After some years of a declining tourist market, the Mediterranean island of Malta is seeing a revival in her fortunes as a mainstream tourist destination.
The prospects for the island have improved dramatically over the last year. At one point in 2006 there was speculation that a major British tour operator was considering taking the holiday island out of its brochures, but this year, having stared at the possibility of slipping to a niche travel destination, Malta is enjoying an upswing in visitor numbers.
The danger of slipping to a niche travel status, and the subsequent economic consequences for the Malta tourist industry, is thought to be part of the reason why the island was galvanised into finally accepting low cost flights from her main UK and Irish markets, with Ryanair starting flights from London in November last year, and this March from Dublin.
In addition to the new Ryanair services, the island’s own airline, Air Malta, has run a successful campaign of its own for cheap flights to Malta, and from May launched a new route from Liverpool to Malta. Further visitors are expected from Spain and Germany, following agreements with airlines to provide cheap Malta flights outside of Malta’s traditional market.
The extra visitor numbers are being boosted by more media coverage in Malta’s traditional core market of the United Kingdom, with daily and Sunday newspapers featuring Malta more as a suggested location for a holiday.
According to UK based travel site for Malta the number of enquiries from British journalists asking for information about Malta in the first three months of 2007 is up significantly from 2006.
‘Malta seems to have come back on travel writers’ radar’, they say, ‘We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of national newspapers asking us for quotes. The same has happened with journalist enquiries for property in Malta, showing perhaps that increased media interest for holidays in Malta is no coincidence.’
More TV Coverage
But there could be a bigger boost for Malta this fall autumn if discussions concerning a British TV soap comes to fruition.
Local media in Malta reported recently that talks were taking place with Britain’s favourite TV soap, Coronation Street, about filming an episode on the island.
Coronation Street is the world’s longest running soap, and first broadcast in 1960. Viewing figures in the UK regularly top ten million viewers an episode, and as recently as April this year reached twelve million.
‘If it were to happen,’comment the Malta travel guide, ‘It could be a major boost for the winter season and for summer 2008 too. A half hour episode on Malta will reach more people over a longer period of time than a tourist authority could hope to with a series of twenty or thirty second advertisements, it would be worth millions in equivalent advertising.’
In addition to reaching Malta’s prime UK market, additional benefit for the Malta holiday industry would come from Canada and Australia, where the show is aired some weeks after the UK.
In conclusion, the holidays guide say that increasing and sustainable tourism for Malta has to come from repeat visitors who enjoy their first visit to the island, with good hotels in Malta being a key factor.
‘If Malta can achieve more frequent mentions in the UK national press, travel programmes and other media it will influence the buying public when it comes to deciding where to go on holiday. The more Malta is mentioned the more likely it is that the island will be considered. We don’t expect Malta to start reaching top ten favourite destination polls, or to become as related to holidays as Majorca is for example – but to get somewhere close to what Cyprus has achieved could be an achievable aim.’
Posts Tagged ‘Flights’
UK Media Boost For Malta Holiday Island 2007 Bookings
Thursday, December 17th, 2009Spain Leads 2008 Tourist Race
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009Before the days of the internet, as soon as Christmas Day was over the advertising campaigns for summer holidays would appear on British television.
Millions would book their holidays in January, and many would pay weekly or monthly to their local travel agent so by the time it came to take their summer holiday, it had been paid off and it was just spending money to take care of.
Old habits die hard it seems, as despite late deals and instant access on the internet to hundreds of thousands of holidays, nearly half of the British population still book their holiday in the first two months of the year.
‘It’s a habit the country got into over a couple of decades’, one UK based group of travel sites try to explain, ‘And it continues today despite the fact that the cost of an average holiday compared to salaries is way down on when the internet wasn’t around for the mass market to access.’
How long the January and February frenzy continues is anyone’s guess, but as even more of the population gets online and time online increases, the holiday bookings Brits make should become more spread out over the year, and with late deals often available the booking peak might shift from early in the year to the early May and June summer months.
Interesting statistics have been released by one of the UK’s leading holiday companies for the bookings they took in the first weeks of 2008, and it suggests the British love affair with Spain shows no sign of slowing down.
Top searched destination was the Spanish island of Majorca. Majorca is one of the longest established tourist destinations in the world, and has had a tourist board for over a hundred years. Their tourist board has helped ensured the island has remained a British favourite for generations.
Today Majorca receives more than six million visitors annually, yet ninety five percent of her tourists concentrate in only five percent of its territory. Less developed areas of this elegant island are ripe for new development and prime property commands a great premium. Majorca is now also successfully selling holidays away from the coast in traditional areas not known for tourism.
Ibiza, well known in Europe for younger tourists and night clubs which feature visiting and resident British DJ’s, is a neighbouring island of Majorca and also makes the top five most booked holiday destinations in the early weeks of 2008.
The Spanish Canary Islands also feature among the most booked holiday destinations, with Tenerife and Gran Canaria being the second and third most popular areas.
Another Canary Island, Lanzarote, was the fourth most searched holiday destination, but Lanzarote is a popular winter getaway and as well as summer bookings would have benifitted from Britons looking for a winter holiday.
Lanzarote maintains relatively constant temperatures and sees low annual rainfall. Few days are lost to weather-related problems due to this environment, which offers the premium atmosphere for technical improvements and beneficial training. In addition to these benefits, the winds are good and steady in the Canary Islands due to the north-east trade winds, which also bring cooler air in the summers to Lanzarote.
If bookings continue in similar patterns throughout the year, Spain and her islands will be again the destination of choice for the British.
Menorca Welcomes New 2007 Brit Tourists
Tuesday, December 8th, 20092007 has proved to be a good year for Spanish tourism, and with Majorca doing particularly well, the sister island of Menorca is doing her best not to be overshadowed.
With official figures some way off, the general feeling in the hotels and holidays trade is that, like Majorca, an increase in the number of visitors compared to 2006 is likely.
But privately run companies often have a quicker gauge on market trends than government bodies, and easyJet, one of Europe’s best known airlines, has begun a new route to Menorca from the island’s important UK market. The new route flies from Newcastle in the north-east of England to Menorca’s capital Mahon, and some 5000 holiday makers are anticipated to be using the service during this season. The Newcastle service to Menorca is in addition to the airline’s existing flights in the UK to the island from London’s Gatwick Airport, Liverpool and Bristol.
In a further boost for Menorca, this time from the financial services sector, one of Britain’s best known banks and mortgage provider is to open three new offices on the Spanish islands of the Canaries plus Menorca to meet demand for Britons looking to buy a home in Spain.
The decision by the Halifax was taken from data showing a trend towards Britons buying homes overseas, with Spain the most popular choice.
Part of the decision was to open in Menorca, the quietest of the three Balearic Islands. Commenting on the move a local travel guide commented:
‘While Majorca and Ibiza are possibly better known than Menorca, it’s perhaps not so surprising that the bank has decided to open an office on the island. The typical buyer for property in Menorca is normally older than that for Majorca and Ibiza, which could mean they are hoping to service their investments and pensions along with a normal account – especially for those moving full time to Menorca.’
Commenting on the new bank branch in Menorca, the bank said that the opening of branches away from mainland Spain is an important step in the development of their branch network, and that they will continue to target the Spanish islands in addition to their Spanish mainland business.
Once bought, Menorca villas are often let out to holidaymakers, with the season generally running from May to end September.
The three Balearic Islands of Menorca, Majorca and Ibiza might be close to each other, but they are all different in character and the type of tourist they typically attract.
A surprise is that the amount of time spent on Ibiza by each tourist is longer than on Menorca and Majorca – destroying the myth that Ibiza is primarily for long weekends or short trips for a couple of nights in the club.
Recent findings by the Balearics Tourist Authority show that after Ibiza, Menorca visitors stay on average for 11 days, with Majorca just behind. And the same pattern emerges for spending per day, with Ibiza top, Majorca second, and Menorca last.
The amount spent by Ibiza tourists averaged 94 Euros a day – a huge contribution to the island’s economy, looked on enviously by Majorca and Menorca. But with new banks and flights Menorca might be starting to catch her sisters up.
Ibiza Welcomes New 2007 Flights
Monday, December 7th, 2009Weekend clubbers from around Europe, and especially from the UK and Germany, descend upon Ibiza in the summer months for a week – and often two – of non stop partying.
Ibiza runs second only to the UK’s main cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool in terms of popularity for clubbers, and some of the Ibiza clubs are as well known as any in the UK.
Demand for flights to Ibiza has been high enough in recent years for a low cost airline to start two new services from the UK to Ibiza, which should see the number of tourists on the island rise this year.
The two new routes are from Edinburgh in Scotland twice weekly, and London’s Luton Airport with both routes offering a daily service.
Announcing the new routes, a spokesman for the airline said that the famous Ibiza club season gets going at the end of June, and is still the best place to party in Europe. For the quiet life, head inland to the north coast of the island, where you’ll find some of Spain’s most beautiful landscape rolling into the Mediterranean.
Talking about Ibiza’s neighbouring island and equally well known holiday destination Majorca, where they have been offering a low cost service for some years, the airline said of Majorca’s capital, Palma, that it is the elegant and cosmopolitan capital of Majorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands, and is known for its beaches, climate, cultural and traditional influences. The warm climate of Palma makes it a popular destination, with something for everyone.
As well as Majorca and Ibiza, the airline also offers a service to the third Balearic Island, Menorca.
‘Of the three Balearic Islands, Menorca is known as the quiet one, the type of island where you take your family on holiday if there aren’t any mid to late teens who need entertaining, which would be more suited to Majorca. Ibiza is well known in Europe as a clubbing destination.’ Say one travel guide for Menorca and Majorca.
Menorca villas are often let out to holidaymakers, with the season generally running from May to end September.
As part of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Menorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.
Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Menorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.
Menorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Park, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.
The three Balearic Islands of Menorca, Majorca and Ibiza might be close to each other, but they are all different in character and the type of tourist they typically attract.
A surprise is that the amount of time spent on Ibiza by each tourist is longer than on Menorca and Majorca – destroying the myth that Ibiza is primarily for long weekends or short trips for a couple of nights in the club.
The findings by the Balearics Tourist Authority show that after Ibiza, Menorca visitors stay on average for 11 days, with Majorca just behind. And the same pattern emerges for spending per day, with Ibiza top, Majorca second, and Majorca last.
The amount spent by Ibiza tourists averaged 94 Euros a day – a huge contribution to the island’s economy, which could be furthered with the new routes from London and Edinburgh.
2007 Holiday Hot Spots
Saturday, December 5th, 2009New competition from former Eastern Bloc countries have focused the minds of the tourist boards in traditionally favourite holiday destinations for Europeans in recent years – and it appears they could be doing a good job as many of the most chosen areas for this year are pretty much the same as ten and even twenty years ago.
The biggest winner this year among the holiday resorts seems to be Spain with six out of the top twenty destinations either being regions of the mainland like the Costa del Sol, or one of the Spanish Balearic or Canary islands, such as Ibiza and Tenerife.
Among city breaks Paris ranks highly, as it always does, while London has suffered with a high pound resulting in visitors from the US dropping this year – and a boredom factor setting in – with some Americans not visiting a second time as they feel they have ‘done it’ after seeing Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament. While some will venture as far afield as Windsor Castle, some twenty miles out of London, and some Oxford, few venture to other parts of England, preferring to catch the Eurostar to Paris with a two city trip.
Far flung destinations reaching the top twenty include Egypt and the Dominican Republic. Florida is in the doldrums for European visitors despite good value with the Euro and British Sterling both doing well against the US dollar. But getting in and out of America is becoming a real chore for many visitors now. If it isn’t bad enough queueing at Disney for the rides with children in tow, a long wait in line at immigration after a ten hour flight is not the best start to a holiday – and with EuroDisney a far easier option visitor numbers are unlikely to recover any time soon.
But it appears no matter what new destinations come up for holiday possibilities, Spain and her islands are resilient to the challenges, and when they are challenged aren’t afraid to advertise to past tourists to visit again, and for new ones to visit for the first time.
Mallorca as an island has been promoting itself to the UK market by including a team distributing information at London’s Victoria Station. Trains from Victoria run several times an hour to London’s Gatwick Airport, allowing easy access to Mallorca for Londoners.
The Balearic Islands of which Mallorca is part consist of three islands, as well as Malloca there is Menorca (the smallest island)and and Ibiza. Menorca has a season that traditionally is at its peak early May to end September, but is now trying to extend that from mid April to mid October.
As part of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Menorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.
Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Menorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.
Menorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Parc, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.
The cost of flying to Mallorca has come down in recent years from most European countries due to low cost airlines, especially in the island’s core tourist areas of the United Kingdom and Germany, and last year easyJet started direct flights from London’s Gatwick Airport to the sister island of Menorca, as well as serving Mallorca itself.
Despite competition from other destinantions, Mallorca looks set to remain a favourite holiday spot for some time to come.
2007 Euro Vacation Winners
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Recent new competition from the former Eastern Bloc countries have focused the minds of the tourist boards in traditionally favourite holiday destinations for Europeans in recent years – and it appears they could be doing a good job as many of the most chosen areas for this year are pretty much the same as ten and even twenty years ago.
The biggest winner this year among the holiday resorts seems to be Spain with six out of the top twenty destinations either being regions of the mainland like the Costa del Sol, or one of the Spanish Balearic or Canary islands, such as Ibiza and Tenerife.
Among city breaks Paris ranks highly, as it always does, while London has suffered with a high pound resulting in visitors from the US dropping this year – and a boredom factor setting in – with some Americans not visiting a second time as they feel they have ‘done it’ after seeing Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament. While some will venture as far afield as Windsor Castle, some twenty miles out of London, and some Oxford, few venture to other parts of England, preferring to catch the Eurostar to Paris with a two city trip.
Far flung destinations reaching the top twenty include Egypt and the Dominican Republic. Florida is in the doldrums for European visitors despite good value with the Euro and British Sterling both doing well against the US dollar. But getting in and out of America is becoming a real chore for many visitors now. If it isn’t bad enough queueing at Disney for the rides with children in tow, a long wait in line at immigration after a ten hour flight is not the best start to a holiday – and with EuroDisney a far easier option visitor numbers are unlikely to recover any time soon.
But it appears no matter what new destinations come up for holiday possibilities, Spain and her islands are resilient to the challenges, and when they are challenged aren’t afraid to advertise to past tourists to visit again, and for new ones to visit for the first time.
Mallorca as an island has been promoting itself to the UK market by including a team distributing information at London’s Victoria Station. Trains from Victoria run several times an hour to London’s Gatwick Airport, allowing easy access to Mallorca for Londoners.
The Balearic Islands of which Mallorca is part consist of three islands, as well as Malloca there is Menorca (the smallest island)and and Ibiza. Menorca has a season that traditionally is at its peak early May to end September, but is now trying to extend that from mid April to mid October.
As part of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Menorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.
Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Menorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.
Menorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Parc, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.
The cost of flying to Mallorca has come down in recent years from most European countries due to low cost airlines, especially in the island’s core tourist areas of the United Kingdom and Germany, and last year easyJet started direct flights from London’s Gatwick Airport to the sister island of Menorca, as well as serving Mallorca itself.
Despite competition from other destinantions, Mallorca looks set to remain a favourite holiday spot for some time to come.
Spain Beats Off 2007 Eastern Tourist Competition
Monday, November 30th, 2009Concerned tourism bosses in Spain are winning the battle for European holidaymakers, with an impressive 5 per cent rise in visitor numbers for 2007 so far.
The country welcomed over ten million holiday makers in January, February and March – normally viewed as off peak months.
The highest number of visitors came from the United Kingdom, followed closely by Germany.
It was mainly due to the Germans that the numbers were up, as the number of British arrivals actually showed a slight drop, while more than 6 per cent extra visitors from Germany ensured a good start for 2007 for Spain.
The Canary Islands were the most popular part of Spain. Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura enjoy warm winters due to their geographical location near Africa, and have a strong appeal for Britons facing their winter.
The Costa del Sol, a perennial favourite of the British seeking a winter sunshine break enjoyed a boost in arrivals.
The Balearic Island also recorded a rise in visitors.
The Balearics consist of Menorca (the smallest island), Majorca and Ibiza. The small rise compared to the Canary Islands isn’t too much of a surprise as Menorca has a season that traditionally is at its peak early May to end September, but is now trying to extend that from mid April to mid October.
As part of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Menorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.
Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Menorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.
Menorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Parc, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.
The cost of flying to Mallorca has come down in recent years from most European countries due to low cost airlines, especially in the island’s core tourist areas of the United Kingdom and Germany, and last year easyJet started direct flights from London’s Gatwick Airport to the sister island of Menorca, as well as serving Mallorca itself.
Despite competition from other destinantions, Mallorca looks set to remain a favourite holiday spot for some time to come.
How the second quarter official figures go remains to be seen, but Spain could see a further drop in British arrivals compared to last year.
An unusually warm spell of weather for five weeks in April in the UK could mean that more Brits have booked summer holidays in their home country.
The warm weather, increased airport departure taxes, and environmentally aware travellers could shun an overseas holiday this year.
The new environment warnings of ‘carbon footprints’ is impacting the travel market, with news bulletins regularly reporting that taking a flight adds to global warming. If holidaymakers take heed Spain might also see a drop in visitors from Germany, Scandanavia and other European countries.
Tourists Flock To Spain For 2007
Friday, November 27th, 2009Despite facing fresh challenges every year from new and old competitors to take away market share, Spain increased her number of visitors in the first couple of months of 2007 for what could be a good year for a country that has been the favourite destination for Europeans for nearly fifty years.
The visitor numbers were so good that it broke new records for Spain, with 4 per cent more holiday makers in January 2007 compared to 2007, and a total of 2.8 million tourists overall.
The most popular area of Spain was off the mainland, the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands consist of Tenerife, Fueteventura, Lanzarote and Gran Ganaria. The Canaries enjoy good weather in the winter months due to her geographical location near Africa, and Many British, Dutch and German tourists take villa and hotel holidays, often for a week, November to mid March.
The Costa del Sol, a perennial favourite of the British seeking a winter sunshne break surprisingly saw a near 5 per cent dip in UK visitor numbers, but overall enjoyed a near 6 per cent increase in tourists.
The Balearic Islands recorded a rise in visitors of just over 1 per cent.
The Balearics consist of Menorca (the smallest island), Majorca and Ibiza. The small rise compared to the Canary Islands isn’t too much of a surprise as Menorca has a season that traditionally is at its peak early May to end September, but is now trying to extend that from mid April to mid October.
Majorca is hoping to boost visitor numbers this summer by increasing the level of competition at the island’s SuperYacht Cup. As well as drawing extra tourists for the event itself it adds an extra attraction for those holidaymakers already on the island, adding to the possibility of a return visit in future years – and with more destinations to choose from in recent years repeat visitors has become an important strategy in tourist locations.
As part of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Menorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.
Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Menorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.
Menorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Park, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.
The cost of flying to Mallorca has come down in recent years from most European countries due to low cost airlines, especially in the island’s core tourist areas of the United Kingdom and Germany, and last year easyJet started direct flights from London’s Gatwick Airport to the sister island of Menorca, as well as serving Mallorca itself.
Despite competition from other destinantions, Mallorca looks set to remain a favourite holiday spot for the near future.
More To Mallorca Than Beaches
Thursday, November 26th, 2009Lots of tourists visit Mallorca every year for the crystal clear waters, beautiful sandy beaches and celebrity sightings. For those who visit Majorca with one goal in mind, you don’t know what you’re missing! While it may be interesting to sit on the beach waiting for the next celebrity to walk by, you simply don’t realize the rest of the island is an amazing adventure waiting to happen.
Tourists who focus on the almost 250 miles of coastland cheat themselves out of the beauty that is the rest of Majorca. On the other hand, property investors who focus only on beachfront properties are cheating themselves out of a virtual fortune. Further inland from the beaches and resorts, you can find larges areas that aren’t developed, a variety of villages and inexpensive properties.
The southwest side of the island is considered the wealthiest area around Puerto Andratx and Santa Ponsa. Here you’ll find expensive yachts just off the coast and more expensive housing with beautiful views of crystal clear waters. A one-bedroom apartment in these areas costs around 200,000 pounds. Villas in the area are reaching nearly 500,000 pounds. If you are in the market for something a little more posh and exuberant, this is the area for you.
If you’re looking for something a little more remote, you should look at the northwest side of the island. Tramuntana Mountains and Soller Valley are beautiful, private and prestigious. One of the main attractions to the northwest side of the island is privacy. The mountains and olive groves prevent overcrowding. It is unlawful to build in areas like olive groves, so these areas are more secluded. Be prepared to pay extra for the privacy!
The village of Deia is one of the most fashionable and prestigious areas on the island. Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones own a castle style home in Deia. Deia is also home to a very nice luxury hotel. Small stone homes in Deia start at about 450,000 pounds and increase in price as they increase in size and location.
Twenty minutes away from Deia you can find very nice, country villas starting at just 200,000 pounds. In these smaller, country settings you can find casitas, or small stone houses, with several acres of land for less than 150,000 pounds. Within the small towns you can find historic townhomes starting at about 300,000 pounds.
The olive groves offer a unique experience for overseas buyers looking for small vacation properties. Casitas are small, one or two bedroom villas. When they are located on an olive grove, they are called olivars. Olivars are where olive farmers used to stay during the farming season. These casitas or olivars can be purchased for less than 150,000 pounds and often include a quite large amount of surrounding land.
If you’re planning to buy a casita or olivar, be informed that you cannot expand them, even if the real estate agent says you can. It is illegal to build onto casitas or olivars. Local authorities will force you to demolish illegal buildings.
Larger villa properties with a pool, space to garden and distant views of the mountains or sea are available in the various valleys around the interior of the island. Lovely three and four bedroom villas can be purchased for 350,000 to 500,000 pounds. Larger villas in need of restoration are also less expensive than newer, more modern beachside villas.
Alarm Bells Ring For Spanish Property
Friday, November 20th, 2009Buying a property in Spain has been an aspiration for many Europeans in the last twenty years, with Germany and the UK providing most buyers.
But the Spanish real estate market has hit some turbulence recently, with the Costa del Sol dropping from the favourite area to buy to least popular in just two years, leaving hundreds of thousands of holiday home owners vulnerable to a sharp drop in prices this year.
The Costa del Sol has been particularly hard hit as different negative factors came into play at around the same time – ‘land grab’ – where developers take land from existing owners with little recompense, world market jitters, and local corruption.
Another complication has hit the property market on the popular holiday island of Mallorca. Plans have been put forward for more developments, and the local populations has successfully organised mass protest against development plans which they think will destroy much of the island’s culture and heritage.
Mallorca’s economic base featured farming, livestock and agriculture before the 1960s. Before it became dependent upon tourism, Mallorca prided itself on being able to take care of itself without outside influence. The rising climate has made it hard to farm or raise livestock on the island. Limited water supplies make it difficult to maintain any kind of crop. The sparse amount of agriculture that is still done in Mallorca is in an effort to keep up with the demand from tourists, and more development could spell disaster for the traditional way of life.
According to the 2005 census, the population of the city of Palma was 375,048. The population of the entire area was estimated to be 517,285; the 12th-largest urban area of Spain. Approximately half of the total population of Mallorca lives in Palma, and it is feared that more developments will see Mallorca turned into a concrete jungle.
Mallorca started to develop as a tourist hot spot in the 1920’s. Now, Mallorca sees more than six million visitors each year, yet ninety-five percent of tourists concentrate in only five percent of its territory. Less developed areas of this elegant island are ripe for new development and prime property commands a great premium. It seems more people than ever before want to live on or invest in Mallorca, but locals fear a doubling or trebling of the full time population in just a few years, placing a strain on the island’s hospitals, schools and infrastructure, and vow to fight development plans.
A United Nations report highlights problems for both the Costa del Sol and Mallorca, showing that local authorities are over dependent on new properties being built, with some city halls receiving over a quarter of their income from property related activity – a figure only sustainable by allowing more and more new developments, which eventually run contary to the wishes of the local populations.
The report says that there has been ‘uncontrolled speculation for the last twenty years’ and contributes to a poor housing situation for Spain’s domestic market, with many developers preferring to concentrate on holiday villas and apartments to providing good standard housing for local people.
And it’s local people in different regions of Spain who might change the way the property market works in the future, more for themselves than for outsiders.
The report says that the hardest hit sections of society in the Spanish property market are the young and the elderly, women, gypsies and the disabled – and as Mallorca has seen people are pushing housing policy higher up the political agenda.
The UN report also says that some fifteen per cent of Spain’s apartments lie empty, even after discounting overseas owners.
‘The amount of housing that isn’t occupied might look alarming’, comments a Mallorca internet site, ‘But this isn’t unusual. The same could be said of London, or among the Mediterranean countries Malta for example.’
Property developers in Spain and the Spanish islands face a torrid 2008, as new developments are scrutinised more before being given planning consent, and an economic downturn threatens to drop the number of new buyers substantially.