Lucia Escribano, director of Tourism Promotion of Mallorca, spoke to Travel Bulletin on the post-pandemic traveller influx, the importance of the UK market, and the new touristic laws across the Balearic Islands.
Mallorca has always hit the sweet spot for UK visitors, offering sandy beaches, beautiful historic sites and a pleasant Mediterranean climate, ideal for tourists to relax in the sun all year round. After Covid-19 halted the travel industry, now restrictions have lifted, holidaymakers are more eager than ever before to pack up the sun cream and sandals and head for the largest of the Balearic Islands.
“Jet2 and EasyJet have increased the number of flights to Mallorca in 2023 by 19%, which is wonderful, and shows that the Brits want to come back, and we’re very happy the demand is there again. After all these years of pandemic and post-pandemic, we have suffered a lot because of the absence of tourists, and the tourism industry is very important to us. But we are very happy to be back on track and welcome our British visitors again.”
It’s not just fan-favourite destinations like Palma that are drawing the crowds, but the island as whole which hosts a wide range of diverse offerings all year round, such as its treasure trove of cultural experiences and sporting delights that anyone can partake in. Escribano explained: “We try to show all parts of the Island. In Palma, you can have city breaks throughout the year as it is open every day of every month, and it’s easily accessible from any main city in Europe.
“For the rest of the island, there are several places we encourage tourists to visit. For example, the middle of the Island is called Pla de Mallorca, and we encourage visitors to try our culture and to try our food and visit the places we visit ourselves. We also encourage all regions in Mallorca to create sporting events, as we have a lot of people from Europe come to cycle and to hike in the good weather.
“We are also working really hard with the Mallorca Film Commission as recently we had a big TV show called ‘Lioness’ with Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman here. We are visiting film festivals around the world, and offering our facilities for people to come here and shoot.”
Touching on the new touristic laws that have been introduced across the Balearic Islands, Escribano explained: “Our government has approved a new sustainable tourism law that every company in the touristic sector has to comply with. All companies now need to have a waste management plan every five years and need to reduce the consumption of water and electricity.
“Also, the law obligates hotels and restaurants to have local food on their buffet, and if they don’t, they can be punished with a fine. All of this is in order to take care of the environment we need to keep in order to continue to be a lovely island with wonderful resources and nature, and also so our visitors can have the best experience possible.”
On the importance of the UK market the Mallorca’s tourism sector, Escribano highlighted: “Last year, we received 11 million tourists, and out of that total, around 2.5 million were British. The UK market is really important to us. We hosted an event in London, where we presented the sports events we had organised throughout the year or that we support. We want people to come to Mallorca all year round, so we offer tourists the opportunity to join these events from January to December. We also co-market campaigns with some of the big UK tour operators, as well as complete insert analysis and publicity across several medias.
“We have always had a very good relationship, our government in the Balearic Islands and the UK Foreign Office, they have always worked together, and we’re very happy to be back to normal and to keep the good relationship going moving forward.”
