Don't Live Here Anymore: Tourists returning and businesses closing

Activity in the hotels, as in how many guests there are, where they're from and so on, is a familiar enough "game" that many a bar, restaurant or whatever owner plays, especially during the phoney season (i.e. now) and then in the first days of the real season, from 1 May. Much time is devoted to quizzing receptionists and other hotel staff as to occupancy levels in the anticipation that these levels will mean, or may mean, folding notes being handed over in the bar or restaurant or whatever.

The wrath of Iceland, and therefore the absence of guests, has introduced new games. One is spot the tourist coach and spot how many are on it. A couple of days ago hardly any. But now, hmm, starting to look good again. Or so it can be hoped. A second game is check the arrivals at the airport. Flights from here or there. How many flights. Looking good again now. Just depends how many are on the flights and where they're going to.

Over the past few days you couldn't go anywhere without questions being asked as to what is happening with flights from the UK or from Germany. All sorts of half bits of information, misinformation, pessimism, optimism have resulted from the constant quest for some reassurance that there are indeed people coming to Mallorca again.

If you've ever wondered as to the sheer dependence on tourism, the reliance on it, then these questions will have convinced you. It's all that business owners have been able to think about, and any source of information has been clutched at: bodies on a bus, flight boards, rumours as to Thomas Cook this or EasyJet that. Total dependence.


One of the inevitabilities, like night following day, is that a place will suddenly go out of business. Sometimes you wonder why. Other times you can nod wisely and say that it was bound to have happened. This inevitability tends to occur, however, later in the season or once the season has finished. Usually it doesn't occur before the season has even got under way. However.

Let's try this little game. You have, from the following information, to identify somewhere that has closed. Suddenly. All locked up. Chef arriving for work and finding there's no one around. One day there, next day not there. Gone. Finished. Through. Finito.

It's a sort of no-tourist land, as in there are no hotels nearby. Not that sort of area. Not in one of the resorts. Not even in a town. But by an urbanisation that forms part of a town that isn't a tourist town, even if it, the town, is near to local tourist towns. Big. Very big. Lots of bits to it. Lots of land being covered by the lots of bits. Needed a lot of work doing to it as well. All the bits, and not just the restaurant. Well known, they who were running it and who had planned this and that. Gone. Not there. Locked up. Finito.

What?


QUIZ -
Yesterday: Well, you've already got a quiz, but yesterday's reference was to "The Cloggies", Bill Tidy's cartoon.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.