Panic in Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza as prices slashed in desperate bid to save season

A drop in demand for holidays to Balearic Islands including Menorca, Majorca and Ibiza at the end of August and for the remainder of the holiday season has meant that some businesses have been forced to launch special offers and lower prices to encourage tourists to book last-minute getaways.

There is a general feeling in the archipelago this year that the purchasing power of visitors has fallen due to the rise in prices, which has affected domestic tourism in particular. Majorca, once a favourite value-for-money destination for British tourists, dropped to 24th place in the Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer.

In an attempt to counter the drop, in Menorca, car hire rates and maritime transport to and from the mainland have been cut by 20 percent, with discounts of up to 40 percent being applied by holiday home rental companies for September, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

On the neighbouring island of Ibiza, luxury hotels have launched promotions and offers of up to 30 percent to try to fill their large number of spaces. The Hotel Managers Association said that August had been a “positive” month, but that “complicated” realities existed at the same time. 

Throughout the summer, the vast majority of the Balearic Islands have faced tourism protests, including one on August 21 which saw over 500 people turn out on Menorca, carrying placards which argued that properties were being used for visiting foreigners instead of residents. 

Meanwhile in May, up to a thousand people marched in Ibiza against mass tourism amid backlash at British tourists seeking a cheap getaway. They held banners reading: “We don’t want an island of cement” and “Tourism, yes but not like this”. 

At the start of August, the Council Ibiza warned that five-star and agrotourism (including farm stays and tours) hotels in particular were struggling, probably due to their high prices, in comparison to two and four-star hotels which seemed to be performing better in the summer holiday season.

“In August we have been close to 2023 numbers and during the first three weeks there have been last-minute bookings, with long stays of between five and six nights," said the president of the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers (AEDH), Alicia Reina.

She said: "From the fourth week onwards, bookings have slowed down, returning to the usual dynamic of previous months, with peaks in occupancy and price rises at weekends and falls during the week." 

Reina added that 2023 was a “record” year, which would be “difficult to beat”, so concluded that the 2024 season can still be considered “a complete success”.