Balearic Islands issue urgent plea as Brits flee Spanish holiday hotspots

The Majorca Daily Bulletin published the July tourism figures showing a year-on-year decline of 10% in UK tourism in the Balearics
-Credit: (Image: No credit)


The Balearic Islands are making a plea as tens of thousands of UK tourists leave. The islands' tourism agency is stepping up its efforts to attract British holidaymakers following a 10 per cent drop in UK tourism in July, as shown by recent statistics.

The Majorca Daily Bulletin released the July tourism figures on Monday, revealing a year-on-year decrease of 10 per cent in UK tourism in the Balearics. However, the story was different for Germany's tourist numbers.

German tourist numbers saw a rise of 12 per cent. Among smaller markets than the UK and Germany, France experienced an increase of 22 per cent, while Italy witnessed a decline of 11 per cent.

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The Spanish market fell by 13 per cent, but overall foreign tourism went up by 4.3 per cent. In terms of the UK market, monthly figures since April show a slight increase of 0.3 per cent in April, a drop of 5.9 per cent in May, and a rise of 2.4per cent in June before a 10 per cent fall in July to 559,040 tourists, reports Coventry Live.

This comes as the Balearic government's AETIB tourism strategy agency liaises with its UK marketing communications agency, Lotus, about a media campaign aimed at offsetting potential negative impacts of the protests, reports Birmingham Live.

The Balearics' tourism industry has given the thumbs up to a media campaign aimed at improving the islands' image, but a holiday rentals insider casts doubt on its effectiveness. They voiced their concern, noting: "No matter how much they tell them that everything is fine, if potential visitors see an image on television with a slogan saying kill a tourist, they will think twice."

This comes in the wake of demonstrations where protesters hit the streets with banners telling tourists to 'go home' and blocked paths to well-frequented beaches, mostly campaigning for stricter regulation on tourist accommodations to ensure housing availability for locals.