GERMANS fear AMERICANS out to ‘steal our sunbeds’ as Mallorca becomes popular destination for US tourists

The Germans like to lay down the towel on Mallorca.

Of the roughly 5.7 million tourists from around the world who made the trip to the sunny Balearic island in 2021, a whopping 2.12 million came from Germany.

As a result, Germans accounted for almost 40 percent of all tourism on the island in 2021 – more than twice as much as Spaniards and more than three times as much as Britons.

But now Germany’s dominance of Mallorca’s tourism market is reportedly being threatened by a new party – the Americans – and Germans aren’t too happy about it.

German tabloid Bild published an article this morning entitled ‘Are the Americans stealing our sunbeds in Mallorca?’

It complained that United Airlines offered three weekly flights from Newark Airport to Palma last summer to gauge demand in the US for a far-flung destination for Americans.

Almost every flight with 214 seats was fully booked.

Not Miami (Florida), not Cancun (Mexico), not Honolulu (Hawaii). Every self-respecting American is flying to Mallorca this summer!’ joked picture.

“Are the Americans now stealing our beach chairs after the British?”

Following the success of 2022, United Airlines plans to expand the number of flights and extend the season by two months.

The airline’s website now offers flights to Palma from New York, Chicago, Denver, Houston and San Francisco.

Germany has dominated the tourism market on Mallorca for years – almost 40 percent of all tourists registered on the island in 2021 were German

Perhaps the Germans feel a little betrayed.

Even after years of commitment to making Mallorca a de facto tourist colony, their loyalty has not stopped the island’s tourism bosses from broadening their own horizons.

Last year, Mallorca Magazin, a German-language magazine for the island, reported that tourism foundations and hotel guides had developed targeted marketing campaigns to attract Americans tempted to explore new European shores.

“Demand in the US has exceeded all our expectations,” a spokesperson for tourism promoter Palma 365 told the publication.

He added that the organization intends to increase promotional efforts in the future “to attract and consolidate this new foreign market with great growth potential”.

View of the famous Soller Port Marina and Dockland illuminated by the evening light in Palma de Mallorca in Spain

Meanwhile, Javier Vich, the head of the Asphama hotel association, said his properties were fully booked from US vacationers until September 2022.

Now, in 2023, Germany’s beloved Balearic Island tops renowned travel journalist Larry Olmsted’s Forbes list of Top 5 Hot Travel Destinations, sure to make sun-seeking Americans swoon.

“Mallorca has long been popular with Europeans… but for some reason the Mediterranean island paradise has stubbornly remained off Americans’ radar until recently,” Olmsted wrote.

“Mallorca is hot, hot, hot and rightly so.”

With such resounding approval, many German holidaymakers will be flocking to Mallorca later this year just to find their name on their favorite sunbed.