For years now the British holiday market has played second fiddle to the Germans. An estimated one million more Germans come to Mallorca than Brits (in normal circumstances). You could be forgiven for thinking that the British were the forgotten market and as we all know there are no prizes for second place.

In some isolated incidents I have thought that the Mallorcans were not too bothered about the Brits because of the German dominance. But that was then and this is now. All of a sudden everyone is asking me about the “forgotten” market. When will the Brits be coming back is a question which I asked regularly.

Yesterday, I joked with a colleague when asked the same question. “Three years ago you didn't really care and now, all of a sudden, we are flavour of the month,” I replied. But of course the British market is key for Mallorca and vital for the Balearics. If you break down the figures you will find that Britain is the top holiday market for the Balearics (few Germans go to Minorca and Ibiza is not that popular with them).

If all goes according to plan, the Brits will be back in Mallorca next month. There is an important lesson to be learnt here. You can never take any market for granted. It shouldn't be a question of key markets, it is a question of all tourists being made to feel welcome. It will take years for the tourist industry to fully recover but I think the lesson has been learnt; the tourist is a more a friend than ever in the Balearics.