Mallorca Missing Out On The Scene?

The 18-30 age group has a classification. It is the Millennial generation. It is also the 18-30 crowd, which means something rather different to the sophistication implied by a categorisation by social and market researchers. This crowd has, in tour operator branding terms, been renamed in different ways. Thomas Cook still clings to 18-30, but Thomson has 2wentys. It is the same however it is named, and it, as a crowd, follows the hordes down to Greece on holiday to Faliraki, to Kavos, to Malia, to Laganas. It allows descends on San Antonio in Ibiza and of course Magalluf in Mallorca.

18-30, 2wentys, call it as you will, this is a tourist segment known for one thing. Well, actually, it's known for several things. Sun, yes, but also sex, drinking, wild antics, full-on partying. 18-30 could just as easily be 24-hour party people. But not everyone aged between 18 and 30, or rather 25 and 30, is necessarily a 24-hour party person. The 25s to 30s align themselves with the 30s to 35s, or they do where Thomson is concerned. There is now a new tourist segment, the Thomson 25-35, and it is going to be called "Scene". Thomson Scene, a new branding concept to be launched this month.

According to Thomson, this segment still enjoys nightlife but would prefer to pursue it in quieter resorts. It wants to holiday in complexes which have relaxed and peaceful swimming-pool areas and free wifi but which are not far from bars, restaurants and shops and which will provide breakfasts until midday.

As such, therefore, the 25-35 segment seems to be exactly the same as the 18-30 segment. Would 18-30 not like free wifi, were it to be offered? I imagine it would. Does it not like staying in bed late and so having breakfast late? Almost certainly it does. Does it not want to be not far from bars and restaurants? The only discernible difference between the two segments, other than the slight age difference, is that one is happy to party in Magalluf and the other isn't. Or so reckons Thomson.

In this, the tour operator probably isn't wrong though. Strange it might seem, but not all young (or youngish) tourists want to go to Magalluf or to be associated with a similar resort, such as Laganas. From Thomson's point of view, the Scene crowd probably makes sense. There is an aspirational and esteem element which attaches itself to any market or social segment, and Magalluf, I'm sorry to have to tell Magalluf, does not fit with such aspiration.

But nor, or so it would appear, does San Antonio fit with such aspiration or anywhere else in Ibiza. Indeed, there is nowhere in the Balearics which fits. The destinations that the Scene crowd will be herded to will be Cancun and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, Corfu, Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, Cyrpus and Turkey.

Of these general destinations, there are resorts of a Magalluf style, so why has Thomson apparently excluded Mallorca and the Balearics from its Scene? It's a good question. Why has it? Maybe there is a clue in what the tour operator says about "sophisticated and stylish hotels in incredible locations". Are there none which fit the bill in Mallorca? Or is there some stigma attached to Mallorca, perhaps because of Magalluf, which means that it is excluded? I can't believe this, as Corfu has Kavos, Rhodes has Faliraki, Cyprus has Ayia Napa and Turkey has Bodrum and Gumbet, and one of the Scene's hotels is in Bodrum. In fact, one other is in Ayia Napa.

Maybe more hotels will be added and so maybe Mallorca will be added to the Scene. Does it matter if it isn't? Yes, it does. If the 25-35 segment that Thomson is seeking is a tad more sophisticated than the regular 18-30 crowd (and even this crowd should not be neglected for its future tourism potential) and as it partly forms the new Millennial generation of which so much is anticipated, then Mallorca needs it being brought to the island if only for it to become familiar with somewhere it might wish to return to in the future. It will also typically have a reasonable amount of cash at its disposal (no kids in all likelihood). 

It would be interesting to know the rationale behind the selection of the Scene destinations as it would also be interesting to know if there were discussions held with potential hotels in Mallorca. The island needs to keep at the top of the destinations' list. Missing out on the Scene is something it doesn't need.