Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Melià and the president of the Exceltur alliance for tourism excellence, recognises that the situation is delicate. With contract guarantees going, it will be hoteliers who have prepared for this circumstance who will suffer least in 2020.
The president of the Majorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, explains that guarantees came about so that tour operators were assured of having minimum numbers of hotel beds to meet holiday package demand.
Tour operators now requiring lower prices will be, she says, "the general trend". Hoteliers will have to improve their contract negotiations in line with the "tourist product that we have" and adopt other marketing channels to complement that of tour operators.
Hoteliers in the Balearics believe that lowering prices is not the best way to remain competitive because of the negative impact this has on their bottom lines. But there is ample evidence of hoteliers already having done this for 2019.
An additional concern for the islands' tourism industry is that the Greek government has announced a reduction in the tourist rate of VAT from 24% to 13%. This is designed to increase Greek tourism industry competitiveness.
Gabriel Llobera, president of the Association of Hotel Chains, says that this is not good news and just adds a further problem for next year.
The tourist rate of VAT (IVA) in Spain is 10%.
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You can't blame the tourist tax for the drop in numbers. Most places have Mojave something similar. Greece has it, Turkey has an entry visa charge, usa has it etc. The hotels in Majorca are over,imo, over priced and in general don't offer a great service to their clients. Their is also a big decline in the number of decent 3 star hotels as a lot have been upgraded to 4 star with the consequent price increases. The German love affair with Majorca is immense although with th e demise of air Berlin their numbers are reduced but with the advent of the low cost airlines many in the UK now see Majorca as a 2nd holiday or a weekend break and that is going to be hard to reverse.
Apparently the refugees are a far better credit to the country.If only they could receive a grant to help them pay a "refugee tax", everyone would be happy?!
I felt sorry for the hotel workers while visiting Can Picafort last June. It is not the who decide to take the Tourist tax from their customers before the visitors have even had a chance to unpack.They went out of their way and beyond to make up for the ridiculous decision which is affecting the whole of the island (which is proving evident over the years).So the island makes more money from this, then loses money when hotels are forced to lower prices anyway (for those who haven't decided to holiday somewhere else instead)?It isn't just the money. What a start to your holiday this is. As soon as you enter the doors to your chosen hotel, you are told that you have to pay an extra charge, up front, for every day you are there - just because you are a tourist. I read that over the years Majorca has received around €200 million in tourist tax-of which only €20 million has been accounted for.(I think we all know where the remaining amount has gone, which makes tourists even more resentful to hand over their hard earned money).
Since the " ALL INCLUSIVE " Tariff was introduced by Hotels, Mallorca´s economy has gradually reduced. With many businesses becoming Bankrupt. So I have no sympathy for these greedy Hotel Groups. ( One Group in Sa Coma has had so much revenue, they have bought a complete road !!!) The Tourist Tax has caused a lot of anguish and derision, and how is it regulated? The eventual completion of " BREXIT" will cause even more problems for the Hotel Groups. I forecast greater reductions in prices next year, irrespective of contractual agreements.