Tourism in Mallorca is thriving
According to statistics taken from the Spanish National Statistics Institute, the Balearic Islands had the highest hotel occupancy in Spain during the month of September. But the island of Mallorca came out on top, with 796,259 tourists staying in hotels and with 77.2 percent of aeroplane seats flying to the island sold. Given this surge in tourism, which saw a 12 percent rise in overnight stays in hotels on the Balearic Islands compared to the same period in 2009, it can only be considered to be a wise move by airlines that Mallorca is to get eight new flight routes next year.
Whilst airlines are pulling out of many European destinations, including Ryanair terminating its Granada and Valencia flights, Mallorca is to have eight new routes, five this winter and three next summer. A total of three weekly scheduled flights will go from London Gatwick and Manchester to Mallorca, as well as connections to Paris, Basel and Amsterdam. Next summer flights will go directly from Mallorca to the East Midlands, Glasgow and Venice.
According to Joana Barcelo from Mallorca’s tourism department the new scheduled flights to Mallorca will be “valid in some cases for two years.”
Ms Barcelo assures that the additional routes to Mallorca will not expire at the end of next summer, asserting, they will “continue negotiating with the airlines next year to improve the connectivity of the next tourism season and winter 2011.”
Being blessed with unspoiled sandy beaches, a multitude of tourist attractions, an interesting history, amazingly spectacular vistas, a year-round mild climate and friendly and welcoming locals, it is not difficult to understand why Mallorca remains one of the most popular European travel destinations.
Given Mallorca’s blatant charms together with the announcement of the National Statistics Institute’s recent findings that the Balearics’, particularly Mallorca’s tourist industry has flourished and prospered in 2010, it is hardly surprising that astute airline bosses will be wanting to cash in on the island’s seemingly ‘recession-proof’ success.