The Councillor for Tourism, Pepa Mari, announced on Friday that there would be a second attempt to get the Senior Tourism Plan off the ground this winter. Last year Mari announced the launch of a tourist programme similar to the one currently run on a national level, Imserso, which allows Spanish pensioners to purchase holidays at heavily discounted prices. Originally she claimed up to 15,000 senior citizens from around Europe could visit the island last winter as part of the plan, but the scheme never got off the ground. However, Mari remains confident it will happen this year, although she claims the amount of people who will visit the island will be somewhat reduced, predicting around 3,500 over the course of the winter.
However, the announcement was received with disappointment by the Hotel Federation, which claimed 500 visitors a month would barely fill one hotel.
The news came as hotel occupancy continued its downward trend during June, as the Hotel Federation confirmed a total of 20 per cent of hotels on the island still remained closed. Of those establishments that were open, occupancy reached 60% during the first 15 days of June, 10 per cent down on the figure of 2008.
As predicted the youth market was holding up well, as genuine concern continued into the progressive reduction of the family market, based in part on the invasion of youngsters into the more traditional family areas. Santa Eulalia was the perfect example during May as the traditional family hub saw occupancy fall 19 per cent, a worrying trend which most believe needs to be addressed.
