British tourists. | R.I.

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Full marks to the Chief Executive of the Melia Hotel Group, Gabriel Escarrer. He was responding to claims by some who said that they didn´t want to see a return of the record number of tourists who came to the island pre-pandemic in 2019. Escarrer said that these statements were effectively a kick in the teeth for those people who worked in tourism but who were unemployed at the moment and also the closed businesses and those who were having financial problems.

One thing which has become crystal clear over recent months is that Mallorca needs tourism more than tourism needs Mallorca. The local economy has gone into meltdown. Now, is not the time to be talking about less tourists than in 2019, it is more a case of talking more tourists than in 2020. We are certainly not out of the woods yet and there are still question marks over the key British market.

While the Germans rule supreme across Mallorca it is the British who are the top clients across the Balearics with Minorca being especially reliant on British tourists. If the Balearics are not placed on the “Green List” then it will be an economic nightmare for the local economy.

Comments about visitor numbers are rather short-sighted. These comments can be made when the islands are booming not now. To reduce the enormous unemployment rate in the islands, tourists are certainly needed and this is a state of affairs which can´t be forgotten now or later.