Hopes that the holiday season could be extended into October or even later have been dealt a blow by the thing which Mallorca is famous for....the weather. I know that the local authorities talk much about winter tourism but if there is no sun, I doubt that tourists will come here in any real numbers.
This week´s heavy rains will have put a dampner on the holiday season with more bad weather being forecast for next week.
Mallorca is, and always will be, a beach destination. Granted that there is plenty of beautiful countryside and some first rate events during the low season but northern Europeans come here in search of the good weather.
No sun and the majority of tourists will go elsewhere. The secret of Mallorca´s success....300 days of sunshine every year. Now, heavy rains are normal at this time of the year and they usually mark the end of the holiday season.
If this is the case then the Balearics shouldn´t complain too much, 25 percent of all the tourists who came to Spain last month, holidayed in the Balearics. In fact, I think you could say that the islands have had probably one of the best holiday seasons of any area of Spain.
Yes, I do believe that winter tourism can be increased but it is not going to be an easy task. I remember the veteran airline chief, Willie Walsh, telling me that Mallorca´s relatively cold winter weather was one of the reasons why there weren´t more flights during the winter and of course he is right.