Not that I am planning on leaping on a plane in the immediate future, but out of interest I have been keeping a check on the cost of inter-island flights while Palma has been pressing Madrid for island hopping to be allowed from next week.
Great idea. Let’s get moving, catching up with friends and family members we have not seen for months and injecting some money into the local economy. However, someone needs to have a serious look at the air fares.
I trawled through a number of on line booking agencies and flights from Palma to Minorca are currently around the 500 euro mark and a friend who is desperate to visit her ill sister near Valencia is being quoted prices of over 350 euros return via Germany. There are no direct flights on offer to Valencia which is normally a 30 minute trip.
The Balearic government has one eye firmly on foreign tourism but also has plans to boost domestic tourism - at those prices, I can’t see it happening.
What is more, one in four Spaniards believe that they will not take a hoilday this summer and will not travel, according to a survey carried out by consultancy firm EY-Parthenon. The poll found that 41% will opt for national destinations, and only 9% believe that they will go abroad.
Price will be king this year, more than ever, and the Balearics has to get its costings right.