Mixed messages

Now, calm down dear. One thing is that sales for Balearic package holidays are already up five percent on this time year, but Rome was not built in a day, as economic experts point out in today's Bulletin.

The British market is satisfied and confident that holiday sales will outstrip this year but none of the tour operators I have been in contact with over the past few months have suggested that they will begin operations in the Balearics as early as February, as claimed by President Jose Ramon Bauza in London on Wednesday.

To start with, the tour operator winter flight plans were confirmed months ago as were the winter brochures, so neither flights nor packages are going to be available.

Secondly, even if there were the extra flights, where are people going to sleep?
In February, 85 percent of the hotels are going to be closed and we have heard nothing from the hoteliers about them opening early.
In fact, many are not even going to open until after Easter which falls at the end of March and, as things stand at the moment, the hoteliers are not likely to do Bauza any favours having been stung by his new economic and tourism tax reforms.

Yes, there are more flights from the UK to the Balearics this winter but I think something got lost in translation during Bauza's visit to the World Travel Market.