Usually in July and August it is a question of “no room at the inn.” The standard message is if you haven´t booked your peak summer holiday is don´t bother doing it now. But not this year.
I did a quick search of a number of key hotels in resorts yesterday and to my amazement I found that they had empty rooms on the days that I had requested. So if Majorca´s hotels are not full in July and August then the alarm bells should be ringing. Of course there are tourists about but not enough to fill the island´s hotels to full capacity.
So when are the local authorities going to take notice and plan some form of action? Wouldn´t a major advertising campaign in Britain and Germany be a good idea to attract late bookers? A recent report suggests that hotel bookings for July and August are 30 percent down but so far no action. If hotels are not full in July and August there is little chance they will be full in September and October.
Sooner or later the tourist industry will be calling on the government to lend them a helping hand. The tourist tax will be in the spotlight. In the case of the British, the number of British people taking an overseas holiday has actually increased. In May the British overtook the Germans as the Number 1 holiday market for the Balearics but so far there are no official figures with regard to tourism in June or July. A big fall is expected. The airport figures are actually up but hotel occupancy has fallen. The usual summer riddle.