Budget airline Ryanair has increased its cooperation with travel giant TUI to offer more flights to holidaymakers visiting the island of Majorca.
“We are pleased to announce this partnership with TUI, which will enable TUI customers to now book Ryanair flights, seats, and bags as part of their holiday package with the guarantee that they will have full price transparency of Ryanair products,” said Dara Brady, Ryanair’s Director Marketing and Digital.
He added that TUI customers will receive information about their flight directly from Ryanair and will have direct access to their booking through their myRyanair account.
The flights can also be combined with TUI’s hotel offers in both travel agencies and online.
The option of booking Ryanair flights as part of TUI holidays will be gradually introduced in the next few weeks and will cover all tourism-relevant routes, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
“The agreement we have now reached will create more travel options for our guests than ever before,” added David Schelp, CEO Markets and Airlines, TUI Group.
“In the UK in particular, our guests will be able to choose from an even wider range of flights in future – and in addition to a strong programme with TUI Airline’s own flights.”
Ryanair currently has 16 aircraft based in Palma for the summer, with Majorca being one of its top destinations in Spain.
How this news will be received by the thousands of residents in the largest Balearic Island who want to see a change in the existing tourism model remains to be seen.
Earlier this month, one of the major protest groups, Menys Turisme, Mes Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), vowed to step up its efforts in the coming summer season as it campaigns against the negative impacts of tourism.
The platform has criticised authorities across the archipelago of “prioritising profits over residents” and plans to intensify its actions after seeing the government’s new tourist campaign and a “boom in property speculation”.
It was behind a huge protest in Palma at the height of last year’s holiday season, which saw a staggering 111 groups participate.
The organisers said the protest was an action “against mass tourism and a process of touristification that suffocates us, condemns us to impoverishment and the continued precariousness of our lives, and irreversibly degrades the territory and the natural and cultural heritage of the islands”.
Ryanair recently announced an impressive 72 new routes around Europe for the summer season, including between Edinburgh and Porto.