Businesses in the Balearics are reducing demand on the distribution of food and other products. They are doing so because of an apparent fall in tourism.
The president of the association of distributors, Bartomeu Servera, says that companies involved in storage and supply have noted a decrease in demand and that this is causing some alarm. The situation, he adds, is set to last at least until mid-April and Easter.
Compared with January and February in 2018, there was an average decrease of three per cent. If that level of decline were to continue, there would be a serious problem for the distribution sector.
Jaime Mora of the Pimem association of small to medium-sized businesses agrees that there has been a slowdown in demand because of reduced tourism. Moreover, hotels are waiting as long as possible before opening.
Where the hotels are concerned, Servera believes that they should adjust their prices, i.e. bring them down, in order to boost tourism and so therefore demand for distribution services. He accepts, however, that this is a business decision for the hotels.
Although the distributors are pointing to a fall in demand, there is a mixed message about tourism. January's foreign tourism figures, as reported in yesterday's Bulletin, indicated that there was a 19% increase in the number of tourists.