90 percent is not 100

Well for once the official figures can be believed, Majorca can´t even fill its hotels in August. The hoteliers federation said yesterday that hotels are just 90 percent full in the peak summer month. Now, some would say that “almost full” is very good but for Majorca it is almost a disaster. The season has got shorter every year and is now just concentrated in July and August. These are the months when most businesses make their money to survive the winter. During these months hotels are usually (almost always apart from this year) 100 percent full and there are cases of overbooking. I am not really surprised. The combination of the recession, the Olympics and the “Stay at Home” holiday campaign has hit bookings in Britain. The Germans, are now slowly starting to go elsewhere. The poor hotel occupancy rate is probably one of the reasons why hoteliers want a crackdown on “illegal” holiday apartments. But holiday apartments are not the root of all evil, I would say that the Majorcan tourist industry has become rather old-fashioned and has failed to move with the times. The development plans for Magalluf are a real step forward and other resorts should be encouraged to follow suit. There are many problems which need to be resolved. The fact that you are charged 50 euros to pay for a translator when you have been mugged rather sums up Majorca in 2012. Tourists need to be welcomed not exploited for their hard earned cash.