Can Palma attract weekend tourists?

PALMA
THE head of the Palma Hotel Association has said that the Balearic capital has “a lot of potential” to attract tourists on city breaks.
Marian Castell said that the current low number of visitors coming to Palma on these types of holiday was because the city was still a “great unknown” as an urban destination.

She said that Palma was a “magnificent” city for this type of tourism because of its infrastructure, transport system, security and, above all, because it was easily manageable to move around without the need of a car.

Castell said that what the city needed to highlight was its cultural attractions, gastronomy and shops.
Castell said it was important that the authorities drove this type of tourism by making sure that cultural attractions, in particular, were open at weekends.

She said that the typical profile of those who might come on city breaks were couples or families between the ages of 30 and 60 coming from countries with direct flights to Palma.

Castell said it was fundamental that tourists could fly direct to the city in an hour or two.
The hotel association head highlighted the importance of fairs and workshops in promoting this type of tourism.
She also mentioned a study that was looking at what was on offer in Palma in relation to this type of weekend break and the tourist demand for it. “We're confident that the numbers will increase,” she said.

The rise of this type of tourism in Europe and the increasing number of low-cost airlines has seen lower prices and an increasing number of destinations on offer.

There have been calls in the past from those working in the tourist industry in Majorca for this type of weekend break to be promoted by the authorities.

One of the problems faced by those working in the tourist industry in Palma in trying to attract more visitors on weekend breaks is that the city effectively closes down for most of the weekend. Something that has also been raised by cruise passengers.