Easter bookings for Mallorca still looking positive. | Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter - EFE

TW
0

The Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés, said today that it is still too early to know the full impact that the war in Ukraine may have on the sector, and that the effect will depend on the intensity and duration of the conflict. For the moment, he said, the forecasts for Easter are still “particularly positive”.

Valdés explained that Spain is not one of the countries that Russian tourists have traditionally visited in large numbers.

“In general terms, it is not a type of tourism that is going to affect us in high season; it was traditionally low season. We are already working to replace it with other traditional markets, with European markets that know we are lifting Covid restrictions and are pushing Spanish destinations,” he pointed out.

That said, the Secretary of State for Tourism warned that if the conflict was to drag on, prices will continue to rise, and the impact on fuel and, in particular, airlines, should be a cause for concern.

“It is true that many of them have fuel hedging and for now this effect does not affect ticket prices, but there will come a time when, if the conflict and its effects spread, it could affect airline ticket prices, and Spain depends 82% on these airlines to bring in tourists”, he admitted.

He also acknowledged that the duration of the war could affect disposable income, although he specified that it would have to be seen whether or not this would have an impact on the current year because of pent-up demand in the domestic and international travel markets.

After insisting that there is still no “clear effect” of the war on the tourism sector, he said that the forecast for Easter “continues to be very positive”, because of the easing of the pan