Majorca eyes extended season to ease overtourism concerns

Majorca wants to increase the number of LGBTQI+ visitors and holidaymakers with accessibility requirements that visit the island as it bids to extend its summer season into the winter months.

Lucia Escribano Alés, director of Mallorca Tourism Promotion, admitted overtourism is a concern in the summer, but said she wants 1,300 hotels on the island to stay open for longer.

She said: “We do not need to grow any more, we need to try and extend the season. We need to put some limits on tourists in the summer.”

As a result Majorca tourism chiefs have hired a consultant to advise them how to attract LGBTQI+ travellers.

The Majorca Tourism Foundation recently said tourists in the accessible market have 28% more spending power than the average visitor.

The island also created a map this summer, showing which areas on the island were accessible in a bid to entice disabled visitors.

Tourism chiefs worked with hotels, popular tourist destinations and various regions on the island to create the map.

Alés also plans to attract visitors from the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market. “This market will also help us extend the season,” she added.

Reflecting on this summer, Alés said: “Most of the hotels open in May and close in October but some of them have remained open. It has been a success.”

Latest visitor numbers show that 9.8 million people visited the island by the end of September. In 2019, the island welcomed 11.86 million visitors.

Alés confirmed Britain remains the island’s second source market after the German-speaking market including Austria and Switzerland.

There are currently 175 direct flight routes into Majorca from 80 countries, she said, adding that connectivity with the UK had remained the same during the pandemic.