Last month showed an increase of 8.1% on last year´s figures

September continues this year´s good trend for hoteliers

Tourists. Over 1 million arrivals between April and August

The British once again accounted for the majority of tourists last month, but some 30% of the total number of visitors were from other regions of Spain

C.M.W..Maó

According to the Menorcan Hoteliers´ Association, ASHOME, September saw an average occupancy rate in the island´s hotels and apartment complexes of 82.4%, an increase of 8.1% on the figures for the same month last year.

The majority of the tourists were once again British, although 30% were from other parts of Spain (during August the number of Spanish visitors exceeded the number of British).

The average occupancy rate varied considerably according to the type of accommodation. Hotels and establishments offering full board or half board were almost completely full, whilst self-catering apartments were between 60% and 75% full.

Between April and August this year some 1,033,936 people arrived on the island, either by air or by sea, an increase of 4.4% on 2005´s figure of 990,296.

Menorca airport saw the number of arrivals (between April and August) rise from 857,309 in 2005 to 883,155 this year, whilst the figures for visitors coming to the island by sea (to the ports of Maó and Ciutadella combined) rose from 132,987 to 150,745.

Too short a season in Menorca

Ciutadella´s Municipal Tourism Junta met last week to take stock of the season that is now drawing to a close.

The Councillor for Toursim said that this year has shown a slight improvement after the steady decline of the previous few years.

The 15 representatives from the tourist sector who form the junta agreed that one of the problems was the shortness of the tourist season and said that urgent measures must be taken to lengthen the period.