British-run businesses in Majorca fear they could go bust after the collapse of Thomas Cook, with bars and hotels reporting a sharp downturn in trade. The island's beaches are now largely deserted following the travel firm's entry into compulsory liquidation, which led to the cancellation of all flights and holiday packages.
Jack Bate, 31, owner of the Rose and Crown pub in Cala Millor, told the Daily Star that trade had plummeted this week and was 'sometimes down to none'. Another British bar owner described business as catastrophic since the collapse. The Daily Star reports that at least 500 Spanish hotels are facing imminent closure due to the drop in British holidaymakers.
British couple Callie Millington and her fiancé Liam Shaw were allegedly locked out of their hotel in Magaluf after the Thomas Cook collapse. The 23-year-olds say they were asked to pay £1,100, despite already paying £750 each for their 10-day holiday at the four-star HM Martinique Hotel. They claim staff threatened they would have to spend the night on the streets if they didn't re-pay the amount.
After talks with the Civil Aviation Authority, the hotel agreed to allow the guests back into their rooms. The collapse of Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel firm, has resulted in the biggest peacetime repatriation since the Second World War, with hundreds of thousands of British tourists stranded abroad having to be rescued.
