At the annual tourism sector risk management conference in Palma on Friday, the conclusion was that the positive results for this summer will not continue over the autumn and the winter.
It doesn't really require a gathering of leading figures in the tourism and travel sectors to figure out why this might be. Inflation, the increase in energy prices, war in Ukraine; these are all factors that everyone is aware of. And because everyone is aware, it is the impact on the 2023 season in Mallorca and the Balearics that is more relevant than winter tourism, for the simple reason that there isn't a great deal of winter tourism.
Even so, the conference observed that a decrease in winter tourism can already be detected. This trend is likely to continue into 2023 because travel will become more expensive.
Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, was at the conference to hear tourism sector representatives suggest that government policies for circularity and sustainability - as contained in the recently approved tourism law - may well be "nullified" by economic conditions.
The president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, was of the opinion that a proposal for an increase in tourist tax was "ridiculous", especially given the current circumstances.
She said that indicators for the 2023 are not good. The situation both globally and nationally is "difficult" and bookings three months in advance have dropped. Mallorca "is already slowing down", despite the visitors the island has had this summer and the figures showing economic recovery. "There really is a halt in reservations."
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DAVID GRAHAMYou may not have noticed, but there's quite a bit more to Mallorca than Magaluf, Palmanova, or Calvia in general. Not all of Mallorca is a tourist resort, nor all overpriced, nor is everyone who lives here starving. In fact, tourist resorts account for a mere fraction of it. And the rest of the island doesn't close down for winter. But you could be forgiven if that's the only thing you've ever known (or read about). It's not about being snobby, it's about sustaining a quality product, which may not be >your< interest, but does inherently interest many other visitors. Mallorca is an extremely popular tourist destination, facilitating the benefit of aiming for *quality* tourism over quantity. Some will find that objectionable, and apparently that's why you're leaving. But frankly, that's a testament to it working. C'est la Vie.
Listen up you upper class ( own mind defined ) fcuk wits The working population of Mallorca who service the hospitality industry has to work hard to provide a home ( probably rented ) for family and kids, food etc…. So if the GOBS and the Armegedons along with other anti tourist self centered organisations who want to curb tourists then go ahead and put families and kids on the street, but please tip well in the Fosh restaurants and other places to help subsidise the average ordinary Mallorcan guy or woman who is working hard to keep their family together, fed and watered. Winter will be a hard place after 31st October when the season ends and don’t forget, the worse the Uk Pound to the Euro gets, the less of us UK Brits will visit Spain. I say Spain coz Mallorca is now deleted from my passport
Zoltan TeglasI suppose for some, it's a bit like home, but with sun. "sunlit uplands"? Southend might be a good comparison; a lot of crappy (but rather expensive) hotels and townhouses on a somewhat polluted and heavily trodden seafront on a major shipping lane, with a pebbly, coarse beach. Lots of touristy junk shops and mediocre-but-not-so-inexpensive restaurants, a Burger King, and of course, lots of Brits. But the upside is that you don't have to change pounds to some worthless foreign third-world currency. It's comfortable. And (imaginarily) cheap & cheerful. Just like home.
Morgan WilliamsMalaga and Marbella cities are not bad places but certainly not cheap either, and probably no cheaper than here. Property certainly isn't cheap there. But the coastline between those two places is an awful soulless place. About 30 miles of high rise blocks and one long ugly beach. If people want to go there instead of Mallorca because it's slightly cheaper then they're welcome to it.
Zoltan TeglasI was in Malaga last week. Prices there aren't much cheaper than here. But maybe those tired looking towering hotels are a bit cheaper. But I paid a lot, and it wasn't all that great, really. From his description, it's questionable whether he has ever been to either place, as if he's only read about it in the daily mail. Or perhaps he's just another of those who expect 5 star quality at 3 star prices, yet wouldn't know the difference if he actually got it. "I'm looking for a good place to eat. Is there a burger king nearby?" (yet more expensive than an actual quality meal). Monty-Python-esque irony. And yes, the sea is much (much!) deeper around Mallorca. The Atlantic is a rather cold ocean, and that's precisely why the sea is colder in Costa del Sol. And yes, the sand is rather pebbly. But it's "cheap" (he thinks). And that's the first priority. So, Torremolinos it is.
DAVID GRAHAMI know every beach in the Malaga area having lived there for a few years. And not one beach in the Malaga province can compare to even Mallorca's worst beaches. Did you know a lot of the 'sand' on those beaches is actually earth from the Malaga metro work? Hence why it's brown and stoney. That's why your feet are dirty after a day on the beach there. And the sea is cold due to it being close to the Atlantic not because it's deeper.
DAVID GRAHAMYes, well, apparently Torremolinos is just your thing. And cheap, which is the most important thing. And lots of it. Quantity over quality.
Hello Zoltan @ legendinhisownmind A Euro is a Euro. I am in Torremolinos at the moment….. the beach here is far better than Es Stink….. no posidonia… no litter…. Parasol and two sun beds is E7 for the day to include WiFi, toilets, showers etc… chiringitos every 200 metres or so with fresh food, charcoal fish dishes etc… beaches are clean and are cleaned every night…. YES a Euro is a Euro and a Euro here goes a whole lot further than a Euro does in Mallorca, so I will take my Euros where I will get more more my Euros BTW, the sea IS a bit colder owing to its depth close to shore, however, one does NOT have to wade through a whole lot of black stinking posidonia to get to some clean sea water
Less tourists than this year is a welcome thing. Not everyone makes their living form tourism but we all have to suffer from the overcrowding etc. And has been said elsewhere people are welcome to go to the costa del sol if they want and enjoy the crap beaches and cold sea.
DAVID GRAHAMRegarding chiringuitos, yes, I'm a bit perplexed about how costas (a Spanish, not Balearic authority) as can justify closing every beach bar in Mallorca, yet at the same time, allow kilometers of beachfront bars and restaurants in Costa del Sol. What's the rationale here (if any)? Regarding the rest of Spain being cheaper, well, I've just been in Costa del Sol, and if cheap 3 star-ish towering apartments and hotels packed onto the coastline in Torremolinos or Benidorm is what you fancy, then I think you should go there. I'd hate to see that happen to Mallorca. Lastly, it's worth pointing out that just because the nosediving British economy makes travel increasingly cost-prohibitive for Brits doesn't mean that nobody else can afford it. And there's far more of "everybody else". So I suspect this may be yet another bit of self-reassuring exaggeration.