The tourist statistics suggest otherwise. Up to the end of June, 7.7 million tourists came to the Balearics, an increase of 8.1%. Over the six months they spent 8,246 million euros, an increase of 13.6%. But there is one thing to be said about this, and it concerns how the spending statistics are arrived at.
The National Statistics Institute's Egatur survey is the source for spending. Egatur has certain categories, one of which is either the cost of a package holiday or the cost of independently booked accommodation plus travel. Prices for these have risen. When it comes to spending in destination, Egatur doesn't, for example, specify how much is spent in bars/restaurants. There is a broader category that includes this and other items of expenditure.
The statistics, therefore, don't provide a satisfactory guide to what is being spent and where. Individual sectors don't present statistical data, so there is a reliance on statements made by representatives. And the messages from the complementary sector as a whole point to lower spending.
This is lower compared with 2022 and 2023. There is general agreement that both those seasons were characterised by a post-pandemic spending boom. Does lower spending in 2024 therefore represent an adjustment - back to where it used to be?
Rafael Durán is the president of the Abactur tourist attractions association: "The objective data tell us that there are more tourists, but it is clear that spending has dropped quite a bit." But he goes on to add: "We have to take into account that we are coming from 2023, the best season we have ever had."
Miguel Pérez Marsà, president of the Abone nightlife association, says the balance isn't bad but is not what was expected either. He calculates a fall in turnover of between 15% and 20% compared to last year. "People are arriving with less money and hotels have become more expensive."
Some weeks ago, the president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, Alfonso Robledo, referred to a 20% drop in revenue in June. He attributed this to the fact that there was less trade during the week; at the weekends, restaurants were as busy as ever.
Pedro Miró of the Afedeco retailers association says things "could be better", though he remains optimistic that revenue will ultimately be close to that of 2023, a year in which there was "an explosion of consumption".
Car hire, nautical business, diving businesses; these all report a similar lower level of spending. Euro 2024 and the Olympics are said to be among the reasons.
The figures quoted above clearly don't take the high summer into account. The next Egatur report and the next Frontur report for tourist numbers will be for July; these won't be released until the start of September. They will both be up, but Egatur still won't report with accuracy how money is being spent.
Robledo has been looking forward to September and October. The reason lies with the tourist profile. This can be over-generalised, but August is a month, in some resorts in any event, when business isn't as good as might be expected despite the sheer number of holidaymakers. A family tourism on a budget goes some way to explaining this, as also does all-inclusive, although all-inclusive has been a factor since the 1990s, but admittedly not on the scale of today.
It should also be taken into account that the resorts aren't the whole of Mallorca. A booming tourism away from the resorts is characterised by a profile of higher spending. A restaurant in the interior might be doing very nicely thank you, whereas a restaurant in a resort is doing less well.
Ultimately, much of this depends on location, on profile, on product (oh, and throw in price as well). In the resorts there will be those businesses doing a roaring trade while others are not. 2022 and 2023 were boom seasons. Is 2024 a return to the norm?
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I see that the world famous and expensive (for my pocket) Elkano restaurant are opening a branch in Mallorca. Where ? In the interior ? No, in that hub of tourist decay called the Playa de Palma. So, Williams, I presume you won’t be paying them a visit, as you won’t want to mix with the riff raff.
Williams, does Mummy know that you are playing with the computer at this time of night ? You really should be doing your homework, you know.
Richard PearsonAren't locals all destitute? Came over on boats and stuff? How can they afford to eat out - especially when a handful of chips costs a tenner (in Magaluf)? I know you don't get out much, but take a bus out the uncharted wilderness, and listen to the languages spoken by these "locals" packing the restaurants, bars, shops and markets that nobody goes to ... in the outback. I suspect that it's all gobbledegook to you, but maybe you can sense some difference between local language and other "foreigners"? And why are there so many of them? Do they all live here? In the outback? Blimey. No wonder nobody goes there. The whole place is full of foreigners.
Didn’t someone recently write a comment saying the same thing about Palma and its outskirts ?. Which leads me to believe that “booming” restaurants outside of tourist resorts has more to do with the well heeled local population than the fly in, fly out tourists during their six day stay. “At the weekends, restaurants were as busy as ever”. confirms this.
Stan The ManThe "rejection of Tourists" to Mallorca is substantially more reported and exaggerated in British media. German and other European media print a few articles, but they don't really sensationalise it or frame it as "dangerous" or "anti-British" (or "anti-German") like the Brits do. Most Europeans we host seem aware of the anti-tourism movement, but don't take it too seriously. And besides, there's little evidence of it on the ground. Everything's pretty normal, there's precious little graffiti (if any), nobody spits on them or calls them names, their favourite shops and restaurants are happy to see them, as always. So, it's really not a big surprise if the British resorts are struggling a bit. Brits generally don't book too far away from those hotspots. The rest of tourism (which eclipses British tourism by orders of magnitude) aren't quite as insular about it, and actually prefer a more quality experience rather than a crowded, rowdy resort. So, you'll find them everywhere on the island, and particularly in the higher-end accommodations - boutique 5* hotels, luxury fincas and villas, etc. And they increasingly come year-round. And that may help explain why the interior isn't really affected by it much.
I am surprised at the reported increases in this Article. The UK have been through a credit squeeze and tightening their belts etc. So their spending position is reduced. Plus the rejection of Tourists to Mallorca.
"It should also be taken into account that the resorts aren't the whole of Mallorca. A booming tourism away from the resorts is characterised by a profile of higher spending. A restaurant in the interior might be doing very nicely thank you, whereas a restaurant in a resort is doing less well." Hmm.