Tourist numbers in Mallorca and the Balearics registered an expected increase in January compared with January 2021, but they were still well off what they were in 2020 and so just before the pandemic.
In total there were 160,355 tourists in the Balearics, with 123,984 in Mallorca. Of these, 83,120 were foreign (the Balearics); 72,587 in Mallorca. The largest foreign market was Germany - 41,927 Balearics, 40,955 Mallorca. In second place was the UK - 8,205 and 6,176.
In January 2021, there were 49,223 tourists in all, 39,849 in Mallorca. Foreign tourism amounted to 15,182 (Balearics) and 12,947 (Mallorca). Figures for Germany were 5,223 and 4,793; for the UK 1,508 and 1,192.
Going back to 2020, there were 240,766 tourists, 204,887 in Mallorca. Foreign tourism was 103,772 (Balearics) and 95,206 (Mallorca). German tourism in the Balearics was 54,769 and in Mallorca 53,970; UK was 7,760 and 6,720 respectively. Compared with 2020, the level of foreign tourism in January 2022 was therefore in line with the rest of Spain - around two-thirds.
Using January as an indicator of recovery is inconclusive. Omicron was a factor in holding tourist numbers back, if not as great a one as had been anticipated, while January is January - predictions for Easter onwards are for much greater levels of recovery.
It is also worth noting that tourism in January 2020 was lower than in 2019 - 141,922 foreign tourists in the Balearics and 131,433 in Mallorca out of total tourist numbers of 266,784 (Balearics) and 226,136 (Mallorca). Foreign tourism was therefore higher than Spanish, which wasn't the case in either 2020 or 2021. UK tourism slumped in January 2020 from 19,050 in the Balearics in January 2019 and 16,465 in Mallorca.