Go back a couple of months to the second of April and I said sorry. Said that I was going to stop. That there would be no more. Until the next time.
This is the next time.
In "The Last Supper" (2 April) I referred to "anecdotal simplism". It was in respect of prices, specifically the price of a coffee. "The Bulletin" had commented on a small coffee costing one euro, ninety. So it did again. Yesterday. There was an admission that the point had been made before, and so there should have been. The example was the same, the line of argument the same; that there should be price controls, mainly it would appear (this time round), for coffees in Palma. You can, if you want, go further back, to 30 August last year. Same price control argument. You can go back much further than August last year; it's a line that has been trotted out for some years. Editorial déjà vu.
I just don't get it. I don't get the argument for the simple reason that there is no chance of a price control being implemented (and the tourism minister in April said that there was nothing she could do about the prices). It is an issue for individual businesses. I don't get it for the additional reason that I don't get why it has been dragged out once more.
There are all sorts of examples one can pull out regarding inflated prices, just as there are all sorts of examples of the opposite, of prices being kept low or simply being low. A while back I mentioned a conversation during which I was told how the Swedish are finding beer prices higher than once was the case. But this was specific to beach bars. You simply cannot just cite examples here and there and claim that you have proven a case.
It is this, especially this, that I don't get: "The Bulletin", any paper, should strive for some balance. Quoting the example of an expensive cortado in Palma is far from this. All it does is to inspire the moans of others who will cite their own selected examples. And all this does is to create an uneven impression. Last year, another paper - "The Diario" - spoke to tourists and came up with a rather different conclusion: that prices weren't all that bad. What it did was to go and talk to people; it was acting with a degree of balance. I'm afraid that "The Bulletin" doesn't do this; just hauls out the odd example and calls for what is not feasible - price controls.
I said that I would stop it. I wish others would.
An event for your diary. If, that is, you like your club music in the sun - all day long. On June 27 there will be an "Ibiza Summer Festival" at Hidropark in Puerto Alcúdia. Sounds pretty good, kicking off at 10:30 in the morning. Information posted on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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