At a Thursday presentation by the CEHAT Spanish Confederation of Hotels and consultants PwC, the message was "let's enjoy the summer" and its good prospects, because there is uncertainty about what will come after the summer.
Positive aspects for the summer identified by the hoteliers included "skyrocketing demand", especially that of the Scandinavian market; positive signs for employment; and recovery of foreign tourism in Spain which is outstripping that of competitors such as Greece and Turkey. There was acknowledgement of difficulties in finding all the qualified personnel that are needed, but the president of CEHAT, Jorge Marichal, pointed to the generation of "quality employment".
The hoteliers' view of the British market was that it will remain loyal to Spain and show resilience, but it was accepted that this is a market which is very sensitive to financial issues. Depreciation of the pound makes it "more difficult" for the British, observed Cayetano Soler, PwC's partner for tourism.
While the feeling was that the summer will be fine, Soler pointed to "increasingly negative" economic indicators. These are likely to erode purchasing power and hotel profits due to increased costs. Future scenarios are "increasingly complex".
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Ya think? I wouldn't expect the OTT demand to continue through the winter. History shows that it's a rather good bet that tourism will slow down after the high season. Magaluf will be mostly boarded up after October as usual. The other 3600 sq km of the island will continue as usual. Nothing new here.
The big hotel chains will do what they always do - close, lay off their staff for 5 months, and expect the government to pay their wages.