All the Balearic Islands face tough competition next year. | Gemma Andreu

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At a roundtable discussion on the current situation and trends in Spain's supplier tourism markets, the president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, stated that 2022 will be "very competitive" for Mallorca and for the Balearics and will therefore require maximum collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Frontera observed that 2021 has been an unusual season, which has required very quick reaction to holidaymaker demands because of the series of government decisions and the climate of uncertainty that has permeated the season.

The federation's president and the three other participants in the roundtable agreed that 2022 is going to be a very competitive year and that everyone will have to work together in the face of stiff competition - from Greece and Turkey especially.

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They felt that the pandemic has highlighted the value that customers place in tour operator services, while also noting that "bureaucratic barriers that repress the customer's desire to travel must be removed".

One of the speakers was the CEO of Jet2, Steve Heapy. He stressed that "Spain is a safe destination due to the measures adopted in hotels and airports and is in a good position for this reason", but he considered that "the problem has been the restrictions of the UK government that have limited the confidence of tourists to travel abroad".

Gabriele Burgio, the CEO of Italian tour operator Alpitourworld, acknowledged that the company has had a very difficult season. "The problem has not been Spain but the Italian government because of the regulation of passengers entering and exiting the country."

Arturo Ortiz Arduan, the director of Turespaña in Berlin, said that the German market recovered just after the Easter holidays but that the French market was more advanced. "German tourists are dreaming of travelling to Spain, but they are not booking." In this regard, he highlighted the fact that there are not early bookings and that this appears to be the trend.