The Reality of Ibiza 2008

Morbyd

Moderator
Looks like those of us who thought the visitor numbers in Ibiza were substantially down this year were wrong.

This from the main Spotlight site (http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/news/2008/tourist_stats_141008_i.htm)
Ibiza Spotlight said:
Ibiza Tourist Stats - Better than Expected

The Institute of Tourist Strategy (Inestur) produces masses of statistics every month for Ibiza and the other Balearic Islands. With the world economy in dire straights, credit crunches, increasing interest rates and the falling stock markets and Pound Sterling, these statistics have become more important than ever.

Merchants of Doom predicted a very bad year for Ibiza, for all the above reasons plus the new laws on the island designed to curb daytime clubbing and illegal drug use. Well surprise, surprise, the number of tourists visiting Ibiza up to the end of August has declined by only around 2% against the previous year.

Last year 1.76 million people arrived by air and sea, and this year it's 1.73 million in the same period – and remember, 2007 was one of the best years Ibiza has had for a long, long time. It seems that people are determined to take their holidays whatever the economic situation!

However it isn't all good news. People aren't spending so much of their hard earned cash whilst they're here. Shops and all but the top restaurants say their takings are well down on last year whilst local supermarkets are doing really well as visitors ecomomise by purchasing food and drinks in them.

It just shows that even in a recession there are winners and losers!

:idea:

It'll be interesting to see the numbers with September and October factored in... once the economic crisis took up permanent residence on newspaper front pages and the weather turned cooler.
 
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Well I dont care what anybody says about the new laws and how the place is changing, it was my first trip to Ibiza this year and it was the best 10 days of my life! The magic is definately there, and it still has thousands/millions desperate to get back for '09
 
Interesting point there about the supermarkets... maybe that's the business to get into! :idea:

On every visit I have considered what body part I would exchange for the chance to own one of those little supermercado's. It's the same in the UK, a correctly sited mini supermarket (particularly a name) is a licence to print money.

The figures do seem somewhat baffling. Considering the general mood on here, there will be an aweful lot less clubbers next year than this. It's also possible a lot of people had already booked and payed for holidays before it became clear the full impact of the global crisis would have. I can think of two posters who just before or after their trips lost jobs. The cost of holidays is due to rise again next year 6%+. The nazi regime in Ibiza are already talking about further tightening of the laws with regards to parties.
 
my girlfriend is doing her dissertation this year and she chose to do it on the current situation in ibiza. about whether the new laws have had an effect on the number of visitors or more importantly the revenue made by the local businesses etc.
anyway, she got in touch with the department which is responsible (cant remember name) for all the facts and figures and they kindly sent her a rather large fax documenting everything she wanted to know.
the thing that struck us both when we were reading it was that numbers were actually UP for this summer compared to 2007.
 
I honestly don't think the opening hours issue deters many people aside from the Ibiza fanatics who frequent places like this forum (like me :lol:). The economic situation, pound/euro exchange rate, and weather are far more important.

I'm not so sure next year will be substantially worse than this year. If the economy starts looking up by May then a lot of people will still make their way to the island. It's only you Brits who love to book their vacations a year in advance :lol:
 
I can barely wait for next years holiday(s) to Ibiza:lol::lol::lol:

In an ideal world, in 2009 we shall have;

1 Trip of 3 nights for party time.
1 Trip of 14 days as a family holiday.

I cannot deny I will miss the opportunity to dance in the midday sun but that's a small part of the holiday experience in all honesty. Like most Brits, I love a good old fashioned moan:lol::lol::lol:
 
as morbyd says the opening hours will only deter a few people.Ive never been to a club ,it would take something to stop me going to ibiza.If us brits book in advance we get some pretty good deals:D:).What i save on flights i can spend in Ibiza:lol:
 
Sorry people, but whatever some 'figures' suggest, there was def less people on the most important places the clubs! Apart from the major nights, a lot of the smaller nights suffered!

IBIZA! - DROP YOUR PRICES NEXT YEAR FFS!
 
Yeh next year, I'm going for a week in June and a week in August.

Means I get the pleasure of 2 weeks in Ibiza, but with time to recover in between the madness meaning I can make the most of 2 weeks, without lagging on the last week (which in all honesty I didn't but I felt I was carrying some of my weaker friends through the last week)
 
im with you MakinaDJ first time there in june, loved it already have my holiday booked for next year only 278 days to go woohoo:)
 
I'm sure takings from drinks in clubs must be down too. I never remember waiting so little to be served in clubs. Usually you have to wait for a while, this year every time i went at least two bar staff were just twiddling their thumbs.

It would definitely be a good idea for them to bring down their prices a tad.
 
from the ibiza sun:

Numbers Rise
Despite all the doom and gloom over the last few months it appears that there has been a surprising increase in tourists so far this year. The statistics, produced by Ibatur, showed a surge in visitor numbers of 1.7 per cent compared to 2007. However, the two principal markets continued their recent falls, with the figures only bolstered by the continued success of several emerging sectors.
Ibatur is the Institute of Tourism, created by the Balearic Islands Tourism Council, in charge of the promotion and marketing of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera islands.
During the first eight months of the year Ibiza received a total of 1,468,736 tourists, 23,864 more than the same period in 2007. The British market continued to dominate with 469,496 tourists arriving from the UK, a fall of 3.1 per cent from last year. However, despite fears the credit crunch would begin to bite in Spain, the local market recovered well, once again bringing a total of 443,545 people to the island, 5.6 per cent more than in 2008.
Both the German (-5 per cent) and Italian (-3.8 per cent) markets were also down year on year, just two of only five sectors to decrease numbers on the island along with the British, Austrian (-6 per cent) and Swiss (-7.2 per cent) markets.
In contrast the French ( up 35.4 per cent), Swedish (up 184 per cent), Danish (up 151 per cent) and Finnish (up 159 per cent) markets all rose sharply, with the Irish also responding well to an increased marketing campaign within the country, with an increase of 19.3 per cent.
These numbers come despite recent stats by the Hotel Federation which showed occupancy had fallen in Ibiza and Formentera this year, figures which have been put into question recently by an independent report by Gadesco, which showed that 94 per cent of hotels made similar profits to last year.
As regards boat travel there was a general reduction, with the port in Ibiza reporting a decline of 18.4 per cent in the number of visitors, although this was offset by an increase in the number of users at the port in San Antonio, up 13 per cent compared to last year.
Although these stats were heavily disputed, similar figures out of Palma showed a similar, if smaller trend in the number of visitors to the Balearics. So far this year 9,274,459 people have visited the four islands which make up the archipelago, 0.8 per cent more than in 2007. However the changes in the different sectors was significant with the German market up 4.4 per cent to cement its place in the number one slot (2,908,949), followed by the British (2,506,714) and Spanish (2,030,847) markets.
However, despite these positive figures it looks as if next season could be a tough one, with all of the major tour operators agreeing that 2009 "will be a difficult year". The most positive comments came from the commercial director of Thomson, Gary Wilson, who claimed the strong name of Ibiza would help to maintain levels during the most difficult of times. However, it does promise to be a rough ride over the next twelve months, with all of the main operators calling for an improvement to the quality-price ratio on the island.
However, this opinion was contradicted by a poll carried out on behalf of ABTA (the association for British Travel Agents) which revealed that 83 per cent of people who took a trip abroad in 2008 are planning to do the same in 2009. However, the strong euro might have an effect on their destination, with just 46 per cent saying they were planning to head for Western Europe compared to 65 per cent last year.


Positive Slant
As disappointing occupancy figures for September were released by the Hotel Federation, the tourist minister, Pepa Mari claimed the season had "not been that bad". Whilst trying to remain upbeat she confessed that the 6 per cent drop in hotel occupancy during the year had been disappointing. However, she added that the number of visitors coming to the island had remained the same. This, she agreed, was because a number were going to non-official accommodation, a continuing problem on the island, and one she hoped to solve soon.
She also revealed in the press conference that her department would be selling congress, natural and sports holidays to the island at the upcoming World Travel Market from 10-13th November, with more hotels than ever staying open this winter. Mari also disclosed, with the Councillor for Tourism in the capital, Vicent Ferrer, that there would be a total of four tourist information offices open all year round. In addition to the new one open in the port of Ibiza, there will also be one in Vara de Rey and Parque de la Paz (close to the British Consulate). The fourth will be located in the airport and will open from 9a.m.-3p.m. for those arriving during the day.
Her comments came as the occupancy for September showed a fall of 8.4 per cent on Ibiza and Formentera in comparison to last year, the lowest levels in eight years. Apart from Santa Eulalia which showed a slight decline of just 2 per cent, all of the other regions witnessed slightly larger falls ranging from 7.6 per cent in the north of the island, to 11.9 per cent in Ibiza Town.
 
from the ibiza sun:

Numbers Rise
Despite all the doom and gloom over the last few months
it appears that there has been a surprising increase in tourists so far this year.
The statistics, produced by Ibatur, showed a surge in visitor numbers ...

Ibatur is the Institute of Tourism,
created by the Balearic Islands Tourism Council,
in charge of the promotion and marketing
of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera islands.



these figures are obviously wrong as **** :)
one must be deaf/dumb/blind/whatever to believe these figures !

the IBATUR-people HAVE to bring some good (= fake :lol: ) statistics -
because otherwise they would all get fired!
 
I disagree and think people should stop worrying about numbers and statistics. My experience of a summer on the island was of its normal banging self

Granted the season got off to a late start (mid june) but once it got going all the usual spots were rammed.

- Pacha no room to breathe let alone move
- Bora Bora, normal buzzing self, not a square inch of sand to lay a towel
- Taxi Business, phone ran off the, could have employed 5 other drivers and still not covered demand.

This doom and gloom is talked about every year and each year IBIZA continues to live on. Granted the "German visitors might have gone down 1.76%" for example! Who gives a **** about figures, the island continues to rock and will do for the foreseabe future. So stop harping on and get out there and enjoy the island while you can. Anyway most people on here are in a WIN WIN situation - because if / when the island does calm down we will be left with memories of amazing clubbing experiences and wild nights out and left with a beautiful quiet tranquil paradise to explore with freinds and family.

STOP BLOODY WORRYING
 
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