The annual trade fair for the Spanish Tourism market FITUR has convened in Madrid with an air of optimism for Ibiza.
Attendances to the convention are up, the number of exhibitors is up, and the take-home message from key industry figures is that the Ibiza clubs will be open again from mid-April!
José Luis Benítez, Manager of the Ibiza Leisure Association formally announced that "the opening will be at the end of April, two weeks ahead of what is normally done" and "hold out until October... November if everything goes very well."
Benítez reassured the convention that "the big nightlife companies on the island, have been working this winter to prepare for the season." Adding that "we will proceed with caution and hand in hand with the authorities."
Balearic Minister of Tourism, Iago Negueruela, confirmed Benítez’ assessment, stating "the clubs will be able to open this summer." And that "the COVID passport is the key."
It is likely that the season will start with the same conditions as the 2021 season ended but improve as the summer goes on if the situation allows. When the exact rules are known we will, of course, update you.
Abel Matutes of Palladium Group, owners of Hï and Ushuaïa, is very optimistic about a major recovery for the tourism industry in 2022.
He believes that the vaccination programme and the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are accelerating the move towards herd immunity and that the removal of restrictions for the UK travel market will also be a major boost.
This is great news for Ibiza. It will inevitably stimulate an avalanche of interest and holiday booking requests over the coming weeks.
Indeed, our villa rental partner Roberto San Esteban of Ecoibiza is very optimistic. He announced to the convention that villa reservations are already 13% up on 2019 levels (the previous record year). Also, that the average rental period has increased back to seven days.
This underlines our recommendation that it is wise to get your hotel booking or villa rental reservation in as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Our legendary party calendar is beginning to fill, tickets are already on sale and be prepared for a flow of major club announcements to follow very soon. As ever, any club tickets sold on Ibiza Spotlight are fully refundable up to 24 hours before the event.
It all adds up to the most hopeful feeling we have had in the past 2 years. Let’s make 2022 a year to remember!