Hotels in Mallorca are said to be anticipating a Christmas with increased tourist activity compared with last year.
The evidence for this, however, seems mostly confined to Palma, where the president of the hoteliers association, Javier Vich, says that occupancy at Christmas will be 80%, rising to 90% for New Year. As well as foreign tourists, he points to strong demand from the national market.
The president of the Aviba travel agencies association, Pedro Fiol, explains that 80% of his members expect a Christmas with figures equal to or higher than last year. He adds that advance bookings are increasing, especially for the German market, the main driving force of the tourism sector over the low season. "It is the market that contributes most to addressing seasonality. In addition, we have recently discovered that Mallorca is also an important attraction for the German market due to the winter cruise offer."
Although the focus is on Palma, Mallorca and the Balearics are expecting two records for this low season: for international arrivals in general and for German arrivals in particular. And German visitors overwhelmingly opt for Mallorca over the other islands. The airlines' forecasts point to a 10% higher volume of bookings than last year for flights to the islands from November to March.
Vich has previously said that almost 100% of hotels in Palma will be open during the whole of the low season.
Away from Palma, the demand is principally for interior tourism, which has been growing in recent years. In resort areas, very few hotels are open, a situation that will only start to change in February.