Majorca Number 1 For 2007 British Holiday
An annual battle between holiday resorts to attract visiting
tourists and their wallets each summer is over, and it appears
that the Spanish island of Majorca has won over the British
market at least.
Since the advent of package holidays some fifty years ago
initiated by holiday companies such as Thomas Cook and Thomson
Holidays, whole areas of Spain and other European countries have
built their economies around tourism, and each year they hope
that the holidaymakers will come to their area. Some islands
like Menorca and Majorca are almost entirely dependent upon
having a modern economy and infrastructure through incoming
tourism.
In June this year predictions were for a dire 2007 for the
holidays and flights market, with Spain and the Spanish islands
including Menorca and Majorca being badly hit. The important UK
market was slow, and British tour operators had reportedly close
to a million holidays left unsold for the rapidly approaching
peak summer months.
But after an unseasonly warm April in Britain when many people
were considering taking a holiday in traditionally popular areas
of the UK for holidays such as Scotland, Devon and Cornwall, the
move towards an overseas holiday changed as quickly as the
weather. Widespread floods led to mass holiday bookings and
flights to Majorca, to the extent where some tour operators were
able to return their holiday costs to full prices – and from a
million unsold holidays people were suddenly having to take what
was available.
Further worries were for the German market – along with the UK
a vital market for holidays in Majorca, with the environmental
costs and carbon footprint dissuading some from taking flights
to Majorca.
In recent years traditional holiday destinations such as Spain
have faced new competition from Eastern European countries, with
often lower cost holiday packages and flights, but despite
initial signs of a real challenge, Spain seems to have seen them
off for the moment at least, with overall visitor numbers for
2007 expected to rise compared to last year.
Among the tourists to the number one destination of Mallorca
for holidays this year have been the Spanish Royal Family. The
Royals traditionally spend their summer holidays on the island
at the Marivent Palace, with this year being no exception.
Previous guests some years ago during their holidays in Majorca
have included Princess Diana with Princes William and Harry
while they were still toddlers. The Spanish Prime Minister also
traditionally visits Majorca for a meeting with King Juan
Carlos.
The Royal Family holidaying on Majorca helps the island’s image
with the mainland Spanish population, and gives it an upmarket
image, with many families taking a villa holiday in Majorca.
Thomson Holidays
Majorca has a rich holiday history compared to most tourist
destinations, and in Europe only the French Riviera can compare,
where the Victorian English frequented Nice, to the extent where
the main boulevard was named the Promenade d’Anglais.
Nearly 200 million people have taken a holiday in Majorca over
the last hundred years, with British and Germans the two
nationalities heading the list of arrivals. The British have
tended to head east to Magaluf and Palma Nova, the Germans to
Arenal in the west of the island.
And while Majorca has a rich history of tourism, it is keeping
up to date with modern expectations to make sure it stays at the
top of British and German holiday plans. Arenal has just opened
a new 40 million Euro aquarium, while Magaluf has opened a new
theme park based around Indiana Jones type adventures, with both
new attractions family orientated, and enough to keep
holidaymakers happy in case the weather in Majorca isn’t quite
what they had hoped for.
The first hotel to cater for tourists dates back as far as 1903
when the Grand opened her doors for business, the first of many
hotels in Majorca to spring up between now and then. The
tourists then were Europe’s wealthy, and they were delighted
with Majorca and what the island had to offer, securing the
island as a holiday destination well before the days of low cost
flights and package holidays had become a reality some sixty
years later.
Perhaps not seeing that Majorca would become one of Europe’s
top holiday destinations for allcomers, the island first tried
successfully to pitch herself as a niche market for honeymoons
in the 1950’s, with the second world war and Spanish Civil War
having brought earlier attempts at incoming tourism into a state
of suspension, and the first true package holiday tourists
arrived in 1952.
But it was the advent of the jet that really boosted Majorca,
and made flying to Palma a real possibility for millions of
Europeans. With flights to Majorca coming down in price
significantly in recent years and a host of airlines operating
from airports across Europe, Majorca has never been so
accessible, and the traditional fortnight has been surpassed by
frequent 3 and 4 day trips two or three times a year for many
people, and with many Europeans who are environmentally
conscious moving away from long distance holidays in
destinations such as Florida, the map of Majorca might well
appear in more households when planning a holiday.
The increase in the number of tourists to Majorca has been
measured, and it makes fascinating reading. In 1950, Majorca and
her sister islands of Menorca and Ibiza received under 100,000
tourists. By 1973 this had grown to over 7 million for Majorca
alone, and last year it had risen to over 9.5 million.
The possibility of reaching ten million visitors in a single
year is a very real possibility for the island.