TOURIST BONANZA

AIRLINES are planning for a blockbuster 30 million passengers to visit Mallorca this summer, smashing the pre-Covid record set in 2019 by one million.

They have requested 30.8 million seats between the end of March and the end of October, with capacity expected to bulge by 10% in the peak months.

Demand from holidaymakers appears to be keeping pace with airline reservations, which in turn is pushing prices up. Germans make up the largest source of flights to Mallorca with 146 weekly, followed by the UK.

The news will be greeted with consternation by Balearic government ministers, who have been making noises about restricting tourism to the island.

Cap

“Last year’s figures should not be exceeded and that we should analyse how to reduce the arrival of visitors to the Balearics,” Minister for Tourism Iago Negueruela said this month. Although he denied that the government is planning to introduce a cap on tourism to control the number of visitors to the region, he said tourist numbers need to be ‘analysed month by month’.

“The islands have been under massive stress and we need to work on ways to ease the impact and prevent further increases in numbers during the peak months as much as possible.

“The Balearics are full for almost six months of the year and do not need more tourists or accommodation,” he added.

ONE of Spain's biggest fairs - the Ram fair - returns to Mallorca today and runs until April 16. Son Fusteret in Palma will once again play host to the attractions which are expected to bring in around 200,000 visitors over the coming weeks.

It's ranked as the country's third-largest fair behind Sevilla and Valencia, and boasts two new attractions this year.

The Rocket is not for the faint-hearted as you are suspended in the air by a harness attached to a 60-metre high tower.

A more gentle attraction is Magic Cut where you have to cut a rope to win a giant stuffed animal. The fair will have 170 booths, attractions and bars this year, with 70% of stallholders coming