The high season is drawing to a close and some of the Balearic tourist businesses are being forced to lower prices and launch special offers to encourage last-minute bookings and fill the places. The drop in demand at the end of August and for the remainder of the season is being felt more in some sectors than in others, although there is a general feeling that this year the purchasing power of visitors has fallen due to the rise in prices, which has particularly affected domestic tourism, so it will be difficult to match the results of 2023.
In Menorca, for example, cars hire rates have been cut by 20 per cent. Discounts of up to 40 percent are also being applied by the holiday home rental companies, especially for the month of September. Another sector that is offering discounts at the end of the summer is maritime transport, with reductions of up to 20 percent for travel to the island from the mainland.
And it is not just Menorca. Ibiza’s luxury hotels have launched promotions and offers to fill up their vacancies. The Hotel Managers Association says that August has been a “positive” month, with “complicated” realities that have coexisted at the same time. Luxury hotels in Ibiza are launching promotions and offers of up to 30% to fill their vacancies
At the beginning of August, the Council Ibiza warned that two- to four-star hotels were possibly performing better this season, while five-star establishments and agrotourism hotels were suffering “more than other years”, probably due to their high prices. However, from the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers (AEDH) in the Balearics, its president Alicia Reina says that the month of August in Ibiza has been “positive”, although with “complicated” realities that have coexisted at the same time on the island.
According to her, occupancy in August has remained stable compared to previous years, although with a slight decrease in some establishments due to high competition and the diversification of the accommodation on offer. In this sense, she considered that luxury hotels and those with exclusive offers have continued to attract tourists with high purchasing power, which has allowed them to maintain high rates.
“In August we have been close to 2023 numbers and during the first three weeks there have been last-minute bookings, with long stays of between five and six nights. From the fourth week onwards, bookings have slowed down, returning to the usual dynamic of previous months, with peaks in occupancy and price rises at weekends and falls during the week,” said the president of AEDH.
Reina recalled that we are coming from a “record” year such as 2023, “difficult to beat”.
Therefore, the results of the current season can be considered “a complete success”.
So, the verdict is out and now car rental companies in Mallorca have cut their rates while hotel chains are now starting to offer very attractive discounts of around 30 percent if not more if you shop around.