The DRV travel association in Germany is predicting that the number of German tourists in Mallorca this year will increase by at least 300,000. This prediction is based on current sales and forecasts of various tour operators, and so the anticipation is that German tourism will grow by over ten per cent compared with 2022.
Last year, there were 3.9 million German tourists. As with UK tourism, the total was down on what it was pre-pandemic, so 300,000 more visitors in 2023 will take the total back to around where it was in 2019 - 4.2 million.
Tour operators at the ITB Berlin fair were saying on Wednesday that bookings for Turkey have stalled because of the earthquake. Manuel Morales of FTI said that "last-minute sales in May and June will be decisive in indicating the impact on other destinations in the Mediterranean, including the Balearics".
Following meetings he had with tour operators on Wednesday, the Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, observed that the optimism in Berlin "confirms the positive forecasts at the Fitur fair in Madrid in January". The most important thing, he added, is that "the season this year will last from February to mid-November, with the consequent impact at an economic and employment level and on the entire productive fabric of the islands".