According to the president of the Abati association of agrotourism and inland tourism, Miquel Artigues, there has been a "continuous trickle" of interest from prospective clients in Germany and Scandinavia seeking long stays over the winter. They are requesting price information and wishing to reach agreements - Artigues explains that discounts of 30 to 40% per month are possible.
"It's the first time that a situation such as this has happened in our sector. It is because energy costs are cheaper here and the climate is more benign than in Germany, Sweden or Norway."
As well as prices, information requests include available services and heating systems in particular. The discounts are crucial, as "prices per day can range between 120 and 600 euros, depending on the type and category of the establishment".
A positive aspect of all this, he adds, is that "business and work activity can be maintained for longer, while employment will be increased over the coming months".
This is an example of so-called 'energy nomad' tourism, one which is being pursued in a coordinated manner elsewhere in Spain. A month ago, the president of the Costa del Sol tourism council, Francisco Salado, announced an "intensive promotional campaign", part of which is designed to attract long-stay visitors over the winter from cold European countries, including the UK. The Costa del Sol, he said, "has the best climate in Europe".
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A AOh, and can a Spanish national come and spend a year in the UK without becoming and "overstayer", subject to penalties or deportation? Why should British nationals in particular, be exempt from commonly accepted internationally recognised immigration norms? Are Britons special in some way?
A ABrits overwhelmingly prefer British beach resorts, which in the winter, are largely ghost towns. They don't like being inconvenienced or subjected to foreign stuff and would rather go to bars & restaurants where there's other Brits. But the British resorts are largely closed up. You wouldn't want to be forced to go to say, Arta or Llucmayor? Yeah, they're open and active, but all but void of British stuff. Besides, British tourism has never been much of a winter activity here, and considering the circumstances, it's probably wiser to just focus on those markets who can, will, and do.
Lisa JuliaVirtually any little village in Mallorca is served with fibre. In my village, the base rate is 600mb/s. I can upgrade to a (more expensive) gigabit with just a click, but I don't need that speed. Most other villages have a baseline of at least 200mb. In the situations where there's no fibre (e.g., in the countryside) there's wimax. It's limited to about 12mb, but it's enough to deliver 2 simultaneous UHD Netflix streams and a concurrent zoom conference. I think that's rather sufficient for most digital nomads. And if not, the host can easily upgrade to a gigabit for a month or two. The Germans love it. They can't get that in most of Germany. I suppose that's another small thing that leads them to dominate "the rest of the island". The hotels may be a bit different story. Their guest profile isn't really mega-users, so you may only get 10mb or so. Check conectabalear or fibwi to see what's available in your patch. You'll probably be surprised.
There are plenty of potential visitors from the UK too, but thanks to Brexit, stays are severely limited in how long they can stay. ***Not even a week in Spain*** if they've had 90 days in other Schengen countries - because crazily the allowance is shared among 26 countries now. Perhaps Armengol might be able to persuade Madrid to grant a Spain-specific visa-waiver for British visitors, so they don't have to rely on the highly restrictive 90/180 Schengen-wide Visa Waiver? This doesn't even affect US/New Zealand/Canadian citizens etc so badly because they all have direct bilateral agreements with Spain for specific time in Spain over and above the time they get in other Schengen countries. It would tide things over until British people can sort out their government to restore Freedom of Movement of People, or rejoin the EU or Single Market. A bad situation for British people AND for local hospitality businesses.... brought about by government politicians who just can't agree on anything.
That’s good news for Palma, but you may find other areas simply don’t have the basic systems in place. The providers, including Movistar, can’t do anything if those all important cables are not in place. Even the ex-mayor can’t get a decent connection to her house in Alcúdia and businesses are in despair. They have banned together to call for action, but that voice appears to be falling on deaf ears. Or perhaps they just can’t connect??? Either way, digital nomads need decent wifi, so marketeers take note.
Lisa JuliaThat's certainly not the case in Palma - Movistar is offering up to 1000 megas. Far better than anything you'll find in the UK.
Sadly what they haven’t mentioned is the appalling situation with connectivity. Much of the island has terrible wifi. Places like Alcúdia are waiting for fibre optic - but after recent council meetings it transpires that could take years to install. Anyone noticing a gap in the marketing plan? The most important service for digital nomads is …. Wifi!!! Dream on.