Forecasts from the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation suggest that between February and March half of the island's hotels will open. By Easter, the number will be significantly higher.
Where the largest tourism market is concerned - Germany - it is recognised that the economic situation "is not favourable", but the forecasts are nevertheless positive. One major operator, Tui, starts its Tui fly schedules from certain German airports to Mallorca this weekend. The CEO of Tui in Spain, Ian Livesey, says that some 2,500 tourists will arrive this week; the number will be 3,500 next week.
There is a progressive opening of hotels, with Playa de Palma having the most - 33 hotels will be open this weekend, including five five-star establishments. In general, hotel activity in February is driven by the German market, and so resorts that are traditionally popular with the German market will be the first ones to benefit. The second largest foreign market, the UK, will begin to take off from the middle of March.
The number of hotels opening early is not exceptional. The pandemic obviously had a negative impact, but in years prior to Covid, the trend towards early opening had become established. It varied, and still does vary, according to resort, with the busiest resorts being those where hotels and complementary offer (shops, restaurants) have geared up for activity tourism, cycling especially. A case in point is Playa de Muro, where restaurants will anticipate good business this month as the cycling season gets under way.