The Hotel Maristel in Estellencs has taken billboard advertising space on New York's Broadway to promote honeymoon holidays.
This is in association with the Dallas-based online bookings agency, Hotels.com, and the promotion has come as a pleasant surprise to the Council of Mallorca. The promotion, says the Council, is "very positive" because the hotel is seeking to capture a market segment with great growth potential in the US. It is the first time that a Mallorcan hotel has promoted itself directly in New York with such an offer.
Tourism councillor Andreu Serra describes this as a campaign directed at an "unexplored segment of the north American market" in promoting the island as the ideal destination for a honeymoon. Mallorca is attractive because "we have the hotel facilities, the infrastructure and the air connectivity, plus we are safe". It has come about as a result of the success of the United Airlines direct service between New York-Newark and Palma.
United is to extend this service in 2023. The first flight will be on April 7, almost two months earlier than this year. It will operate until September 13, although the Council and the Palma 365 Tourism Foundation are hopeful there may be a further extension into October.
The promotion by the Maristel evokes what was a highly successful promotion of Mallorca in the 1950s. The Fomento del Turismo (Mallorca Tourist Board) publicised the island as a destination for 'la luna de miel' (honeymoon).