Between October and May, some 300,000 Spanish pensioners will take holidays in the Balearics under the schemes operated by Mundiplan and Mundosenior. This will be the highest number of senior citizens who benefit from reduced cost holidays in the low season.
Mundiplan is a joint venture of which Iberia is a part. Its holidays are those under the Imserso umbrella - Imserso being the national government's institute for senior citizens and social services. Mundiplan expects that 170,000 holidaymakers will come to the Balearics, a figure which could increase by 30,000. This is because the Canary Islands may not take up the full number that have been allocated because of a lack of available hotel beds.
Mundosenior is another joint venture - Barceló and Globalia are key partners. Its holidays are not subsidised by the state but are nevertheless at reduced prices. It anticipates sending 100,000 clients to the Balearics.
The average length of stay is a week or a fortnight. Depending on the number of nights and the type of accommodation, prices range from 188 to 410 euros. The senior citizens holidays amount to more than two million overnight stays, with the majority of them being in Playa de Palma or Palmanova-Magalluf.
Despite the expected record number, this type of holiday isn't entirely popular with all hotels, especially the vacations offered under Imserso. This is because hotels don't consider them to be particularly profitable.