The Foreign Office says the decision was based on the increase in coronavirus outbreaks in Spain in the last two weeks.
Hoteliers in Majorca waited until Monday, August 10, before taking drastic action and closing establishments focused on the British market.
"The situation has turned around and given the sharp fall in British Tourism for the coming dates, we are forced to start the gradual closure of hotels," said a spokesperson for Majorcan Hotel Chains.
FEHM President, Maria Frontera, had predicted that this would happen if the quarantine on the Balearic Islands wasn’t lifted.
Detours
Thousands of tourists who booked holidays in Majorca and the other Islands with Jet2, EasyJet Holidays and TUI UK have been diverted to Greece and Turkey, which are not restricted by the UK.
German tourists are choosing to drive to Croatia and Italy on holiday, instead of going through airport health checks, which is also affecting tourism in the Balearic Islands.
Tourist Incentives
Greece and Turkey are taking all the fiscal and economic measures they can to make destinations more attractive than the Balearic Islands to British and German tourists.
Greece lowered its tourist VAT from 23 to 13% in August, Turkey has devalued the lira by 20% and hoteliers are cutting prices by more than 50%, which has led to an increase in British and German tourists in both countries this month.
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I note that Greece has lowered it's tourist tax to attract holiday makers, perhaps if the Balearics suspended their tourist tax for a while until things recovered, it might help, or is that too simple a thought. And don't forget people in the Balearics were even protesting last year that they didn't WANT tourists
And the central reason for this? Perhaps the soaring number of confirmed cases of Corona virus on Mallorca??If Gov does not take some measure to address this, it is highly likely the German Gov will introduce similar quarantine measures to the Brits.This will devastate the Island’s economy. It’s tragic after the early lockdown achieved so much.Arguing the case or applying political pressure is useless. They have to look at increasing protective measures at the airport - before it’s too late.