The official line is that the Balearics is heading for a record summer season, but I am not convinced. While the island does appear to be exceptionally busy, the spending power of tourists is expected to fall. There appears, and I must admit that I have no official figures to back this statement up and it is only a hunch, that the number of British tourists heading to our shores has dropped, probably as a result of Brexit and the weaker pound.
The school summer holidays in Britain start shortly of course and obviously the island can expect a mini invasion from Britain, but I am told that May, June and even July have been poor for the British market in some areas. I am not really surprised. The uncertainty after the Brexit vote has been enormous and sterling has dropped by about 10 per cent. Consumer confidence in Britain has also fallen sharply. This could explain the sudden lack of British tourists.
I sincerely doubt that this will be a record summer season. In fact, Brexit probably means that it will be a season to forget rather than remember. The dangers were always on the horizon for the tourist trade if Britain voted to leave the European Union. These dangers have obviously materialised. Soon or later the initial Brexit shock will pass and British tourists will realise that sterling has not gone into meltdown and they are still getting a relatively good rate of exchange. But it may be too late for this summer season.