Jason Moore12/03/2017 00:00
TW
2

The sun is shining and Majorca is set for another holiday season. No one doubts that it will be a good one, but just how good? According to the Balearic government, it is going to be the best holiday season ever (again, I should add), but there are some question marks, namely price. Success appears to have gone to the heads of local hoteliers who decided to raise their prices, prompting some leading tour firms to bring out the turkey ... literally. Turkey, as we all know, is cheaper than Majorca but last year it was hit by security concerns and many tourists opted to come to the Balearics instead. But Turkey is by no means stuffed as a mass holiday destination and tour firms are playing a game of cat-and-mouse with local hoteliers.

At the moment they are standing firm and keeping their prices in place with no special offers. In fact the hoteliers federation has accused some tour firms of trying to bring too much pressure down on their members. So Turkey or not? Probably not but the Balearics are not going to have it all their own way. Other holiday destinations around the Mediterranean want a slice of the action. And they will get it because price is always key. There are also question marks over the British market. A lower pound will mean that British tourists will be going all-inclusive and looking for greater bargains, and as we know there are few bargains about in the Balearics; well at least at the moment.

The resorts are slowly coming to life after the long winter and Palma was buzzing yesterday with an influx of the first cruise passengers of the year. To put things in a nutshell, no one can doubt that Majorca will not have a good season. But perhaps the industry should remember that it does have competition. Resorts on the mainland are selling far better than the Balearics at the moment: for a simple reason, price. Price is going to be key this summer.