A message coming from the ITB Berlin tourism fair is that Mallorca will be a refuge holiday destination this summer. This is despite but also because of the situation in Ukraine.
The German travel association, DRV, says that tour operators have their sights set on safe destinations such as Mallorca, and ABTA in the UK is saying much the same thing.
Meetings involving the Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, the director-general of tourism, Rosana Morillo, and representatives of the Lufthansa group confirm this interest. The CEO of Eurowings, Jens Bishop, has told the Balearic government that there are excellent prospects for the summer. The Lufthansa group has scheduled 535 weekly flights to Mallorca. "This is a figure well above what we were operating in 2019." Of these flights, Eurowings will be operating 430, compared to 300 last year.
At the fair, which is being held virtually, tour operators and airlines have been expressing their concern about the situation in Ukraine and are placing their trust in the strength of German demand for Mallorca. The CEO of TUI Deutschland, Stefan Baumert, points out that, despite the war, "indications are that business this year will approach pre-pandemic levels". "TUI Fly will be flying to Mallorca every day from April and the trend is positive."
At present, TUI in Germany isn't observing any change in bookings' behaviour as a result of the war. Latent holiday demand is very significant. Baumert acknowledges that under the current circumstances it is difficult to be considering something as carefree as a holiday. However, "people are longing to have wonderful experiences and travel". At the moment, Mallorca is heading TUI demand for summer holidays above principal competitors, such as Greece and Turkey.