“Judging by what I saw in Palmanova on Friday night, there is hope for the future....”

“Judging by what I saw in Palmanova on Friday night, there is hope for the future....” | Emilio Queirolo

Jason MoorePalma19/07/2021 09:31
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I like Palmanova. It is a great spot. After a week when it appeared that the lights were going out for the Mallorcan tourist industry I was pleasantly surprised to find how busy it was with British tourists. The bars and restaurants were packed and you could be forgiven for thinking that Covid had gone away and we were back to normal.

Sadly, this is not the case but happily it is not as bad as some people say. Granted a sizeable number of hotels have not opened but British tourists are coming to the island and the move from Green to Amber on Britain´s traffic light safe travel system appears to have made little difference.

Infact, the majority of Britons have received the double jab which means that they can travel to the Balearics without the need to quarantine on return. To be honest it might have been better if the British government had abolished the traffic light system and just made it clear that providing you had received the double jab, you could go on holiday. End of the story.

The big question which needs to be asked is whether the islands are attracting enough tourists to swing the local economy back into positive territory. We will probably have a better season than last year but still far behind 2019 before the pandemic hit.

It is not easy to be upbeat, the number of cases of the coronavirus appear to be on the increase and certain countries are introducing travel restrictions. But, the picture in Palmanova on Friday night paints a different story.

There is hope for the future and Mallorca will continue to attract tourists whatever the problems. But the biggest question is how many will come this season.