The president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, accepts that the decrease in the number of international flights this Easter is "quite sharp", but more important - she stresses - is the number of hotels that will be open.
The airports authority Aena has reported that there will be 3,074 flights at Palma between March 22 and April 1, way down on the 5,028 from March 31 to April 10 last year. Although Easter is this year only a week earlier than in 2023, it makes all the difference in terms of flights. This is because of airlines' summer schedules, which come into effect in April.
The president of the Aviba travel agencies association, Pedro Fiol, says: "Easter has never been significant enough to add considerable numbers of flights. It has never been the trigger for air frequencies to be increased." The decisive factor is therefore whether Easter coincides with the airlines' summer season or not.
The flights aside, Frontera highlights the level of hotel opening - 71%. "We have never seen this number before. And the average occupancy rate, as of today, is 62-64%." This occupancy could well grow but will depend on the weather; the Easter forecast from the Aemet met agency isn't that great.
The federation's figures indicate that Palma currently has the highest occupancy rate - 84%. This is followed by Playa de Muro (72%), Playa de Palma (70%), Colonia Sant Jordi (65%), Palmanova-Magalluf and Pollensa both 62%, Alcudia-Can Picafort 56%, and Soller 52%. Elsewhere it is between 40 and 50%.