British tourism up by over four percent

The biggest tourist booms in the Balearics this year have been in Minorca and Ibiza/Formentera, with both regions seeing the number of visitors rise by 5.4 percent during the first nine months of the year, but in Majorca, the number is down by .06 percent. In total 9'391'169 tourists have visited the Balearics since the start of the year, 6'757'823 of which holidayed in Majorca. As forecast at the start of the year, the German market has registered a decline, but the British market has posted an increase of 4.1 percent and, accompanied by a revival of the domestic mainland market, has compensated more than adequately for the decline in the dominant market. But, the hotel sector is still braced for an end of year drop in profits of between 10 and 15 percent. A report released this week states that the Balearics and the Canaries have been the two most popular self-catering destinations in Spain this year. At the end of September, hotel bookings in the Balearics were six percent down on last year and the President of the Majorcan Hotel Federation, Antonio Munar, said this season has been “irregular,” with the first three months of the summer (May to July) proving very difficult for the hotel sector.