Bars and restaurants in tourist areas of Mallorca were chock-a-block at Easter with even more customers than before the pandemic in some places, according to CAEB Restauración President, Alfonso Robledo.
Insiders were confident that customers would be queuing up to celebrate at the weekend, but turnover has been even better than anticipated and now that the sun’s out, business is brisk at bars and restaurants in Palma, Andratx, Alcudia and other tourist hotspots.
"The city centre and Playa de Palma are doing very well," said Robledo.
Customers have been finding it difficult to get a table on the terrace at some places in Palma, because reservations are being restricted to people who want to eat food, not just to have drinks.
“In areas where there is more of an influx of visitors things are going really well and in some cases better than pre-pandemia, whereas in others its the same as before, but the places that are just serving residents are below pre-pandemic levels," said Eugenia Cusí.
Restaurateurs have welcomed the massive influx of customers in tourist areas and hope it’s a sign of what’s to come over the summer months.
Although inflation has led to a reduction in profits, many restaurants and bars have opted to raise their prices and are excited about the prospects for the tourist season.
Planning problems
Robledo says the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have caused a lot of problems in the Sector.
"For the last two years it's been very difficult to make plans because one minute we thought a lot of people were coming and the next minute something happened to upset all the forecasts,” he said. “Now we are overwhelmed because we did not expect so many tourists.”