Wednesday March 24th 2021
From the dream of the Easter business?
Mallorca between frustration and joy
By Diana Dittmer
The euphoria on the sunny island about the Easter travel wave from Germany fizzles out just as quickly as it flared up. Just relaxed, the island government is tightening its measures again. Chancellor Merkel also wants to check the Corona “clearance” for the Germans now.
Mallorca, the Germans’ favorite sunny island, is under stress. The Spanish government had just decided to reopen the economy on the Balearic Islands after weeks of hard lockdown and to take the Easter business with it, when the island government is pulling the emergency brake on tourism again.
The incidence on the Mediterranean island is rising again. The number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants rose within a week from around 20 to 30. The risk is too great, they say. Therefore, the regional government now wants to close the interiors of cafés, restaurants and pubs, which only opened again in mid-March. It is only served outside – and only until 5 p.m.
This is likely to be a disappointment not only for the Mallorcan economy, but also for Germans who love to travel and who had been looking forward to their Easter break from lockdown. The newspaper “Diario de Mallorca” quotes the Balearic Minister of Economics, Iago Negueruela, as quoted by the newspaper “Diario de Mallorca”. “Easter is not a priority for us. It is important to secure the summer season.”
Many people understood that differently – both on the island and in Germany. Prime Minister Francina Armengol had welcomed the tourists from the Bay of Palma during her virtual appearance on March 10th as part of the International Tourism Exchange ITB: “The Balearic Islands will slowly resume activity and check the effect of each step before you take the next. “
Empty islands: the Germans are delighted
Around 40,000 Germans are sitting on packed suitcases and want to visit Mallorca and the neighboring islands over the Easter days. Everything seemed so simple: If you should not or are not allowed to travel in Germany, then just take the vacation plane to the south, where the number of corona cases is at a lower level. Since March 12, Mallorca is no longer a risk area for Germany. Returning travelers are not obliged to quarantine. All that is required is a corona test, which the airlines have to carry out before they return. It couldn’t be more convenient for travelers. A pleasant side effect of the fact that other countries are less relaxed about their citizens visiting the Balearic Islands: the islands are empty.
Even Spaniards from the mainland are not allowed to travel to their islands yet. “At Easter only the Germans will be in Mallorca, the British and many other Europeans cannot fly to the Balearic Islands,” said Tui Germany boss Marek Andryszak of the “Bild” newspaper. Great Britain also adheres to its strict travel rules, the British – who like the Germans actually make the regular guests – are not allowed to travel abroad again until mid-May at the earliest. It therefore promises to be a quiet vacation: “Of the 1000 hotels that are open in midsummer, not even ten percent will be available at Easter,” said Andrysak.
For many entrepreneurs on the island that is already too quiet. After weeks of Corona standstill, many livelihoods are at risk. And hopes for a profitable business over the Easter holidays are fading: after much criticism of the travel easing for the Balearic Islands, the Chancellor may soon be waving the red flag. Angela Merkel placed the test order with the country chiefs on Wednesday to see whether the flights to Mallorca could not be prohibited after all. Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Mallorca travel. “It is not a good thing that such vacations are taking place in this situation.” This shouldn’t become a major trend in the middle of the third wave of the pandemic. It is still unclear whether a ban is legally possible.
Almost every second restaurant business is about to go out
For Mallorca, the announcement of a wave of travel from Germany was a dawn in the pandemic. The Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Mallorca, Pimem, assumes that 40 percent of the restaurants in the Balearic Islands will not survive the coming weeks – with or without the German Osterulauber. The announcement that the tourists were returning brought some relief to at least some in the tourism industry: “This is fantastic news. The island and the people need tourism to drive the economy. If the tourists don’t come, the island will starve die “, the” Mallorca Zeitung “quoted a tourist guide.
The fact that the easing is now being collected again and interiors are being closed brings some entrepreneurs to the verge of desperation: “This is the end of the day,” the Süddeutsche Zeitung quotes Alberto Jareño, who runs three restaurants in Mallorca’s capital, Palma. He and other restaurateurs and small business owners joined forces weeks ago to form the Resistencia Balear association and have demonstrated several times against closure measures. The next demo is scheduled for March 29th. “This time it will no longer be peaceful,” he announced.
The question of whether one wants to take more or less risks polarizes the islands: While some are going on the barricades, others are also relieved that the Balearic Islands are not running the full risk of ending up in total lockdown again. Tourists bring money and work, but also the risks of the pandemic. Even for Mallorca’s hotelier association FEHM, the easing measures were apparently premature. “If we make mistakes now, we will gamble away the summer season,” said a spokeswoman.
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