Xavier Mudoy

After COVID-19, what interest in celebrations and events have you seen from foreign people and organizations as a catering provider in Mallorca?

During the pandemic, one of the most affected sectors was the wedding and event catering sector due to the high number of government restrictions on celebrations of such events. These limitations, in addition to the restrictions on mobility in travel, resulted in almost all events being canceled in 2020, postponing most of them for the coming years. 2021 was somewhat better. Starting from June, restrictions were reduced, and we were able to hold some events while adapting them to the limitations. For the 2022 season, with the improvement of the pandemic situation, we expect a significant increase. The number of reservations has skyrocketed. A large part of this growth is due to the increase in bookings by foreign clients, especially for all the weddings and events that had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

How is Mallorca positioning itself as a destination for weddings among its traditional tourist clientele from Europe?

For a few years now, Mallorca has positioned itself as one of the most popular destinations in the Mediterranean for the celebration of weddings and business events. The excellent weather, plus the convenient air connectivity and the large number of farms and Mallorcan properties in recent years, along with amazing reforms for the celebration of these events, make it an extremely attractive destination. The profile of foreign clients who come to Mallorca to celebrate a wedding is usually one with a medium to high purchasing power. They are extremely attractive clients, not only for catering companies but also for all companies that participate in the celebration of an event, such as hotels, transportation companies, kitchenware, decoration companies, florists, and so on.

How important is AIRE with its culinary offerings of traditional Mallorcan products and the use of local producers in general?

Our policy is to give top priority to using local products. When our kitchen designs the menus, this is a premise that we always keep in mind. Using local products has a number of advantages that benefit the company: pollution is reduced; we help the economy be fairer; local products are tastier; and their nutritional value remains intact. We favor agriculture, livestock, and local gastronomy, as one euro spent on products nearby generates twice as much for the local economy. All these arguments make us great advocates of the consumption of local products.

What prospects do you have for the 2022 season?

The 2022 season looks optimistic. We hope to return to 2019 pre-pandemic numbers—even surpassing these numbers in some summer months. We want the pandemic to be behind us, and we are able to face the coming years with complete normality and celebrate again with all our customers.