Hoteliers braced for a summer of discounts and last minute bookings

PALMA
THE 915 members of the Majorcan Hotel Federation are braced for a summer of discounts and late bookings.
The summer season officially got under way last Saturday, May 1, but the volcanic ash lock down led to a wave of forced cancellations and some of Europe's main tour firms have yet to start operating a full service.

According to Majorcan Hotel Federation sources, many hoteliers are going to be offering discounts of up to 30 percent throughout the summer, including during the peak summer season months of July and August.

The recession is continuing to dog the tourist industry and euro zone destinations like Spain and the Balearics in particular.

TOO LATE
As the Bulletin reported yesterday, Balearic holiday sales in the UK, for example, appear to have stagnated over the past few weeks.
The hotel sector is also worried about the adverse affect the increase in VAT is going to have in Spain on July 1.
In an attempt to stimulate early sales, the hotels sector has begun slashing its prices but some of the tour operators fear they may have left it too late with regards to filling beds during May and June, for two months the tour operators have been warning the Balearics would be key because of various factors such as this week's General Election in Britain and next month's World Cup in South Africa.

But, the domestic Spanish market is not showing much sign of life either.