Jason MoorePalma02/10/2019 09:51
TW
1

The summer season is coming to an abrupt end helped in no small part by the demise of Thomas Cook. Summer 2019 will be a season to forget. It will also be known as the year when Thomas Cook ceased trading but there are other worrying signs for the industry on the island which need to be tackled.

It was always going to be a bad season anyhow; a sizeable number of tourists elected to ditch the Balearics and go to cheaper holiday destinations in North Africa and Turkey.

There was a backlash against cruise ships with the Balearic government promising to try and reduce the number of vessels which visit the Port of Palma. So all is not well within the principal Balearic industry. How are the Balearics going to compete against cheaper destinations? Are cruise ship really wanted here anymore? These are questions which need to be answered sooner rather than later.

Then there is the tourist tax. Is the government right to continue to charge tourists to come on holiday here at a time when the industry is struggling?

The collapse of Thomas Cook had been expected. In the short term its demise will cause some financial problems for the industry but I suspect that by next season the void left by the travel firm will be filled by other tour operators. So there is plenty of food for thought. But above all the Balearics need to decide what sort of tourist industry it wants. There is a split within Balearic society but fewer tourists equals less money.