Palma.It is official, the Balearics is back in favour with the British holiday market.
The latest industry figures, which were released during The Taste of Spain promotion at Canary Wharf at the end of last week, show that during the first four months of this year, 25 percent more British visitors came to the Balearics than during the same period last year.
Over Christmas, reports began emerging from the British holiday industry that Britons were beginning to book their holidays earlier than usual with Spain and the Balearics attracting the most interest, but the market forecasts certainly did not predict such a huge increase so early on in the year.
The Director of the Spanish Tourist Board,. Turespaña, in London, Ignacia Vasallo, told the Bulletin in Palma last week that the region was selling well, but the figures he released yesterday exceeded all expectations and points to a very good summer with regards to the British market with 3.2 million already booked to come to the Balearics.
According to figures produced by airport authority AENA, 245'850 more British tourists flew into the Balearics between January and April than last year and each of the three main islands enjoyed a share of the boom.
However, it is Ibiza which has been leading the way with a 37.4 percent increase in British tourists, 23'529 to be exact.
Majorca
Majorca was the second most popular island with 214'035 British visitors, 24.1 percent more than last year, while Minorca welcomed an extra 8'286 which was 19.1 percent more than during the first four months of 2010.
At the Canary Wharf promotional gig, each of the islands showed off their separate attractions and this appears to be appealing to the British market and giving Britons a better idea of what each island has to offer. Majorca promoted its golf, Ibiza its music and nightlife and Minorca and Formentera their history and local produce.
The Balearic Minister for Tourism yesterday said that the latest figures are extremely encouraging and should inject some much needed confidence in the tourist industry.