Anti-tourism protestors in Majorca have been humiliated as hotel bookings surge to 8.3 percent in the last week, a whopping 19.5 percent above last year’s figures.
The Balearic Island has seen rafts of people march in defiance against the annual surge of tourists, lots of them Brits, with slogans emblazoned on walls, and an unwelcome mantra hoping to deter more holidaymakers.
But figures from the TravelgateX platform released on Monday, show their efforts to put people off visiting are just not working.
Despite an uptick in bookings, locals across the Balearics, Canaries and mainland Spain are taking action as they blame the tourism sector as the reason why housing costs are steep, and inaccessible.
A total of 15.2 percent of bookings in the whole of Spain were in Majorca last week, making it the third most booked region in the last week, behind ever-popular Andalusia and Catalonia.
In Spain as a whole, 52.77 percent of the bookings are for stays of two to five nights, while 50.9 percent correspond to couples holidays. Just 21.92 percent of bookings were made between 31 and 60 days in advance.
The UK was the strongest foreign market with 19.4 percent, followed by Germany with 3.3 percent. The domestic market was the main market, totally 52.7 percent of bookings.
According to ABTA, over two million British holidaymakers were expected to travel to Majorca last weekend (July 26-29), coinciding with the first proper weekend of the school summer holidays.
Spain remains the top destination for families, particularly the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as Costa del Sol in the south of the country.
The Travel Association added that there is also a strong demand for Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, Italy, Malta and Cyprus for short haul destinations. Barcelona, Lisbon, Athens and Amsterdam also lead the way for city breaks, popular at this time of year.
Florida and Dubai are also popular for longer haul destinations.
The statistics may come as a surprise to some, as the island of Majorca was recently given a “hostility rating” of eight out of 10 in a list of Europe’s most unwelcoming destinations for British tourists.
Barcelona was rated the next least welcoming with its long history of protests against over-tourism, with a rating of seven.
The Majorca Daily Bulletin published remarks it received from concerned tourists, with some saying they had reconsidered a holiday due to the perceived “animosity” created by the protests.
One wrote: “We have always treated local people with respect, when on holiday, we don’t get overly drunk or cause any problems when in another country, but we will get this bad feeling, from the people of Spain also.
“It’s a sad situation, but nevertheless, one that may see us, never going to mainland Spain or any of the beautiful islands again.”
Another said: “I am disappointed with the current tourist problem and the lack of courtesy some people are being shown. I may never return to Majorca if I believe I am not welcome.”
