Tour Operators and Airlines in the UK and Germany say reservations for flights and holidays in Mallorca over Christmas and New Year have ground to a halt because of the new travel restrictions announced by the British Foreign Office, Berlin's advice not to travel, the increase in Covid infections and uncertainty over the omicron variant of coronavirus.
“The situation is very complicated and Mallorca will be affected, but to a lesser extent than the Canary Islands. The decisions made in London and Berlin benefit no one and have already affected the Christmas campaign,” said British and German Tour Operators and Tourist Groups. “We will have to wait and see how the level of contagion evolves in the next 10 days and whether these restrictions are intensified.”
DRV and ABTA are also deeply concerned and have severely criticised the decisions made by Britain and Germany.
“Having to do a pre-departure and 2nd day PCR test directly affects everyone who enters the UK, so there is a lot of uncertainty” they said.
EasyJet, Ryanair, Condor and Eurowings and other companies say airline reservations for trips to Mallorca at Christmas are paralysed over fears that restrictions will be tightened even further.
Hotels
There are currently 110 hotels open in Mallorca and most of them are in Palma, Playa de Palma and Cala Millor.
“After the announcements made by the German and British Governments reservations for Mallorca have stopped,” said Palma and Cala Mayor Hotel Association President, Javier Vich. “Everyone is waiting to see how events unfold and there are no new hotel reservations for December 23, 24, 25 and 26 or for New Year.”
Since the German Government advised people not travel at Christmas and the UK announced that two negative PCR tests are required (1: pre-departure and 2: 2 days after arrival) pre-departure and 2 days after arrival, Mallorcan Hoteliers with establishments in the Canary Islands say reservations have plummeted and some bookings have already been cancelled.
Occupancy levels at urban hotels in Palma were looking very positive, but they have also come to a complete standstill.
“We do not know what will happen, which is worrying, but we have to get used to the evolution of the pandemic in source markets,” added Vich.
Hoteliers say some people are ignoring Berlin’s recommendations regarding travel to Mallorca.
“Some senior German tourists and couples have confirmed their reservations, because they feel safer in Mallorca,” said a spokesperson. “We are adopting extra measures to make sure our customers have maximum health security, but day to day political decisions really affect our marketing.”