Serious concerns over “hefty” drop in holiday bookings

The Balearic Minister for Tourism Celesti Alomar confirmed yesterday that holiday bookings in the Balearics dropped last week by nearly 11 per cent and said that the government is “concerned” and is considering launching a “shock” promotional campaign to kick start the summer market which is looking sluggish well into the middle of next month. The biggest drop in bookings is in the German market, in Minorca it is down by as much as 16 per cent, despite promises by the country's leading tour operators to expand operations on the island. The British market is also down and that has caught Alomar by surprise. At the start of summer all the indications pointed at a ten per cent fall in German bookings, but Alomar claimed just a few months ago, that in some resorts British bookings are up by 30 per cent and would therefore compensate for the German shortfall. The latest set of figures indicate that is not the case and the Minister admitted yesterday that the Balearic tourist industry is “worried.” But yesterday the Association of British Travel Agents, ABTA, said that there is no real need for concern. “Considering that for the past four years the Balearic tourist industry has been breaking all records a decrease in bookings at some point can only be expected,” ABTA said. “Granted a ten per cent drop is pretty hefty, but the Balearics is still the most popular destination in the UK,” the spokesperson added.