PALMA
OFFICIAL figures released yesterday show that the Balearics' three airports handled four percent less passengers during July and seven percent less during the first half of August but the hotel sector has posted a drop in revenue of around 25 percent and that is what is causing the local tourist industry the most concern.
The Balearic Minister for Tourism, Miguel Nadal, revealed the airport figures yesterday and claimed that the current summer season has so far performed slightly better than in 2005, but is down in comparison to the record years of 2007 and 2008 during which the region handled some 13 million visitors.
However, as the Bulletin reported last Saturday, the outlook for September and October is not very pessimistic, according to Nadal.
Nevertheless, the Minister did express his confidence that there will be a slight up turn in bookings with holiday markets buying at the very last minute and hoteliers dropping their prices.