Balearic businesses draw up battle plans

BALEARIC businesses are drawing up battle plans in the event of the proposed attack against Iraq going ahead. The local tourist industry has already expressed its concerns about the impact of war in the Gulf, especially if the conflict drags on. It will have negative consequences on the industry, but some of the Spanish airlines are also drawing up contingency plans and a number of the Balearics' leading companies are also discussing contingency war plans. In the aviation sector, short term, across-the-board wage reductions are being considered and job cuts in order to reduce operating costs. The hotel sector may find itself having to respond to reductions in capacity by leading European tour operators. In the short term, the Balearic business sector is confident it can ride out another Gulf war, but economic and tourism experts have said that should any conflict drag on into May and June, the consequences could be severe. The British market to the Balearics and Spain is still holding up despite an overall drop in holidays sales in the United Kingdom. Travel experts have made it clear that war in Iraq should have little affect on British bookings for the Balearics and Spain. Destinations which will suffer are obviously in the Eastern Mediterranean and to a lesser extent North Africa - the Balearics and Spain are considered “safe” destinations. Some of the cruise ship operators are however considering rescheduling their Spring/Summer cruise routes and those, such as P&O which usually enjoys a healthy US and Canadian market in the Mediterranean during the summer, is withdrawing one of its cruise ships and sending it to the Caribbean as Americans are not expected to travel too far if the attack on Iraq goes ahead; Spain has already reported a substantial increase in cancellations by US tourists. But, the Association of British Travel Agents said two weeks ago that United Kingdom bookings for Spain and the Balearics this summer are up on last year.