Tourist coaches at Palma Airport. archive photo. | Ultima Hora

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Discretionary Tourist transport companies in the Balearic Islands have been forced to sell or return at least 130 coaches, because they have no income and can’t keep up the payments, according to the Balearic Transport Business Federation and the General Secretary of FSC-CCOO, Pep Ginard.

“Without the summer tourist season, without Imserso, excursions and congresses, it is impossible for discretionary transport companies to continue,” explains FEBT Manager Salvador Servera. “That’s why some of them have had to opt for this formula to stay active and not disappear. The situation is very complicated and uncertain at the moment."

There are companies that have been forced to return coaches that they had leased last year as part of their fleet renewal strategy, which was done at a time marked by the growth of visitors, but coronavirus has broken all expectations,” adds FSC-CCOO General Secretary, Pep Ginard, who also points out that the Transport Sector has never experienced such an adverse situation.

“The return of coaches is motivated by the gradual decline in activity, which will also affect employment,” he says. “What happens in the coming months will be very upsetting."

Concern

The FEBT says it’s concerned about the situation that companies in this Sector and others in the tourism industry in the Balearic Islands are experiencing.

"A new bus costs 250,000 euros on average and there are companies that have renewed virtually their entire fleet,” says Salvador Servera. “The economic impact is very high and any income distortion has a devastating effect, which explains and justifies the return and sale of so many coaches.”