The purchase of hotels, apartments and other types of accommodation by European companies, especially German, reached a level of investment between January and June that was more or less equivalent to the whole of 2015.
In the first half of the year, total foreign investment was 260.7 million euros (142.6 million by German companies). For the whole of last year it was 267.1 million, while in 2014 it had been 269.2 million. Of the 260.7 million, 139.5 million was spent on hotels.
This heightened investment activity is principally on account of tour operators seeking to guarantee places over the next few years. Regardless of talk of other destinations making a comeback, there is a general belief that Majorca will continue to experience record levels of demand.
After Germany, there has been investment of 32.2 million euros from US sources, a reflection of investment by US companies with international interests rather than because of US tourism. Swiss investment has accounted for over 20 million, while Norway, Sweden and Denmark have between them invested 18 million, an increase of some 30% over previous years.
Up to June, over 80% of foreign investment was in real estate. In addition to hotels, there has been investment in luxury accommodation and other property developments. According to the Balearic college of architects, this shows no sign of slowing down in the short, medium or long terms.
UK investment was 15.7 million euros. Since the referendum result, this investment has stalled but it is being offset by investment from other overseas markets.