Tourists in Palma, Mallorca

Early indications are that spending is up significantly. | Jaume Morey

Andrew EdePalma06/04/2023 09:02
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Following a record year in terms of tourist spending in 2022, Mallorca and the Balearics are looking at breaking that record in 2023, if figures for January and February are anything to go by.

Over the first two months of the year, tourist spending increased by 30% compared with 2022, when the level of activity was still being influenced by Covid. But compared with 2019, the spending was up 25%, and this was with a 2.3% decrease in the number of tourists.

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Inflation clearly has to be taken into account, the most recent data from the Balearic Statistics Institute indicating that the year-on-year rise in the Consumer Price Index for the hospitality sector (hotels and restaurants) having been 8.7%.

Although there was a slight fall in the number of tourists, the forecasts for the whole year point to a total that at least matches that for 2022 - 16.5 million for the whole of the Balearics. As certain hotel groups like Barceló and Riu are indicating ten per cent increases in reservations, it could well be that the 2022 total is exceeded, while a scheduled increase in the number of flights also suggests that this could be the case.