22/08/2013 00:00
TW
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Staff Reporter

PALMA
A great number of restaurants situated in various tourist areas on Majorca are not doing very well this year, according to sources at the restaurant division of PIMEM, the small and medium-sized business organisation.

It was blamed on a late start to the high tourist season and the negative effect of “all inclusive” offers by hotels.
The claims were based on a poll among 47 restaurants in the main tourist areas on the island.
The poll showed that nearly all the restaurants consulted said that the high tourist season this year had not started until mid July, which is just one month ago.

PIMEM said that it is mainly the restaurants which are situtated around hotels offering “all inclusive” deals which have suffered the most this season and they are not optimistic that trade will pick up during the rest of the season either.

The PIMEM study shows that the establishments in the areas of Can Picafort and Port d'Alcudia are the “worst hit” this year, confirming that they have an “inferior” turnover to that recorded in 2006.

Because of this, in some cases the restaurant owners are refusing to refer to the current period as the “high season”.
For their part, the restaurant owners in Porto Cristo consider that this would be better described as a “low season” because of the “damage” done to their trade by the “all inclusive” hotels.

Some of these restaurants say their turnover has fallen by 20 percent, while others say their turnover has increased by just six percent as the hotels are not full this summer.

On the other hand, in Cala Millor, where the clients are predominantly German, there is more optimism, as some restaurateurs say that this Summer is “equal to or better than the last one”.

At the same time others say that it is “quite inferior” to last year, with up to a 10 percent fall in turnover for some of the restaurants.

POSITIVE
The restaurant owners in the Costa de los Pinos area are more positive, as they have experienced a slight increase in their turnover.
This optimism is shared by the restaurateurs in Soller, where they confirm that they have had a turnover similar to that of last year.
However, at the same time they say they have high hopes for the month of August.
Restaurant owners in Magalluf, Paguera and S'Arenal say much the same thing, that their turnover is similar to that of last year.
However, their Andratx colleagues differ in their view, as they consider that the increase in Spanish tourism is “saving” the season because of the high spending power these tourists have.

With regard to Palma, PIMEM explained that the establishments in the Balearic capital are those which record “more even” results in comparison with past years.

In this respect, they said that “Palma restaurant owners are those who expect least from the month of August”, as it is a period of least activity in the city.

This is because a large part of the population and visitors go to the coast.
In contrast to this, as reported in yesterday's Bulletin, local hoteliers are reporting high occupancy for July and say that their end of the season, September and October, will be better than ever.