Forecast figures for the late tourism season in the Balearics are similar to those of 2024. Airline programming for September is roughly the same and hotels expect occupancy to be much in line with that of July and August.
The number of airline seats in September, according to the association that coordinates time slots, is 6.7 million, just fractionally below last year (-0.2%). The number of flights, 39,077, is seven per cent lower, but is largely explained by the fact that airlines are operating larger planes. This has been the case throughout the summer.
Forecasts for hotel occupancy vary by areas, as they always do, but some groups are anticipating close to 90%, which is likely to rise because of last-minute bookings. The Mallorca Hoteliers Federation expects staffing levels to mirror those of July and August. The Balearics attracted 2.5 million tourists in September 2024 - 1.7 million in Mallorca - and these figures are likely to be more or less repeated this year.
While the hotels and airlines are pointing to good prospects, the same can't be said for the holiday rentals sector (the licensed sector, that is). The manager of the Habtur association, Maria Gibert, says "bookings have stalled" and suggests there could be a fall in the region of 20% compared with 2024.
The CAEB Restaurants Association recently expressed its hope that September "will save the season". Other than reasonable performance for part of July, the association has been referring to a downturn that started in May.
The Balearic Government earlier this week queried the restaurants' complaints about a weak season by pointing to August employment figures which indicated a nine per cent fall in unemployment in the restaurant sector. The retailers, for their part, have queried the National Statistics Institute's figures. The Afedeco association believes these are "a mirage that does not reflect the reality of traditional retailing".
While airline seat supply is practically unaltered, seats for the largest tourism market, Germany, has been reduced by just over three per cent. But even with a decline in German tourism this summer, detectable at national level as well as in the Balearics, the islands (overwhelmingly Mallorca) have this year attracted just over 40% of all German tourists in Spain. Based on performance for the summer months, this percentage will probably be higher in September.