The tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, said on Monday that "the forecasts are going in the direction of extending the season", but the president of the federation, Maria Frontera, observed that "not even the government knows when the season will start or when it will end". The hoteliers, she added, are committed to being open if conditions allow, and they have in fact been opening earlier than "they", the government, have expected. "We have surprised them."
Directing her remarks at the government, Frontera stressed that management of Mallorca as a tourist destination is "not about coming to the fair and making headlines but working rigorously and jointly with the sector to reach agreements". The government's big thing for the London fair is to explain its law for tourism sustainability and circularity. However, in Frontera's opinion, "sustainable tourism means much more than introducing a law that only affects hotels". "The government has a strategic plan that it doesn't even talk about."
Regarding the start of the next season, Frontera explained that the government doesn't have firm data. As to seasonal adjustment and positioning as a quality destination, this cannot become a reality without reviewing structural issues, "for which they do not have any concise answer, while it also seems that they don't have any short or medium-term plan".
In her discussions with tour operators and others at the fair, Frontera pointed to "concern" about problems arising from overcrowding, mainly mobility and the limitations of public transport. "I don't know if we will have the time for an improvement in public transport by the start of the 2023 season."
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Easy solution - the government tells the hotels that they have to pay their staff over the winter. That way they might be keener to stay open.