Visit Calvià’s Summer 2021 campaign was highly successful with tourism occupancy levels bouncing back this summer and continuing through the Autumn.
The beginning of the season saw occupancy levels around 40%. However, these rose to 90% in August and September due partly to UK travel restrictions being eased when Majorca was moved to the Green List in July. These results were published following the recent announcement that Majorca was Spain’s top tourist destination for 2021 (Spanish Office for National Statistics). Calvià is home to 50,000 people and has 60,000 hotel rooms, receiving approximately 2 million tourists and over 9 million overnight stays, making it one of the main tourist destinations in the Balearic Islands.
The Southwest region reports that family tourism increased in comparison to previous years due to older groups being vaccinated first in the UK. Javier Pascuet, Director of Tourism for Visit Calvià highlighted, that the reduction in young British tourists “has given way this Summer to more family-friendly and quality tourism, which have increased considerably, and we hope that it will be consolidated in the coming years.”
Unemployment statistics for October show a lower figure than the same month of 2019, indicating that results of the summer season lengthening through the Autumn. This has been especially noticeable in areas such as Peguera where good levels of occupancy were enjoyed in hotels all the way through to mid-November.
The organisation and promotion of sports events such as the Challenge Peguera Triathlon, the Santa Ponça Golf Tournament or the Galatzó Trail, in addition to the growth in the region’s sports and outdoor products, have contributed towards this decline of seasonal tourism, which Calvià has been working towards. On the other side, cultural events also provide a less seasonally sensitive product, including the Expanded Literature Festival in Magaluf and the BetArt Urban Art trail, unveiled in November featuring works throughout Calvià village and Es Capdellà.
Pascuet commented on the reasons behind the regional development plan, “The change in the old model was motivated by the desire to reduce mass tourism and provide a higher quality sustainable offering, which does not endanger coexistence with citizens and adds value for our visitors.”