Dear Sir,
Anyone underestimating the challenge of rebooting Majorca in general, and Palma in particular, as an all-year-round go-to destination only had to join me on a Jet2 flight to our island this morning.
It would have provided food for thought - and great research material - for delegates returning from the World Travel Market in London, where the much-trumpeted Palma 365 campaign made yet another comeback.
For they would have been among just 31 passengers on board this direct flight to the sun - escaping shivering temperatures in the UK for the princely air fare of just £22. From a local airport. Flight time of 2 hours 17 minutes. At a great departure time for either a long weekend or more.
Carriers like the loyal and supportive Jet2 must increasingly be scratching their heads at the row after row of empty seats. What incentive is there to maintain such routes at this time of the year, never mind increase them? Especially as the flight from the adjacent gate - to Tenerife - was rammed. Passengers were armed with the morning papers, all with headlines screaming big and loud about the Majorca tourist tax.
Against this backdrop, the tourism supremos face a task which I fear even Hercules would draw a line at.
Yours,
Richard Chew
Calvia and Yorkshire