Tag: summer

Mallorca’s Summer Shift: Tourism Trends and Future Strategies

September is here and we are finally seeing a drop in temperatures across the island. You won’t be surprised to hear that this has been the hottest summer on record since 1961. The highest temperature recorded on the island was 41.9°C in Pollença.

Whilst it has been a busy high season in Mallorca, some areas of tourism are reporting a downturn in both numbers and spend. However, figures just released say that tourist daily spend in Mallorca has surged from €150 pre-pandemic to €219, and it has been driven by higher prices. So, where is the money going?

Rafael Roig, president of the Balearic Transport Federation, says that coach operators are experiencing a “somewhat weaker” season than last year, mainly due to a decrease in excursions and tour groups.

“The season is proving to be worse than last year’s.” “In July and August, there have been days when we’ve had more than a hundred 55-seater coaches sitting idle in the Balearics.”

He also added that excursions have seen at least a 10% decrease year on year.

Juanmi Ferrer, president of the CAEB Restaurants Association in Mallorca, highlighted that individual establishments have faced severe drops of up to 40% in patronage, putting hundreds of businesses at risk of closure.

There are two factors that have affected this. People aren’t coming on holiday now for seven or 14 nights. A long weekend of three or four days has become popular, as has a three- or four-day midweek break when flights and hotels are usually slightly cheaper.

Nearly 70% of all hotels in Magaluf are now four- or five-star, so disposable income is now being spent on those hotels and flights, with less money being spent on in-resort offerings such as bars, cafés, restaurants and excursions.

Because they are coming for less time, they are becoming more choosy about what they want to do. This means that all the in-resort offerings will need to look at their models and see if they not only fit into this new way of travelling, but are also offering what the clients are actually looking for.

Mallorca has an opportunity to reinvent itself, and the quicker it realises this, the better. What do I mean? Well, I’ll come to that, but we have already shown it can be done with the transformation of Magaluf. So, what does Mallorca as a whole need to do?

Well, in my opinion, it has the opportunity to not only reinvent itself but solve the overtourism problem too.

Without any doubt, global warming is becoming more and more prevalent with each passing year. The proof is in the numbers. In the 1960s, the first 30°C day was occurring, on average, on the 13th of July. In the 2020s, that figure has been the 19th of June.

This means that temperatures during the high season of June, July, August and September are becoming hotter and hotter, which for some people is becoming unbearable.

The rise in temperatures, though, is not limited to Mallorca. The UK is suffering the same problem and, let’s face it, the UK isn’t built for heat!

Where they are suffering most is in schools. With no air conditioning and limited ventilation, the heat became stifling, and more than 1,000 schools across the UK either closed or sent pupils home early before the hottest part of the afternoon this summer. Conditions were particularly challenging for GCSE and A-level students sitting exams during extreme heat.

According to research, high temperatures can significantly impair the concentration and performance of children in schools. So, there is a call for the whole school year to be looked at.

I’ve been banging on for years about how draconian the law is when it comes to not allowing children out of school during term time for holidays. This now needs to be scrapped, giving families and schools the right to determine when children can take holidays.

But it also looks like the authorities want to completely change the school calendar year. This may well mean that people will be travelling outside of the traditional high-season months of July and August.

Therefore, the whole model of how Mallorca currently works will have to change. Will we be ready for that change?

Well, it’s coming, so we mustn’t get left behind.

Positive Outlook on Mallorca Travel Amid Airline Changes

This was the headline in the Daily Express last week, and I know similar reports were seen over here. I am always a glass-half-full person, not half empty, and when I look at the outlook for travel—particularly here to Mallorca—I am pretty positive.

Michael O’Leary is never shy about saying things that create a headline—and usually, they do. But let’s take that headline into context.

Firstly, in the short term, most airlines’ seat prices are protected by 70% fuel hedging. Airline fuel hedging is a risk-management strategy where airlines use financial contracts to lock in set prices for jet fuel, shielding them from sudden, dramatic increases in oil prices. Because fuel is one of an airline’s largest operating costs, volatile prices make budgeting difficult; hedging turns this volatile expense into a predictable one.

Secondly, you can be sure that Ryanair won’t be cancelling any of its profitable routes. They’ll use this as an opportunity to dispose of any poorly sold flights. Also remember that Mallorca is a two-hour hop from pretty much every European capital city, as it lies in the centre of the Mediterranean. Therefore, fuel consumption will be much lower than, say, flying to the Canaries.

Related to that is the fact that Palma Airport is nearing completion of its redevelopment. It started in 2022 at a cost of €560 million, so that’s four years in total. Surely some of it will soon be out of date considering how long it has taken. If some airlines want to save on fuel costs, they should check their passengers into Gate D99—I’ve never known such a long walk!

Where there might be a more challenging market is in long-haul holidays and flights. But you can be sure that if the American economy starts to be affected, then Trump will have to do something. The UK is the United States’ largest overseas inbound tourism market, contributing roughly 4 to 4.6 million annual visitors and accounting for about 11.7% of all overseas visits. UK visitors often spend heavily on leisure, making it a critical, high-value source market for American tourism.

Quite a few Americans I’ve spoken to are turning on Trump and his methods of governing. His current approval rating is 39.1%, and public sentiment in the States has trended significantly downward in recent weeks, largely driven by dissatisfaction with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and domestic economic pressures.

I personally think Trump has used this war to deflect attention away from the Epstein files, in which he is, without doubt, implicated. I also think he’s been blindsided by the reluctance of NATO countries to join in.

Our petrol prices here in Spain have been reduced due to the cut in VAT, but if this carries on for much longer, not only will petrol rise again—everything else will as well.

With the new tourist season opening this past week, we must stay positive.