Blue Hotel

Mallorcan hoteliers gathered in a restaurant in Puerto Portals to discuss the current situation in respect of the island's tourism, says "The Diario". I wonder what they ate. Humble pie for any that had been saying things would be ok-ish this season.

The word to come out of the meeting was that things, far from being ok-ish, are catastrophic. Seemingly, only one part of Mallorca is enjoying more than 90% occupancy, and that is Soller. Elsewhere there are reports of figures of barely 40 or 50%. Not that this elsewhere is defined. It does all rather depend: there are hotels, e.g. in Puerto Alcúdia, that are full, but presumably those which are far from full. The hope of last-minute bookings seems illusory, and the back end of the season is looking poor, with hotels suggesting that they will close at the end of September. The hotels are having to lower prices and want to revive the notion of offering condos as a means of avoiding going belly-up.

Might there be an element of some special pleading in all this? The hotels are never slow to voice their views, often with justification, such as with regard to the new application of the coasts law in Alcúdia and Muro. Arguably they form the single most powerful lobby in Mallorca, again with justification; it is they who help to drive the island's economy. But these figures have a precedent. Try last year. In Alcúdia there were reports of 40% occupancy at one well-known hotel, another had provision for under 60% at the end of July. Soller is unrepresentative; it is not a town and resort that has an abundance of mass-style hotel stock. It also has a rather different tourism profile to the likes of Alcúdia. Therein probably lies a story.

The question is to what extent these lower figures are simply a result of current economic times or a trend. One only needs to go back to 2007 which was, allegedly, a record year to believe that a bounce in the economies of Europe will return occupancy figures to the status quo. But one also has the niggling suspicion that figures which have been declared until now have not always been completely accurate. That the hoteliers are talking again of condos and also of a change in use - to living accommodation (for which, presumably, one can read privately owned apartments) - leads one to surmise that perhaps they recognise that there has been an underlying trend, and one, moreover, caused by over-supply. Much as one hears that there are too many bars, restaurants and all the rest, it is just as appropriate to suggest that there are too many hotels. Indeed this very point has been made to me where the hotels of Playa de Muro are concerned. That some hotels are not even opening this summer supports the fact that demand is down this year, but it is also indicative of too great a supply.

Against this background, it is small wonder that hotels seek to compensate for a fall in the number of places being taken up by increasing offers of an all-inclusive or a "plus" basis in order to generate greater occupancy and more additional revenues that might otherwise find their way into the tills of local bars and restaurants. It is quite understandable, and one does have some sympathy. The hotels represent colossal investment. To have them under-utilised or less than totally productive means a diminishing return on that investment, which in turn results in a cut in employment opportunities. The hotels, collectively, are hugely significant in terms of their being creators of jobs. Idle stock has an impact in terms of jobs. But so also would a change of use. Where we seem to be going, if these latest statements from the hoteliers can be taken at face value, is towards a contraction in the tourism industry - at least in the short term. One of the potential ironies of, for example, converting hotels to apartments is that there would be increased pressure to permit holiday lets, something which galls the hotels to the extent that they are the strongest voice in pushing the government to act against private rentals. They are, however, misguided in this. Local tourism needs a mix in types of accommodation, not just hotels. Perhaps the hoteliers are, inadvertently, seeking to promote this; or maybe they actually realise the importance of such a mix but don't want to admit it.

If contraction is the conclusion, then there needs to be some serious planning for it, and pretty damn quick. Criticism for the regional government came from the meeting of the hoteliers, albeit from representatives of the Partido Popular, but it may not be misplaced. What this season is showing, and really it should not have been necessary, is that an over-reliance on one industry, and one industry, moreover, that has over-supply, cannot sustain the local economy in the longer term. The time to act is now. Sadly, one hears only the snores of inertia, the back-slapping of complacency and the sounds of spin of government and others missing the point, as with the announcement that seasonality (low winter tourism) is the "principal problem" facing the island's tourism economic model. It is spin because they know - or should know - they have a far more serious problem; the hoteliers' announcement adds force to the fact that it is the main summer season which is the problem.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - U2, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2WIglVo9KY. Today's title - probably had this before, so here it is again ...

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