For hotels in Palma the season is now twelve months a year. Eighty hotels are members of the Palma Hoteliers Association, these hotels being in or near the old centre. Sixty-four of them will remain open throughout the low season (November to March). The other sixteen are only closing for a month.
City tourism and city hotels are of a different character to resort tourism and hotels. For Playa de Palma there is a separate hoteliers association. Over much of the low season, there will be no more than 20% hotel opening, if that. Cycling tourism brings a push in February, while there are hotels that only open because they get business from the state-subsidised Imserso holidays for senior citizens.
Palma and Playa de Palma are worlds apart, but as Javier Vich points out, the German market is crucial for both these worlds. The president of the Palma Hoteliers Association, Vich highlights the current good performance of the German tourism market. This is giving rise to plenty of low-season optimism, Vich believing that a significant "milestone" has been reached - the almost total all-year opening.
The city attracts high-spending visitors, numbered among whom are some of those who attend a MICE event in Palma. The Palacio de Congresos has greatly enhanced Palma's profile and placed the city well up the list of destinations considered by organisers of conferences and exhibitions. Vich stresses the low-season importance of the Palacio's programme. This is increasing year by year and has a direct impact on hotel occupancy.
One development that could ensure 100% opening going forward concerns the US market. United Airlines is keeping the door open to the possibility of extending the Palma-New York service to the whole year. Antonio de Toro, Country Sales Manager in Spain for United, says: "It is possible. We are seeing a fairly high occupancy volume now and it will depend on how it evolves. The Mallorca brand is growing."