Mallorca ranked number one holiday home hotspot

Mallorca is ranked the number one holiday home hotspot in Spain, according to new figures, which show the area has the highest occupancy rate in the country for non-hotel tourist accommodation.

Research from INE (Spain's National Institute of Statistics) shows that more than 88 per cent of the Island's holiday dwellings offered as available in August 2015 were occupied.

"Mallorca's private holiday rentals market offers great flexibility to both families and groups wishing to stay together. This kind of non-hotel holiday is becoming ever more fashionable, and provides a great opportunity for owners of high-end Mallorca property to make their investment work hard for them when they are not 'in residence'," says Marta Jaume, Head of Rentals at Mallorca Sotheby's International Realty.

There were 1.1 million overnight stays in non-hotel tourist accommodation on the Island in August alone. Indeed, the firm is now finding that demand is so high that they do not have enough villas and apartments to meet it.

The trend, though, is not about to reverse: Spain is one of the most popular places in the world for holidaymakers, particular those from Britain and neighbouring European countries.

Baseline figures from FRONTUR show that more than 54 million tourists arrived in Spain in the first nine months of 2015, an increase of 3.8 per cent on the same period last year - and an all-time record.

Overall, according to INE, stays in non-hotel accommodation across Spain rose by 2.7 per cent in August compared to 2014, while the national occupancy rate of holiday dwellings of 62.3 per cent was also an increase on last year. Set against the occupancy rate in Mallorca of 88.5 per cent, it is easy to see how important the holiday rentals market is on the Balearic Islands.

This news coincides with a report released by Canadean - Travel and Tourism in Spain to 2019 - which shows that low-cost carriers increased their market share of international flights arriving in Spain in 2014 to 52.2 per cent, up from 44.2 per cent in 2009. Low-cost carriers are the automatic first choice of independent travellers who prefer to book the whole of their trip themselves, and who are most likely to stay in non-hotel accommodation.