Pepe Tirado, president of the Acotur association of tourist services businesses, says that Mallorca's resorts are full of tourists but that they are spending very little. He estimates that shops' revenue has fallen this summer by up to 20%.
Illegal street selling is not doing shops, "who pay their taxes", any favours. Tirado says this is "rampant" in resort areas like Magaluf and Playa de Palma.
"Hotel occupancy is good, but spending has decreased." In his view, this is due to an upswing in all-inclusive hotel packages, something that he and Acotur have been campaigning against for years. The Mallorca Hoteliers Federation has not commented on whether there is more all-inclusive or not; it will make an assessment once the season is over.
It's a similar story with the island's markets. A case in point is the Arta market. On Tuesday it was packed with tourists, but traders have told the town hall that sales have decreased this summer. The councillor for markets and economic development, Maria Antònia Sureda, expressed her concern on Tuesday, adding that there is lower spending at markets across Mallorca.
The supermarkets are a bright spot for the retail sector. Carles Tarancón of the distributors association says sales have increased and that these are "within expectations". He doesn't attribute the increased sales to tourists spending less in restaurants.
Supermarkets, he explains, are making an effort to adapt to customer needs. They have extended opening hours in resorts and are offering products from the main tourism markets, such as Germany and the UK.