Javier Vich, president of the Palma and Cala Major Hoteliers Association, says that Palma's boutique and city hotels are maintaining their activity thanks to Spanish tourism but that this activity is "far from what would have been expected".
Forty-five of the 72 establishments are open. Their average occupancy is between 20 and 35 per cent. It had been anticipated that these figures would improve in August. However, hoteliers have already taken the decision not to open because of a fall in demand from the main foreign tourism markets.
Vich notes that the current flexibility with cancellations is making "any type of control unfeasible". "The fact that reservations can be cancelled one day ahead is distorting everything. At present, the reality is that there are more cancellations than reservations. The Spanish market is the only one to show a positive trend, is therefore maintaining acceptable occupancy levels and is preventing more drastic decisions regarding opening or closing."