Cathedral La Seu is one of the travel highlights of Mallorca.
A delegation from Mallorca visited Scandinavia earlier this month in the hope to lure tourists back from the wealthy region with a focus on sustainable tourism.
Mallorca is the biggest island of the Balearics, a chain of sun-drenched islands in the western Mediterranean Sea, approximately 100 miles from both Barcelona and Valencia on the eastern coast of mainland Spain. The vast Gothic cathedral of capital Palma de Mallorca and the UNESCO World Heritage listed Serra de Tramuntana are among Mallorca’s highlights.
Scandinavia had long been Mallorca’s third most important foreign tourism market after Germany and the U.K., but its popularity had been on the decline in the years prior to the pandemic.
In 2019, the number of tourists from Scandinavia fell by 20%, driven by unfavorable exchange rates and the troubles faced by low-cost airline Norwegian. Other Scandinavian favorites including Egypt and Turkey became more financially attractive than destinations using the Euro.
Promoting Mallorca in Scandinavia
Now that most pandemic-related travel restrictions have been lifted making travel within Europe possible once again, Mallorca tourism bosses wanted to remind its former Scandinavian tourists of what the island has to offer.
Representatives from the Council of Mallorca, the Mallorca Transport Consortium and the Mallorca Hoteliers Business Federation met with tour operators and the media in Denmark and Norway, and via videoconference with tour operators in Sweden.
The delegation was keen to emphasize Mallorca’s sustainability credentials, including the new Sustainability Tourism Observatory, the circularly action plan for hotels, a new green hydrogen plant and the natural gas or electricity-powered bus system. The Council of Mallorca said they were given an “excellent reception” during the trip.
Stronger flight connections from Scandinavia
It’s a good time to be promoting travel to the island, with many airlines planning regular flights throughout the 2022 summer season. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) operate daily flights to Mallorca from Copenhagen and Stockholm.
There are less frequent SAS departures from Oslo, but Norwegians keen on traveling direct have other options. The new-look Norwegian has returned to Mallorca with direct flights from all three Scandinavian capitals: Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, while new competitor Flyr has launched a direct route from Oslo three times a week.