The Balearics are very lucky that they have such loyal tourists. On Monday ten thousand German tourists will start to arrive on the islands as part of a test scheme....it is the curtain raiser for the start of the holiday season.
These are tourists who are desperate to come here on holiday...and full marks to them. I for one would like to wish them a fantastic stay because we need as many tourists as we can get this year and they should be applauded for their loyalty. The Balearic government are very pleased that they are coming but they are still charging them the tourist tax! If ever there was an opportunity to show the world how much the islands wants and need tourism, it was on this occasion.
In the good old days of Majorcan tourism the first plane would have been met by a folk dancing troupe, there would have been flowers and speeches. I doubt that any welcome reception has been organised. I realise that times have changed; in the late 1980s when travel supremo Harry Goodman arrived on the island he was met by the Balearic President and folk dancers and there was a party-like atmosphere. These days it is a multi-million euro business and the industry is run like a corporation. Perhaps, this is the right attitude but I believe that the industry hasn´t changed much at all. It is your summer holiday; your best two weeks of the year and above all you want to feel very welcome. It is about fun not men in suits talking business English. These islands have built a major industry on making tourists feel at home. We shouldn´t forget that and the words thank you should always be ready available.