the Palma 365 Foundation has played a "fundamental role in its promotion". Palma, believes Vich, is now a "tourism brand at a world level".
Vich also highlights cruise ship passengers who stay in hotels before embarking on their cruises. They represent a high-spending niche market who didn't used to come before. They do so now because the centre of Palma has been turned into a "classic destination for city breaks".
José Luis Roses, the president of the Majorca Chamber of Commerce, agrees that air connectivity and the hotel offer are attracting "high-level tourists from all markets". He notes, for instance, the groups of Danish tourists who spend two to three days enjoying out-of-season tourist products, e.g. wine tourism, and who stay in city-centre luxury hotels.
1 comment
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Mallorca could be a top tourist destination IF the powers to be got their act together. Having lived here for almost four years I cannot believe how much it has changed. Palma is dirty, filled with garbage and graffiti, the beaches are a disaster (and are never cleaned in the off-season), shops and restaurants close because they are only interested in the tourist dollar and when it is high season, it is impossible to move. Sadly we are sitting on something that could be very special but nobody seems to realise it. They are slowly 8or maybe not so slowly) killing it with poor decisions and weak leadership. Is it just a coincidence that Més sounds like MESS?