THE Balearic tourist industry is one of the biggest in the world but it still relies heavily on the tour firms and the budget airlines. If you can´t get to Majorca, then there is little point in having hundreds of hotels. Now back in the 1980s there was talk within the industry that the Balearics was far too reliant on the tour firms which decided the fate of the islands every year. There were calls from the hoteliers for the Balearics to establish its own tour firm. In the end the calls came to nothing but perhaps the industry should once again start pushing for “independence.” One of the biggest problems Majorca has during the winter months is the shortage of flights. Hotels say that they will open if there were flights and tourists appear willing to come here in the winter. And then there is the big problem of the lack of flights between the islands. So perhaps it is time for the Balearics to be bold, and form its own airline. “Air Balearics” would operate for the benefit of the islands bringing tourists in the winter and summer months and making sure that there is an acceptable level of flights between the islands and the mainland. Malta has established its own airline so why don´t the Balearics do the same? There are enough big hotel chains on the island which Iam sure would be willing to back the proposal because it would also give them a degree of independence as well. These islands have been a pioneer in both tourism and transport. Take the Soller train, built 100 years ago and still an engineering masterpiece and ofcourse the hotel industry. It can be done, and it could just work.