Slump in tourist bookings forcing Balearic Hoteliers to close earlier than planned. | Ultima Hora

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Balearic Hotel chains are anticipating closures in Majorca, Minorca, Eivissa and Formentera over the next few days as reservations plummet and an increasing number of tourists from Germany and the UK cancel their bookings.

"The measure that will be adopted shortly, if not within hours, represents a very hard business and labour cost, since there are Hotels that reopened their doors 20 days ago and will have to close them again before August 15 . The current situation is a direct result of the coronavirus crisis and the two main source markets are no longer functioning as they were a week ago,” said Hoteliers in Alcúdia-Can Picafort, Cala Millor, Platja de Muro, Cala d'Or, Playa de Palma and Palmanova-Magalluf.

Gabriel Llobera, President of the Hotel Chain Association, ACH, said the situation is very complicated.

Cancellations of reservations from the UK are widespread and the same thing is happening with Germany, which will cause companies to make drastic decisions. Everything was perfect, but the wrong actions, the coronavirus regrowth and the UK quarantine have turned the situation around.

Some Hoteliers say they’ve received an increasing number of cancellations from German tourists since Monday.

On average there are around 140 cancellations a day, plus those coming from the UK. Hotel occupancy levels are minimal, so action must be taken accordingly and the most logical thing to do is close hotels, concentrate tourists in the ones that remain open and hold out until the end of this atypical season,” they said.

Llobera added that the situation is changing from one day to the next saying, “it doesn’t look good, because the damage has already been done in the UK and in Germany.”

United Kingdom

The Minister of Industry, Trade & Tourism, Reyes Maroto, said on Thursday that the British Government will review the quarantine imposed on travellers from Spain in 10 days and that the Government has already introduced safe tourist corridors with a view to “lifting it sooner”.

Minister Maroto also pointed out that the Spanish Government wants the UK to bring forward that decision because epidemiological data in holiday destinations which are popular with British tourists, such as the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community and Andalusia are low risk and better than the UK. Boris Johnson's Government is under intense pressure to withdraw its quarantine measures for travellers arriving in the UK from Spain.

Transport Sector

Rafael Roig, who’s President of the Balearic Business Federation of Transport, or FEBT, and the Association of Discretionary Transport says he is very concerned.

”The situation is very complicated and Transport Companies have seen Tourism programming plummet in recent days,” he said. “We are already at a low level of activity and the situation seems to be getting worse with the UK quarantine and collapse of German tourism. The season looked like it was going to go back, but reality has prevailed."