Playa de Palma hoteliers demanding more rapid vaccination. | Pilar Pellicer

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The Playa de Palma Hoteliers Association warned on Friday that if the vaccination programme is not accelerated, this year's tourism season will be lost.

The association said that "if the slow rate of vaccination continues, the coming season is at risk". The health situation in the Balearics, the association noted, "is very worrying". There needs to be "vaccination plan efficiency and transparency from the regional government".

The association's president, Isabel Vidal, pointed out that countries which provide tourists are doing much better in terms of vaccination. "We cannot start the season without a very high percentage of the islands' population being vaccinated."

José Antonio Alarcón, the vice-president, observed that a tourist who is vaccinated "will not choose a destination where more of the population is not vaccinated than is". "If we don't step on the gas, the economic situation is going to be serious. The Balearics must have the highest percentage of the population vaccinated before the start of the season in order to send a message of confidence to the supplier markets."

Vidal added that there needs to be 24-hour vaccination seven days a week. "We are in a global health emergency situation. If there isn't a speeding-up, there will be no tourism and the Balearic economy will be in serious danger."