I Say High, You Say Low

Good or bad, bad or good. You pays your money, and you takes your choice. Or rather you may not take a choice if you happen to be a small trader. The summer season: successful or not successful? “Ultima Hora” does run interesting series. Like its studies of the beaches of Mallorca, it is now asking around the resorts how well the season went. Today is the turn of Playa de Muro. The results are not difficult to predict - the town hall and the hoteliers thought it was good or at least acceptable; the traders thought it normal or bad. Two sides, one coin.

In the high season of July and August, there was more or less total occupation in the hotels, of which there are a significant number - 32 to be precise. Attaining 100% occupation is a cause for celebration. The mayor of Muro is duly happy, the head of Grupotel (with four hotels) is similarly happy; only the head of Muro’s tourism sounds a negative - he concedes that there appears to have been a reduction in tourist spend. And that, of course, is what the traders are saying; one also reckons that the quality of the tourist has fallen. These are familiar themes, and could apply to most resorts in Mallorca.

As ever, it is the all-inclusive which takes the blame; and equally as ever, no-one really knows the full story as to the actual number of all-inclusive places - it is anecdote rather than hard information that takes precedence. The traders in the article are not exactly representative, neither is a bar nor restaurant owner, and a sample of two hardly makes for scientific certainty. But it is an indication, as was my piece at the end of July (29 July: 10:15 Saturday Night), which mentioned the fact that on one evening at the height of the season a restaurant in Playa de Muro had only two tables occupied.

The quality of tourist angle is one hears more and more. I find this insulting. Let’s call a spade a cash cow, quality tourism is a euphemism for moneyed tourism. Don’t spend or can’t spend, and the tourist is branded with a low-quality stamp: made in China and not in Germany. I don’t recognise this qualitative affront in Playa de Muro. There are, as a proportion, significantly more four-star hotels in Muro than in Alcúdia; there are no vast all-inclusive ghettoes such as the Mac complex with its unquestionable segment of economy class; the only five-star hotels along the coast in the north are in Playa de Muro. Opting for all-inclusive at an Iberostar four-star is hardly a sign of lack of spend (on the holiday accommodation at any rate).

There is another issue, and one I have referred to before. Playa de Muro has neither a promenade nor a centre; it lacks a focus. That it basically straddles a main road has created a by-pass of ambience. For many, it is looked upon as being the “quiet part” of Alcúdia, despite the fact that it is not Alcúdia. The road hints at something else, and there is a something else - the port and The Mile in Alcúdia. People do not come to Playa de Muro in the evenings, they leave it.

I wonder if there is not another dynamic at play - the growing discernment of the tourist. I once read a comment by someone staying at the fine Playa de Muro Village. They took a look around, didn’t much care for what they saw, so opted to eat in the hotel. That implies the restaurants are no good, which is not the case, but the strip on the Albufera side from the Esperanza roundabout up to the Alcudi-Mar and Las Gaviotas hotels does not look that inviting. Even someone from the town hall told me it was “feo” (ugly). One of the traders refers to Playa de Muro as a “beautiful area”. It is. There are the natural advantages of beach, forest, wetlands together with the artificial ones of often splendidly attractive hotel stock. Then there are other bits - like that strip. It is something that badly needs some attention, something that perhaps the town hall should be addressing. But while they can boast of 100% occupancy, I wouldn’t bank on it. Even without 100% occupancy, I wouldn’t bank on it either.


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