Majorca Business

The locations which concentrate the most tourists are located in the the municipality of Calvia (the district of pariaje), more concretely in the town of Magaluf, followed by the part of the beach of Palma which is known as El Arenal and the area of Alcudia. In 2008 many of the old Mallorcan farmhouses have been converted into hotels for rural tourism, such as Son Boronat (where you can see an arabic canal system and the real defense tower of the estate, dated in the century XIV) ; while many others such as Porrassa , continue to be used for a bit of farming and serve as a mansion for their owners.

One of the bays of the island with some international fame is Portals Vells with the cove of El Mago, which was named after a movie that was filmed there in 1967 with Anthony Quinn, Candice Bergen and Michael Caine as protagonists. In principle, the movie should have been filmed in Greece, but the coup d'état that happened there, made that the producers moved the stage; and the new site chosen was Mallorca. The film critics were full of praise for the beautiful location in the Aegean , until a mallorcan emigrant wrote to the papers to prove that the actual location was a Mallorcan beach and not a place in Greece.

The mallorcan wines are appreciated in other parts of Spain and also Europe in recent years. Mallorca has two Dominations of Origin:D.O. Binissalem-Mallorca and D.O. Pla I Llevant , as well as a geographical indication Vino de la Tierra Mallorca.

Communications

The most common way to get to Majorca is to take a plane. From the airport of Son Sant Joan there are regular flights to the capitals of the other islands (Ibiza and Mahon), to some mainland cities (Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Alicante, Bilbao, etc) and to many European cities, mainly in the United Kingdom and Germany. In fact, this airport has the highest number of passengers per year across Spain , after the airport of Madrid-Barajas. Due to tourism, it is easy to find cheaper direct flights from the main cities in Germany or in the UK or from the mainland.

Besides the international airport, there is also the small airport of Son Bonet , used for light aircrafts, small private planes and helicopters. This airport is the base of anti-fire fleet (aircrafts and helicopters) on the island.

Apart from travelling by air, it is also possible to travel by boat to Valencia or Denia from the seaport of Palma and to Barcelona from the port of Palma and the port of Alcudia, as well as to the French town of Sete, from the port of Soller once a week. The boat is an economical way to travel to Majorca, which allows as well to bring your car. Boat and plane are the means of interconnection between the islands.

The two main driving forces behind the economy are tourism and construction, pushing the industry (leather, footwear, furniture, pottery, pearls, jewelry) and the primary sector (agriculture, livestock, fishing, mining )to the background. Local governments are striving to diversify the Mallorcan economy lately , stimulating other sectors. In this perspective, the Mallorcan hotel industries are among the first in Spain and even in the world.

Architecture

One of the most representative architectural buildings of the island, is the castle of Bellver, as this is one of the only three circular castles in Europe. The caves belonging to the castle are situated in the surrounding woodland. They have recently been prepared for visitors.

The Cathedral of Santa María de Palma, famous for containing one of the largest rosettes of Gothic style, which became known as the “Ojo del gotico”

The Sanctuary of Lluch, the place of pilgrimage par excellence because it houses the Virgen de Lluch (patron saint of Mallorca).

El Paseo Calvia,considered as the green lung of the district, with a length of 32 kilometres.

Castle of Bendinat , built in the nineteenth century by the Marqués de la Romana