Restaurant owners in Majorca are reportedly panicking after a drop in tourist bookings thought to be caused by higher fees, stricter regulations and anti-visitor sentiment. The first half of May has been “very bad” for the Spanish island’s hospitality sector, the president of its restaurants association Restauración CAEB has revealed. Juanmi Ferrer told the Majorca Daily Bulletin that weeknight reservations have dropped by up to 50% in tourist-heavy areas, while weekend trade has fallen by around 10% compared to last year.

The fall in holidaymaker business – which makes up around 45% of the island’s GDP – comes as international travellers face increased red tape, new rules and fees and an onslaught of anti-tourism demonstrations. Increased footfall has been disastrous for Majorca’s housing market and vulnerable infrastructure, and locals have taken to the streets numerous times over the last year calling for better protection against the tide of globetrotters and second home owners.

Travellers flocking to the Balearic island during peak season will also be subject to an extra £5 per night under the local government’s new tourist tax.

Mr Ferrer said May 1 and May 2 had brought normal levels of trade, but “the rest of the month has been lamentable”.

“We don’t expect the situation to improve, at least until May 25,” he said. “We’re writing off the month. We didn’t expect this start to the season: you have to go back many years to find one this bad.”

The hospitality boss added that the sharp drop-off in business could be linked to a bad weather front moving across Spain this month – but admitted that trade seemed to be on the downturn, with last year’s incomings worse than in 2023.

Restauración CAEB warned of a 20% revenue drop in the first quarter of 2025 earlier this month – echoing the 20% drop also recorded in June 2024, which was attributed to lower tourist spending.

Mr Ferrer has described the hospitality industry as Majorca’s “leading economic barometer” and warned that a consistent decrease in trading figures “will inevitably effect the entire local economy”.

Despite the apparently alarm-raising news, overall tourism to the Balearics broke previous records in the first few months of 2025, with over 800,000 international travellers landing on the archipelago between January and March, a rise of nearly 4% on last year.

“In terms of spending, we are not seeing an increase, but quite the opposite, a decrease,” Mr Ferrer warned. “We have more people spending less, it seems.”

As well as being discouraged from longer says by tourist tax policies and hostile locals, holidaymakers have pointed the finger of blame at rising prices in Majorca’s hospitality sector, with one angry Brit accusing the industry of “biting the hand” that feeds it.

With the summer season almost here, Brits have already begun to plan their holidays, and the most common destinations are European cities. However, there are a few hotspots where the travellers are likely to face travel delays, a latest analysis has revealed.

An analysis of the new Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that took account of the flight delays in 2024 found that those travelling to Greece and Turkey are most likely to face travel disruptions.  The data covers the average delays to flights to destinations from all UK airports in 2024. According to the CAA, in 2024, the average delay to all flights in the UK stood at 19 minutes.

In 2024, UK flights to popular Greek destinations experienced notable delays, with arrivals and departures to Rhodes averaging 34 minutes and Kos 33 minutes. 

Crete’s main airports, Chania and Heraklion, saw delays of 33 and 27 minutes, respectively, while Thessaloniki recorded an average delay of 26 minutes.

Similarly, flights to Turkey faced disruptions, with delays exceeding 25 minutes for Antalya (31 minutes), Bodrum (28 minutes), and Dalaman (26 minutes).

In contrast, flights to Spain’s Canary Islands had shorter delays, with Tenerife, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote all averaging under 20 minutes. 

The same was true for key European capitals, including Paris (17 minutes), Madrid (16 minutes), and Prague (18 minutes).

Anton Radchenko, CEO at AirAdvisor, who crunched the numbers, explains: “Unfortunately for travellers to Greece and Turkey, there is a clear pattern emerging in terms of the destinations where Brits are most likely to experience delays to their holiday flights.

“And with Greece in particular, the situation could be about to get even more complicated due to ongoing industrial action from air traffic control workers, that in February and early April caused Greek airspace to close completely for multiple days.

“Similarly, air traffic controllers, baggage handlers and air crew in Italy have gone on strike numerous times this year – with more strikes planned in May.

“Based on the CAA’s data, if you are looking for a popular holiday destination where you are less likely to be affected by delays to your journey, the Canary Islands of Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote all had low average delay times.”

Rhodes, Greece – 34 minute

Chania, Greece – 33 mins

Kos, Greece – 33 mins

Antalya, Turkey- 31 min

Bodrum, Turkey – 28 mins

Heraklion, Greece – 27 mins

Palma de Mallorca, Spain – 26 mins

Dalaman, Turkey – 26 mins

Salonica/Thessaloniki, Greece – 26 mins

Larnaca – 25 mins – Cyprus

Pisa, Italy – 25 mins

Naples, Italy – 25 mins

Skiathos, Greece – 24 mins

Marseille, France – 24 mins

Dubrovnik, Croatia – 24 mins

Paphos, Cyprus – 23 mins

Nice, France – 23 mins

Milan (Malpensa), Italy – 23 mins

Lisbon, Portugal – 23 mins

Athens, Greece – 22 mins

Sofia, Bulgaria – 22 mins

Palermo, Italy – 22 mins

Toulouse, France – 21 mins

Izmir, Turkey – 21 mins

Bordeaux, France – 21 mins

Ibiza, Spain – 21 mins

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain – 20 mins

Rome Fiumicino, Italy – 20 mins

Funchal, Portugal – 20 mins

Arrecife (Lanzarote), Spain – 19 mins

Malta – 19 mins

Malaga, Spain – 19 mins

Barcelona, Spain- 19 mins

Istanbul, Turkey – 18 mins

Seville, Spain – 18 mins

Prague, Czechia – 18 mins

Paris (Charles De Gaulle), France – 17 mins

Madrid, Spain – 16 mins

Fuerteventura, Spain – 17 mins

Tenerife, Spain – 16 mins

Faro, Portugal – 15 mins

Alicante, Spain – 17 mins

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to abstain from attending peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul proves he never took the process seriously, a former Tory MP and British Army officer has said.

Tobias Ellwood, now a Distinguished Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), also believes Putin’s ultimate goal – of conquering the whole of Ukraine – has not changed in the least since 2022.

Mr Ellwood was commenting after the Kremlin revealed the Russian delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, with Putin not even travelling. And Mr Ellwood dismissed the move as little more than a smokescreen, telling Express.co.uk: “I’ve heard of this guy – an aide to the president.

So Putin is not taking this seriously,” referring to Mr Medinsky, who will once again lead Russia’s delegation when talks resume on May 15. He said: “It’s a bit like a general sending in their aide-de-camp instead of going themselves.”