GERMANS fear AMERICANS are out to ‘steal our sun loungers’ as Mallorca becomes hit destination for US tourists
- Germans accounted for almost 40 per cent of tourists visiting Mallorca in 2021
- But America’s United Airlines last year started offering flights to Palma from NY
- It proved a hit among US holidaymakers looking to expand their horizons
The Germans love putting a towel down in Mallorca.
Of the roughly 5.7 million tourists from around the globe that made the trip to the sunny Balearic island in 2021, a whopping 2.12 million of them came from Germany.
That means Germans accounted for almost 40 per cent of all tourism on the island in 2021 – more than double the number of Spaniards and more than triple the number of Brits.
But now Germany’s dominance of Mallorca’s tourism market is reportedly under threat from a new party – the Americans – and the Germans are none too happy about it.
Germans holidaymakers enjoy the sunshine & beaches on Mallorca, June 2021
German tabloid Bild this morning published an article entitled ‘Are the Americans stealing our sun loungers on Mallorca?’.
It complained that last year, America’s United Airlines offered thrice weekly flights from Newark airport to Palma during the summer to gauge US demand for what is for Americans a far-flung destination.
Almost every 214-seat flight was fully booked.
‘Not Miami (Florida), not Cancun (Mexico), not Honolulu (Hawaii). Any self-respecting American will fly to Mallorca this summer!’ Bild quipped.
‘After the British, are Americans now stealing our deckchairs?’
After the success of 2022, United Airlines is planning to increase the number of flights and will extend the season by two months.
The airline’s website now offers flights to Palma from New York, Chicago, Denver, Houston and San Francisco.
Germany has dominated the tourism market in Mallorca for years – nearly 40 per cent of all tourists who were registered on the island in 2021 were German
Perhaps the Germans feel somewhat betrayed.
Even after years of commitment to making Mallorca a de-facto tourist colony, their fidelity has not stopped the island’s tourism bosses from expanding their own horizons.
Last year Mallorca Magazin, a German-language outlet for the island, reported that tourism foundations and hotel leaders had devised targeted marketing campaigns designed to reel in Americans tempted to explore new European shores.
‘Demand in the US has exceeded all of our expectations,’ a spokesman for tourism promoter Palma 365 told the publication.
He added that the organisation plans to boost advertising efforts moving forward ‘in order to attract and consolidate this new foreign market, which has great growth potential.’
View of the famous Soller Port Marina and Dockland illuminated by sunset light in Palma de Majorca in Spain
Meanwhile Javier Vich, the head of hotel association Asphama, said his properties were full of reservations made by American holidaymakers well into September 2022.
Now in 2023, Germany’s beloved Balearic island graced the top of acclaimed travel journalist Larry Olmsted’s list of Top 5 Hot Travel Destinations for Forbes, which is sure to send sun-seeking Americans into a tizzy.
‘Mallorca has long been uber-popular with Europeans… yet for some reason, the island paradise in the Mediterranean has stubbornly remained off the radar of Americans until recently,’ Olmsted wrote.
‘Mallorca is hot, hot, hot, and deservedly so.’
With such a ringing endorsement, many a German holidaymaker may well arrive in Mallorca later this year to find their name has been chiselled off their favourite sun lounger.
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