At the annual tourism sector risk management conference in Palma on Friday, the conclusion was that the positive results for this summer will not continue over the autumn and the winter.
It doesn't really require a gathering of leading figures in the tourism and travel sectors to figure out why this might be. Inflation, the increase in energy prices, war in Ukraine; these are all factors that everyone is aware of. And because everyone is aware, it is the impact on the 2023 season in Mallorca and the Balearics that is more relevant than winter tourism, for the simple reason that there isn't a great deal of winter tourism.
Even so, the conference observed that a decrease in winter tourism can already be detected. This trend is likely to continue into 2023 because travel will become more expensive.
Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, was at the conference to hear tourism sector representatives suggest that government policies for circularity and sustainability - as contained in the recently approved tourism law - may well be "nullified" by economic conditions.
The president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, was of the opinion that a proposal for an increase in tourist tax was "ridiculous", especially given the current circumstances.
She said that indicators for the 2023 are not good. The situation both globally and nationally is "difficult" and bookings three months in advance have dropped. Mallorca "is already slowing down", despite the visitors the island has had this summer and the figures showing economic recovery. "There really is a halt in reservations."