Palma.—According to the results of a study carried out by the Balearic Director General for the Economy and Statistics, these figures include what the tourists pay for their package and their flight and is the sector of the market which is posting the most growth.
The report reveals that all inclusive packages now account for 30 percent of the total expenditure by tourists staying in hotels which last year hit 8.3 billion euros.
The report is further evidence that demand for all inclusive packages is continuing to grow, hence why more and more hotels in the Balearics are either offering all inclusive options or simply switching exclusively to all inclusive.
But, in comparison to other destinations such as Turkey, one of the Balearics’ main competitors which is enjoying a very successful summer this year, the all inclusive market has not grown as fast here in the Balearics over the past few years.
At the end of last season, 34 percent of the region’s hotels were all inclusive, compared to 90 percent of hotels in Turkey.
Bed and breakfast and full board option has also grown in popularity.
The bed and breakfast market generated some 1.7 billion euros in 2013 and full board, 308 million euros, around 11 percent more than in 2012.
However, the half board market contracted slightly by five percent generating 2.5 billion euros.
The holiday let market is, nevertheless, still extremely lucrative.
Visitors who did not stay in a hotel generated some 3.7 billion euros for the local economy last year, 3.3 percent more than during the previous year and this sector is expected to post significant growth this year, as is the ‘property swap’ option which is also proving increasingly popular.The two markets driving the tourism economy are the British and the German and in total, visitors to the Balearics spent 12 billion euros last year, nearly six percent more than in 2012 with the domestic Spanish market accounting for just 1.4 billion.
The domestic market is however showing signs of recovering this year and the island where visitors spend the most on eating and drinking out is Ibiza.