The president of the Consell d'Eivissa, Vicent Marí.

The president of the Consell d'Eivissa, Vicent Marí.

Vanessa HernándezIbiza08/11/24 11:09
TW0

British airlines are advancing their operations for the coming season with an unprecedented schedule of flights between Ibiza and the United Kingdom for the month of March. Without going any further, the Consell d'Eivissa announced yesterday that, although the majority of holiday package sales take place from April onwards, it can already be seen that in the last week of March Ibiza's air connections with the United Kingdom will increase sixfold. In this way Ibiza goes from offering a single daily connection with London, which operates all year round with British Airways, to operating several direct connections with London, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham. ‘A seven-month season has been consolidated on the island of Ibiza and progress continues to be made in the deseasonalisation of tourism,’ Vicent Marí said at the World Travel Market in London after meeting with the Expedia travel agency. In this sense, he stressed that, based on this deseasonalisation, many of the island's hotels and international flights will start working in the last week of March.

Tourist establishments

In relation to this early season, he indicated that this situation will generate more job stability, better salaries, greater productivity and less pressure in the peak months of the season thanks to those who prefer to visit Ibiza in the mid-season, ‘which is when the weather allows you to enjoy the whole island at a much lower price’. However, he explained that the opening of the tourism season with the UK will culminate in April when Ibiza will have 11 direct connections with the country because, in addition to the previous six, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Glasgow, Nottingham and Belfast will be added. ‘Other operators also begin to operate during the fourth month of the year, such as Jet2,’ he added, highlighting that this airline told the Consell that the momentum of the sporting events has been decisive in advancing its season to the beginning of this month of April.

As for the island's tourist establishments, he added that the month of March will end with 76 hotels, hostels and aparthotels open, to which must be added the holiday rental offer. The Consell also specified that, in the case of hotel establishments, the average price in the last week of March and the first week of April is around 152 euros per night. ‘In 2024, the last week of March a total of 55 establishments were open in Ibiza, almost 30 % more’, they pointed out, while insisting on the importance of family tourism for Ibiza.

In this regard, Vicent Marí stressed that Ibiza has intensified its calendar of meetings during the World Travel Market fair to talk to OTAs (direct sales companies of hotels and holiday packages online), tour operators and travel agents in the United Kingdom about the good figures of the family tourism sector, which represents a total of 25% of the British arrivals to Ibiza during the year 2024. In addition, the president took advantage of these meetings to convey to these tourism agents the good acceptance of these visitors, with repeat rates of more than 60%. It should be noted that, according to data from some OTAs, the United Kingdom is the main issuer of family tourism in Ibiza, accounting for 33% of family package bookings made on the island, followed by Germany, France and the United States.