During the first five months of this year, 3,478,876 foreign visitors came to the Balearics, 4.8 percent more than during the same period last year.
And, the British are dominating the Balearic market having nudged the Germans into second place.
In May, for example, the UK accounted for 31.7 percent of all tourists to the Balearics, followed by the Germans (31.2%).
But, looking at the overall picture, May ended a 10-month run of an increase in visitors to Spain and that, according to the government in Madrid, is because of tough competition.
Nevertheless, there may have been slightly fewer tourists, the British posted a drop of just 0.3 percent. The number of German visitors was down 8.8 percent and the French market also contracted by 10.7 percent. That said, tourism expenditure, to date, is up 2.2 percent on last year to an average of 1,030 euros per visitor.
The three prime growth markets are proving to be Russia, Italy and the United States.
The Association of British Travel Agents confirmed that Britons are heading to Turkey, Egypt and Bulgaria instead because of cheaper package deals.
An ABTA spokesman said: “Spain is still by far the most popular overseas destination for UK holidaymakers, and while there may have been a slight fall in visitor numbers this year this should be seen in the context of significant, record breaking numbers in recent years.
“Turkey, Egypt and Bulgaria are all enjoying notable increases in bookings this year, driving up competition with Western Mediterranean destinations such as Spain.”
