After 3 years of growth, this winter season's bookings are down nearly 7%. Archive photo. | Redacción Local

TW
4

Fewer tourists are booked to visit Majorca over the winter season this year according to the latest data from AENA.

Between November and March 31 6.4 million seats have been booked on planes coming to the Balearics. That’s 6.6% less than last year and the number of planes is also down by 7% compared to 2018.

The AENA report states that the number visitors flying to the Balearic Islands from Spanish airports is up by 0.7% with 3.6 million seats already booked and another 2.8 million visitors are expected to fly in from international destinations.

But the biggest number of visitors by far will come from Germany and hoteliers and tour operators say that if it wasn’t for the 350 million euro bailout that Angela Merkel’s government stumped up to save Thomas Cook Airlines subsidiary, Condor, the winter season would have been a total disaster, particularly in Majorca.

This winter could be one of the worst on record for hoteliers in Majorca in terms of occupation and business profitability, mainly because the collapse of Thomas Cook forced some hotels to close a month earlier than usual.

The summer season is also looking a bit dire, it usually gets underway at the end of March but bookings are really low, which could mean a slow start to the season and a dip in profits are on the cards for hoteliers in Majorca.