Juanmi Ferrer, president of the CAEB Restaurants Association in Mallorca, says "May is proving to be very bad for Mallorca's restaurants". During the week, reservations have fallen by between 40% and 50% in tourist areas; at weekends they have fallen by 10%.
There have been only two good days so far this month, May 1 and 2, which coincided with the Labour Day long weekend. "The rest of the month has been lamentable, and we don't expect the situation to improve, at least until May 25. We're writing off the month."
Significant damage to businesses is being caused, he adds. This will be very difficult to mitigate unless the summer months and October are very good. "We didn't expect this start to the season; you have to go back many years to find one this bad."
Given the lower than hoped-for expectations, he says restaurants are seeking to contain prices, even though they have very tight margins due to rising costs - food, drink, rents, staff.
As to reasons for the drop in revenue, he points to poor weather this month and lower tourist spending brought about by increases in the price of flights and accommodation. Despite all this, Ferrer is confident that the season will improve, although it will be difficult to match last year's, which was worse than 2023.
This is the latest complaint from the association about the level of business. A few days ago, Ferrer highlighted a fall in first-quarter revenue of up to 20%. That was attributed to lower tourist spending. Last summer, the association started to report falls in turnover from June. This was also 20% and was put down to the lower tourist spending and the 2024 Euros. The Olympics then became another reason.
Meanwhile, the negotiations for the hospitality industry's new collective bargaining agreement continue to stagger on. There is no chance of an agreement by May 22, the original deadline. The restaurants are bound by the terms of the agreement, the employers - led by Mallorca's hoteliers - having totally rejected a union pay demand of 19% over three years.