The poor start to the summer season has probably meant that the island can’t look forward to the record summer season which had been promised just a few months ago. Local businesses are complaining about a major fall in profits because of the shortage of visitors. This is probably as a result of the rather unseasonal weather at Easter and now also this month.
There are other concerns which the local authorities and the tourism industry have to deal with. The first is obviously the increase in the rate of the tourist tax. Holidaymakers are said to be angry that they are being charged double the rate they had to pay last year. Then there is the threat from cheaper holiday destinations in the eastern Mediterranean. The drop in the value of sterling against the euro has meant that their spending power has fallen dramatically and cheaper destinations such as Turkey and resorts in north Africa are becoming more attractive. There is also the perception that Majorca has become rather anti-tourist. This is far from the case, but it is a line which continues to appear in the international media.
All in all, I would say that the tourism industry has some serious problems. The season will be a good one but probably not the record one that most people had expected. My advice to the tourism industry is to try and make visiting tourists as welcome as possible, because if the downward trend continues then Majorca will have problems.