An opinion survey on our website launched this morning could explain why there was a 10 percent drop in British tourism to the Balearics in July. Although the actual number of votes is still low (100 people have voted) the chief reason given for not coming on holiday to the islands this year was that it was too expensive.
The anti-tourism protests, staged throughout the summer, have also had an impact, according to the poll. It had been suggested that the protests had come too late in the season to have a direct affect on holiday bookings this year, but this does not appear to be the case.
Tourism to the islands overall was up in July but there was a big drop in the number of British and mainland Spain visitors. Their fall was counterbalanced by a rise in the number of German visitors.
Even the problems at Palma airport (the airport was closed during a freak storm at the start of the season and flights cancelled during another bad storm last month) have had an impact, according to the poll.
The fall in the number of British tourists will get alarm bells ringing at the local ministry for tourism. Britain is one of the top markets for Balearic tourism.