Dear Sir,
Regarding the article on many fewer tourists booking for this summer and the concellation of numerous flight slots, I see Antich thinks there is a quick process of recuperating the market. How? I can just imagine, come the summer, travel agents in all sorts of countries (but probably mostly Britain and Germany) telling keen, late-booking Majorca fans that yes, there are plenty of available hotel rooms but no flight seats to Majorca - so why not go elsewhere? Next winter is going to be one of discontent and empty pockets for the many ordinary people of Majorca, who do not benefit from the minority golfing, yachting, rich and/or famous, five-star hotel types. The ordinary people (including lots of residents, immigrants, etc) are trying to make a living working in ordinary jobs -- hostals, one, two or three star hotels, bars, menu del día type restaurants, shops, rent a car, etc, -- and depend on the ordinary type of tourist -- there will never be enough of the former type to ensure an adequate living for everyone.
Regards,
Damage was self-inflicted
Dear Sir,
The Bulletin's comments on last year's airport coach strike were right on the button (Saturday 16 Feb). Up until the strike our holiday apartment business was right on budget. By the end of the year we were 9 per cent down. This may not seem much but if your normal profit margin is say 18 per cent it means your profits are halved. In a typical year we get about 15 per cent of our business through last minute bookings. After the strike they dried up completely. If the tourists are considering Turkey, Cyprus, Florida, Majorca, their decision becomes easier if one of the resorts has a large negative against it. People ask how we were affected by the US air disaster of 11 September. Not at all, I reply, our air disaster happened 2 months earlier and it was selfinflicted.