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Hoteliers in Mallorca take drastic action

Hotel occupation set to plummet in Mallorca

German tourists at Palma Airport. recent photo. | T. Ayuga

| Mallorca-International |

The restrictions in Europe and the UK have forced Balearic Hotel chains to rethink their strategy yet again.

Palma airport will still have significant air traffic this week, but the flight schedule for all foreign airlines will plummet from April 19.

On top of all that, the main British tourist group Jet2 has cancelled all holidays and flights until June 24, because of Government uncertainty over foreign travel.

Mallorca is the most affected tourist destination in the Mediterranean, with more than 130,000 plane seats cancelled as of Monday, April 12, on flights between now and June 23, according to a report by Mabrian Consultancy.

Germany has said it’s closing the perimeter between every region, or Länder in the country.

"Indirectly that means banning flights, which is completely detrimental to the tourist interests of Mallorca, because it's the main holiday destination for Germans,” said a hotel chain Spokesperson.

The German Government cannot ban foreign flights, but by closing the perimeter between regions, it does stop German tourists from travelling to International airports.

That’s forcing Hotel chains that operate with the British and German market to take drastic action.

We are already planning to close hotels that were opened at the end of March for Easter,” they said.

The closure of Hotel Chains in Mallorca is also devastating news for hundreds of workers who will have to return to ERTE.

“It is the last thing we want, because the situation at the moment is very delicate and from next week occupancy levels and aircraft traffic at Palma airport will plummet,” they added.

Many hotels opened for Easter to accommodate German families who came to Mallorca for the school holidays and average occupancy was 70%-80% and more than 90% at some hotels in Playa de Palma.

"The problem now is that occupancy will be below 30% next week. The aim was to keep the hotels open by offering bargains in European emitting markets, but the restrictive measures that are being approved directly harm us,” said hoteliers in Playa de Palma and Cala Millor.

The British Government’s decision to force travellers to submit mandatory negative PCR tests when they arrive in the UK, coupled with Germany’s regional restrictions, gives competing destinations such as Egypt and Greece a distinct advantage and both countries are on track to vaccinate all Tourism Sector workers before the summer season gets underway.

Balearic chains and family hotel companies have decided to close for the rest of April and the first two weeks May.

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