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 ‘Hotels’
UK Media Boost For Malta Holiday Island 2007 Bookings
Thursday, December 17th, 2009Seeing Stars this Summer – Celebrity Holiday Hotspots
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009If you’re going on holiday this summer, remember to pack your best knickers. Celebrities are everywhere these days and you never know when you might find yourself building a sand castle with P Diddy or sharing an ice lolly with Elton. If you’re not sure where to start your search for a star, here’s a short guide to some top celebrity holiday hangouts.
The French Riviera is a perennial favourite of the rich and famous. A-listers and wannabes flock to Cannes during the annual film festival to sip champagne aboard luxury yachts. St Tropez draws the celebrity elite throughout the season with Pamela Anderson, Elton John, P Diddy, Liz Hurley and Donatella Versace regularly resting and playing. If you’re into day-glo tans and white jeans, this is your home from home.
On a slightly less vulgar theme, the Balearic Islands attract celeb royalty. Hollywood heros, supermodels, fashionistas and rock gods head to hideaways in Ibiza and Majorca year after year. Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Jade Jagger, Fat Boy Slim, Sting, Elle McPherson, Matthew Williamson, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Liam Gallagher, John Paul Gaultier, Paris Hilton and P Diddy are all regulars. Head to these hot Spanish islands if you like things cool and stylish.
There’s at least one big reason to go to Lake Como…gorgeous George. Mr Clooney owns a villa on the lake where the big Hollywood names holiday and it is possible that you’ll catch George in his speedos. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes also married in this region. So if you appreciate good food, fine wine and spectacular scenery as well as star spotting then book your seat to bella Italia.
The Caribbean is a magnet to millionaires, with Mick Jagger, the Beckhams, Tiger Woods, Britney and Sting regularly recuperating in the luxury resorts of Antigua and Barbados. British entrepreneur Richard Branson owns his very own island, Necker, in the British Virgin Islands, which can be rented out for just $46,000 a night. Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Mel Gibson have all stayed here so if you’re feeling flush and looking for some posh privacy it could be for you.
Mecca to premiership footballers and their WAGs is the United Arab Emirate of Dubai in the Middle East. Over the last five years, politicians, CEOs, sports stars and Hollywood hotties have visited the glitzy hotels and snapped up property here. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Rod Stewart, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Michael Schumacher, Tiger Woods and Richard Branson have been seen enjoying the shopping, sunshine and beaches. Strictly for fans of blinging man-made glamour.
Miami, Florida is again attracting A-list party people with its Latin beats, Art Deco architecture, super-cool shopping and sizzling beaches. Shakira, Jessica Alba, Matt Damon, Enrique Iglesias, Bono, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez have all been known to enjoy the South Beach scene, with some owning homes here. Forget the Golden Girls and pack your party feet.
If globetrotting isn’t for you, you might like to book a week in sunny Southwold, England. You could be lucky enough to bump into Gordon Brown eating his fish and chips. The Prime Minister is taking his family to the Suffolk seaside town this summer.
Spain 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.
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.
Mallorca – Top Destination For 2008
Saturday, December 5th, 2009The Spanish island of Mallorca is the main island of the group that forms an archipelago called the Balearic Islands. Located in the Mediterranean off the east coast of the Spanish mainland, Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands. Mallorca is also the most popular of the islands for holidays with German and British tourists in particular returning year after year.
According to the 2005 census, the population of the city of Palma, the capital of Mallorca, was 375,048. The population of the entire area was estimated to be 517,285 – the twelfth largest urban area of Spain. Approximately half of the total population of Mallorca lives in Palma.
Mallorca started to develop as a tourist hot spot in the 1920s. Today, Mallorca sees more than six million visitors each year, but nearly all the tourists concentrate in only five percent of her 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 the gorgeous island of Mallorca. Mallorca is known as the Mediterranean Lady and it offers a little something for everyone.
The Spanish housing ministry released figures stating that housing prices rose by over nine per cent during 2006, and over twelve per cent the year before. This presents an excellent time to shop for a deal of your own private spot of heaven, Mallorcan style. Property prices remain competitive when compared with other regions of Spain.
Buyers from Russia, Sweden, France and Ireland are jumping on the band wagon that was once dominated exclusively by Brits and Germans. Mallorca’s leading international real estate marketing company has twenty sales offices in Mallorca and Ibiza in the Balearic Islands as well as in Germany. Leading agents in the area show little sign of slowing down. An agent is an excellent starting point to find properties that accommodate individual investment needs and tastes.
The rich culture and history of Mallorca are a large attraction for visitors and homebuyers alike, making it a peaceful place to live and experience serenity.
However, there is far more to Mallorca than the sea, the sand and the sun. Atmosphere is conducive to everything else in life, surroundings, weather, healthy diet and lifestyle and especially state of mind.
Tourists and home buyers alike are attracted to Mallorca’s unique subtropical climate offering peace of mind year around. Soft breezes rolling in from the Mediterranean adds to the simple charms and personalities of wonderful lifestyle.
Healthy diets of fresh vegetables, fruit, fishes and olive oil constitute a better quality of life. European chefs and sommeliers present culinary delights, cooking savoury meals with natural juices and fresh herbs. Discover Gothic architecture treasures, beautiful almond and olive groves, small sun bleached hilltop villages and white beaches galore. Take a stroll along the quiet city and find yourself surrounded by chic shops full of treasures. Hike along ancient mountain paths. Visit romantic villages mountainside and the historic castles set in the rolling hills of the island. Mallorca Island is dynamic with its dramatic mountains, hidden coves and various historical archeological sites.
Find your palace on Mallorca for a week or for the rest of your life and spend your next holiday in a Mediterranean paradise, and see for yourself why Mallorca holidays are the most popular in Europe.
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.
Tennis Star Borg To Stay In Majorca
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009You may remember Bjorn Borg as the famous Wimbledon legend. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1956, he was the youngest player to have so much success in the sport of tennis. His first win came at the ripe age of 17. He quickly turned into a heartthrob and mesmerized fans with his calm, reserved, and charismatic personality, which also enabled him to make money from publicity events.
Setting a Winning Record
Borg is a former number-one tennis player who won five Wimbledons in a row (1976-1980) and six French Opens. He won 11 Grand Slam singles and was the youngest tennis player to win the Davis Cup match, the Italian Open, and the French Open. He was the only player to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, and his record remains unshattered to this day. The only thing he couldn’t seem to win was the U.S. Open, despite numerous tries.
Knowing When to Quit
Borg was a player of strength and endurance. After nine years on the tennis scene, Borg threw in the towel. Being defeated by John McEnroe in the 1981 final was enough to send him packing. He left when he was still at the top of his game, and one loss shouldn’t have affected that. But this wasnn’t the last time the public would see Bjorn Borg. He later returned to the tennis scene for a brief stint in 1991 only to found out that he could not compete with the new players and their graphite rackets. He was still fond of using his famous wood racket.
Borg Became a Trend-Setter
Borg had an unusual style about him, both on the court and off. He wasn’t afraid to do his own thing or use techniques that worked for him. Unintentionally, he was setting fashion standards. If he wore a headband to keep the sweat off his face and his hair off his neck, it soon became the thing to do and you would see people everywhere wearing headbands.
A New Calling
Borg used this popularity to his advantage by introducing his own line of clothing. He uses his own unique style to create clothes to appeal to his fans. To push sales of his clothing line further, he would only wear clothes with his name on the label.
Borg’s Family Life
Borg dreamed of a family life he could never have. He married and divorced twice, leaving him in financial trouble. Each ex-wife walked out of the marriage with a house. Each of them also gave him children, but he was never able to fully enjoy them as he wanted to. The media and other groups gave them a hard time over the years, and he rarely sees them anymore.
The Rise and Fall of an Empire
When he dreamed of his family, he bought a large piece of property in Mallorca, Spain. It was eight spots that he bought and transformed into a small community for himself, his family, security guards, and guests. He restored an old section and built up around it until he had the stone villa just the way he wanted it, including farm animals, stables, a pool a spa, a sauna, a fitness room, and tennis courts.
Now that his dream of the perfect family life has been shattered, he is ready to sell the property and downsize to a smaller house in Mallorca.
Late Boost For 2007 Majorca Holidays
Saturday, November 14th, 2009Majorca has scored a stunning success this year by being the British holidaymakers island of choice for their annual getaway, and has now capped a successful summer by being top destination for the autumn too.
One travel site has reported that Majorca, along with Spain’s Costa del Sol, are the most heavily booked for the autumn period in Europe, with New York being the top long haul destination for British tourists.
Other areas of Spain are also enjoying an autumn renaissance – notably the Costa Blanca and the Canary Island of Tenerife. Surprisingly Malta is starting to compete with the traditional British getaway favourites.
Malta has enjoyed quite a turn around in her fortunes over the last eighteen months since the Maltese authorities reluctantly agreed to allow low cost airlines to fly to the Mediterranean island. The tourist situation for Malta was so poor at one stage that a British holiday company were seriously considering dropping it from their main brochures, and if others had followed Malta would have been relegated as a mainstream vacation destination to one of niche status for her culture, history, and diving holidays.
Low cost airlines have engineered Malta away from tourist disaster to a far healthier position for 2007, and some 300,000 visitors could be delivered to the island for the 2008 season, as well as giving it an autumn boost this year.
But for all the success of one island in the Mediterranean that Malta has enjoyed in 2007 after turning around an awful 2006, it is really the Spanish island of Majorca that has done best for 2007, consistently attracting tourists throughout the summer, and extending it to the autumn time – good news for the hotel and holiday trade on the island as they see the months of profitabilty extend beyond the traditional ones.
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 destinations, Mallorca looks set to remain a favourite holiday spot for both the summer and autumn.