For a long time Mallorca was ridiculed as the “cleaning woman island”, then it was reviled for drinking tourism. Suddenly an onslaught of the rich takes center stage on the island. Is there a new Mallorca?
Palma – Even Jack Ma is said to have been there. The Alibaba founder’s super yacht “Zen”, estimated at 170 million euros, was anchored off the southwest coast of Mallorca for days in October.
Ma, one of the richest men in China, had long disappeared from the scene after his falling out with his country’s government over criticism of the financial system. “Shopping, golfing, maybe even looking at real estate” were now on the 57-year-old’s program, as the “Mallorca Zeitung” wrote in the latest edition. The “South China Morning Post” – which belongs to the group of online retailer Alibaba – reported that Ma was on business in Spain.
Anyway: It is not surprising that Ma was spotted on Mallorca on his first known international trip after the dispute with Beijing. The party stronghold, once ridiculed as the “cleaning women island” and until the end also dependent on the controversial drinking tourism, is increasingly becoming the island of millionaires and billionaires. Luxury tourism is booming like never before. The record numbers of 2019, the year before the outbreak of the pandemic, were exceeded, although the corona virus is still haunted, as Jesús Cuartero told the German press agency in an interview.
“Spectacular development”
Cuartero speaks of a “spectacular development” – and he should know. The head of Vanity Welcome, which offers visitors premium services, is also the president of the “Essentially Mallorca” interest group, which claims to represent most of the island’s luxury companies. “Mallorca has now positioned itself as one of the most important European travel destinations in the luxury segment,” he assures.
The rush of the rich continues in autumn: on the last long weekend with All Saints’ Day, all boutique hotels and all five-star hotels in the island’s capital Palma were booked, as the hotelier association Asphama announced. The high demand for luxury travel has been going on for “many weeks,” said Asphama President Javier Vich of the Última Hora newspaper.
Indeed – for many weeks: In July, for example, there were 2,685 take-offs and landings of private jets on Mallorca. That was around 60 percent more than in the same month of 2019. Other figures also speak for themselves: According to Essentially Mallorca in 2021, room occupancy in luxury accommodations has been 90 percent so far. Luxury tourism brought Mallorca income of one billion euros by the end of the summer season this year. Every luxury tourist spends an average of 5,000 euros per day.
Luxury sector hotter than ever
“Our customers are politicians, entrepreneurs, film and sports stars, but also anonymous rich people. They rent villas from us for 50,000 euros a week, yachts for 60,000 euros (…) We are experiencing a boom, ”said Jordi Riba of“ Limo Mallorca ”in“ Última Hora ”. Many are benefiting from the boom – including real estate dealers. “The luxury sector is hotter than ever. European millionaires are buying houses here like crazy right now. Madness! ”, Mallorca realtor Carlos Seguí was quoted in the newspaper“ El País ”in September.
Cuartero reports that tourists from the luxury sector can be found “all over the island”. You can even see them on the party mile on Playa de Palma, the “Ballermann”, which is notorious for drinking tourism. “There are more and more Rolexes on the wrists here, but of course the wearers don’t look in on me,” says Joan, who runs a souvenir shop on the Playa, laughing at the dpa.
The development is also being closely followed abroad. The luxury chain Ikos Resorts recently announced investments of 110 million euros. The aim is to turn the Hotel Blau Porto Petro in the southeast of Mallorca into an impressive all-inclusive luxury hotel – only the brand’s second resort outside of Greece.
Most of the rich from Germany
Much has been written on Mallorca about Jack Ma, the many oil sheiks, the millionaires from Russia and Switzerland, and the entrepreneurs who love to invest. Most luxury tourists come from Germany, according to Cuartero. There are no specific official figures for 2021 yet. But if you don’t believe the Essentially boss, you can take a walk through Port Portals about ten kilometers southwest of Palma. A surprising number of German flags adorn ships of all sizes at Mallorca’s most glamorous marina.
The left, who have been in charge both in the capital and in the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands since 2015, have long wanted to ban low-cost and drinking tourism and instead attract far more wealthy visitors. Away from the notorious sangria bucket, that’s the motto. “We don’t need tourists here who want to get drunk for a week,” says the socialist Palma mayor José Hila time and again. With strict rules of behavior and other measures, however, one has so far hardly had any success in the fight against the dirty image.
Many believe that the corona restrictions have now had a “cleansing effect”. Mallorca is the best place for luxury tourism in Europe. “Now is the best time to realign our tourism model,” says entrepreneur Riba.
“But I also need tourists who buy souvenirs and cola from me,” says trader Joan. They still exist, but they shouldn’t be sold right now with higher prices and aggressive tones. He is not the only one who warns that many small business owners who did not fall victim to the large number of shops and restaurants that died out during the pandemic are still far from over the mountain. dpa
