Alcúdia town hall has started a campaign to raise awareness of the harmful effects of illegal street selling and to instruct as to the consequences of buying stuff from the looky-looky men (and for the most part it is they against whom this campaign is directed).
It may be recalled that Alcúdia passed additional laws a year ago, designed to stamp out street selling. The campaign presumably serves as a reminder of the fines that can be levied not only on those doing the selling but also on bars where it might occur and on those who purchase the DVDs and all the rest. The campaign also suggests that those laws have not had the desired effect, and a wander around The Mile only goes to reinforce that view. Quite why it has taken till September to initiate a poster campaign, who knows.
The ineffectiveness of the laws lies to a large part in the lack of policing and also in what the police can actually do. Take one looky off the streets and another one takes his place. There's a looky factory somewhere, churning out guys and fake Gucci glasses. Fine a looky and look where it gets you. Keep on looking for the looky. So fine the bars instead; bars, many of them, which now want nothing to do with the trade. However, some certainly of the bigger bars would need to employ someone specifically to stop the lookies coming onto terraces. There seem at times that many of them that the bars cannot keep stop serving in order to deal with another illegal seller. So fine the purchasers instead. Yep, and cop a load of bad publicity when some hapless and unaware tourists fork out for a crap watch or some duff Lady Gaga. I've not actually seen any of the posters that form part of this campaign, but the reports say that it goes under the title - "Tots contra la venda il-legal". Catalan. Maybe there should be more effort directed at tourists.
But whatever sort of campaign is instituted, a problem is that the punters don't see this illegal trade as any big deal. For many it is a bit of fun (though there are also tourists who get hacked off with the harassment). For many it is a cheap way of buying CDs and the rest. There was a recent radio report regarding a campaign by trading standards somewhere in England. The reporter spoke to a few of the purchasers. Aware they may have been that the trade was illegal, but it didn't bother them. The amounts being spent were not great - indeed they were low - and there was little concern that some of the products might be of inferior quality and that there was no comeback. What does it matter when what you're spending is so low? Trading standards, and no doubt the Alcúdia authorities also, can point to the losses that are incurred by rights holders because of counterfeiting, but they are of minor consequence to most people - just consider also the level of illegal downloading. Even the money that can be made from the big piracy operations probably don't bother people either. There was another report recently in England about police action that netted the producers of illegal DVDs whose "business" was said to be worth several million pounds.
Fining purchasers might sound like a strong deterrent, but only if people are aware of such fines and are also unwilling to take the risk. It doesn't deter. Some friends who visited Alcúdia earlier this summer were surprised to see what they took to be a bar owner going through a whole bunch of CDs and DVDs and sorting out what he wanted. As ever with illegal trades, and the lookies also deal in contraband of a more serious nature, it is attacking the sources of supply that can limit the trade. However, though successful interventions by the police have indeed been reported in Mallorca, the trade still carries on. It isn't that difficult to replicate, or at least one imagines it isn't.
And then there is the illegal trade that does not rely on the wretched lookies. But let's not go there.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Spirit, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHz9Xag8LCM (the video is of an 80s incarnation of the band and not that good except for Ed Cassidy, the original drummer). Today's title - it featured Carlos Santana.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Monday, September 07, 2009
Sunday, September 06, 2009
It's All The Same
The association of hotel chains has been meeting with the tourism minister. A council of war rather than a convivial chinwag, one imagines. Reports are now filtering through as to hotels that are likely to close shortly in different parts of the island. The meeting though is about next year and also more generally about changes to tourism in times of crisis - that is part of the heading of the discussion theme.
One assumes, indeed one hopes that there is rather more substance to the talks than the blindingly obvious points that have been reported in the press: the need to maintain and revitalise the principal tourism markets of Spain, UK and Germany; to consolidate the secondary markets such as France; to capture emerging markets like Russia; to diversify the tourism offer especially for the low season (golf, marine, sport, businesses); to exploit further the internet and to create more professional promotion campaigns. I could have saved them a meeting. You could have saved them a meeting. We know all this. What we also know is that it is all meant to already be happening.
How many talking shops does an industry need? How many talking shops talking the same stuff? The Spanish Government's tourism ministry and promotional wing, the Balearic Government's tourism ministry and promotional wing, the tourism foundations on the islands, the hotel groups, the business associations. It all amounts to much of the same, repeated time and time again. We know all this. What we don't know is what actually anyone really does about it.
There is something deeply flawed about a meeting that has to address changes to tourism in times of crisis. Flawed because the meeting should have taken place before any crisis emerged. Much business and management theory is garbage, but there are elements of it which are common sense and important as a means of getting people to think, especially to think ahead. Take SWOT analysis. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. It is ancient in terms of management theory and practice, but it is extremely useful. Think threats, and what should the tourism industry have been preparing itself for? The financial meltdown may not have been predictable, but recession was, as were factors such as deleterious exchange rates, lower spend, competition, terrorism, health scares, changes in tourism requirements. Has there ever been any planning for such eventualities?
Following on from yesterday, it has occurred to me that the President of the Balearic Government could make some sweeping changes to how the government is organised. Not just by some rationalisation of departments, but along different lines. He makes himself minister of tourism for a kick-off. Why? For the simple reason that tourism is the island's strategic industry; it is the island. All these bodies doing all this talking, but there needs to be one lead voice, and that should be at the head of government. As for other ministries, they should serve that strategic importance. The whole lot of them should be in effect subservient and guided to the goal of maximising tourism potential.
It may not be a specifically Balearics issue, but a strong, tourism-focussed first minister should be telling Madrid to stop messing around with things that can only be seen as fundamentally harmful to tourism, such as the outrageous retrospective tax on foreign boat charters. (Harmful that is unless you believe in discrimination, protectionism and swingeing financial penalties - someone should take the Spanish Government to Brussels.) All this is doing is driving operators away to where there is no such tax, i.e. everywhere else. And this in an area seen as important for diversification - marine tourism.
There is an absence of, to use a cliché, joined-up government to support the vital strategic industry that is tourism. An absence of an overarching command and plan for that industry; it may be strategic but it lacks a compelling strategy, clearly set out and with a strong vision that might come from a leader with the guts to make things happen. President Antich should declare a sort of "pronunciamento", a benign coup of governmental change, aimed at bringing all those talking shops into a sharply focussed governmental structure in which he commands the tourism future while also establishing an office of the president with a brief for coming up with blue-sky non-tourism diversification.
There you are. My blueprint. Don't worry. It isn't about to be implemented. But maybe something like it should be. Rather than the regional government merely being a mini-me of central government, why should it not be organised around what is the vital interest of the island as opposed to simply apeing something else?
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Depeche Mode, "Useless", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3nQU4f92l8. Today's title - this is pretty obscure, but you never know. It comes from a late 60s album by one of the very best of the west-coast bands. Terrific riff and drum solo. Who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
One assumes, indeed one hopes that there is rather more substance to the talks than the blindingly obvious points that have been reported in the press: the need to maintain and revitalise the principal tourism markets of Spain, UK and Germany; to consolidate the secondary markets such as France; to capture emerging markets like Russia; to diversify the tourism offer especially for the low season (golf, marine, sport, businesses); to exploit further the internet and to create more professional promotion campaigns. I could have saved them a meeting. You could have saved them a meeting. We know all this. What we also know is that it is all meant to already be happening.
How many talking shops does an industry need? How many talking shops talking the same stuff? The Spanish Government's tourism ministry and promotional wing, the Balearic Government's tourism ministry and promotional wing, the tourism foundations on the islands, the hotel groups, the business associations. It all amounts to much of the same, repeated time and time again. We know all this. What we don't know is what actually anyone really does about it.
There is something deeply flawed about a meeting that has to address changes to tourism in times of crisis. Flawed because the meeting should have taken place before any crisis emerged. Much business and management theory is garbage, but there are elements of it which are common sense and important as a means of getting people to think, especially to think ahead. Take SWOT analysis. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. It is ancient in terms of management theory and practice, but it is extremely useful. Think threats, and what should the tourism industry have been preparing itself for? The financial meltdown may not have been predictable, but recession was, as were factors such as deleterious exchange rates, lower spend, competition, terrorism, health scares, changes in tourism requirements. Has there ever been any planning for such eventualities?
Following on from yesterday, it has occurred to me that the President of the Balearic Government could make some sweeping changes to how the government is organised. Not just by some rationalisation of departments, but along different lines. He makes himself minister of tourism for a kick-off. Why? For the simple reason that tourism is the island's strategic industry; it is the island. All these bodies doing all this talking, but there needs to be one lead voice, and that should be at the head of government. As for other ministries, they should serve that strategic importance. The whole lot of them should be in effect subservient and guided to the goal of maximising tourism potential.
It may not be a specifically Balearics issue, but a strong, tourism-focussed first minister should be telling Madrid to stop messing around with things that can only be seen as fundamentally harmful to tourism, such as the outrageous retrospective tax on foreign boat charters. (Harmful that is unless you believe in discrimination, protectionism and swingeing financial penalties - someone should take the Spanish Government to Brussels.) All this is doing is driving operators away to where there is no such tax, i.e. everywhere else. And this in an area seen as important for diversification - marine tourism.
There is an absence of, to use a cliché, joined-up government to support the vital strategic industry that is tourism. An absence of an overarching command and plan for that industry; it may be strategic but it lacks a compelling strategy, clearly set out and with a strong vision that might come from a leader with the guts to make things happen. President Antich should declare a sort of "pronunciamento", a benign coup of governmental change, aimed at bringing all those talking shops into a sharply focussed governmental structure in which he commands the tourism future while also establishing an office of the president with a brief for coming up with blue-sky non-tourism diversification.
There you are. My blueprint. Don't worry. It isn't about to be implemented. But maybe something like it should be. Rather than the regional government merely being a mini-me of central government, why should it not be organised around what is the vital interest of the island as opposed to simply apeing something else?
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Depeche Mode, "Useless", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3nQU4f92l8. Today's title - this is pretty obscure, but you never know. It comes from a late 60s album by one of the very best of the west-coast bands. Terrific riff and drum solo. Who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Cutting Down To Size
The president of the Balearic Government is to consider a rationalisation of the structure of the government's executive and therefore the number of ministries - all part, says he, of serving the citizen well. That this may result in the merging or even the axeing of certain ministries may make for more efficient and perhaps less expensive government, but what real difference it might make would be questionable. Restructuring is not a complete red herring, but there are numerous issues that should be addressed apart from simply moving boxes around on an organisational chart.
Let's consider the following: the absence of a culture of service, excessive bureaucracy, too many tiers of government and therefore duplication, unclear lines of responsibility, legislation that is poorly communicated or implemented, corruption, nepotism, incompetence, self-interest, political in-fighting, disregard of what is meant to occur ... They'll do for starters.
An editorial in "The Bulletin" argued that as important as any rationalisation at executive level would be a consideration of the tiers of government. It referred to three; it could have added two more. Central government in Madrid, the Balearic regional government, the Council of Mallorca and the town halls. On top of all of this lot there is also Brussels. Multi-tiered it may be, but so are public administrations elsewhere. Apart from the Council of Mallorca, about which one can legitimately ask what purpose it serves, the model is not in itself wrong. Localisation of democracy through the town halls and the mayors is a strength, albeit that it can go badly wrong mainly because of the lack of checks and balances and the resultant scandals. Devolution to the regions may be a political expedient in some countries, as in the UK, but it, together with regional autonomy, is a political necessity in democratic Spain. Perhaps the greatest political problem that has dogged Spain for more than two centuries is how to handle the regions.
But the consequence of these tiers is that each becomes a mini-me of the one higher up the political food chain. The town halls have councillors for this and that, directors for so and so. There are far too many of them, recipients of jobs for the boys and girls and unfortunately sometimes recipients of favours or the issuers thereof. If there is to be rationalisation of the regional government executive, so there should also be at town hall level. Merging municipalities would actually make a lot of sense in terms of better management of resources, but it wouldn't happen, so efficiencies need to be found inside the current municipal boundaries.
Strength though it is that local democracy is so active, there is also a weakness in the obstructive nature of the exercise of local politics. No better example of this can be found than in the case of the Alcúdia train. The impasse over the siting is fundamentally political. Yet it would benefit not only Alcúdia but also Mallorca as a whole to finally have an extended rail line to the north. The regional government should be allowed to simply veto the local objections, but it struggles to - because of those tiers. It is in the relationship between the tiers of government and their actual areas of responsibility that the fault lies, not in the levels themselves. But because Alcúdia, for example, has a responsibility for the environment within the municipality, it can use this (or indeed other factors) to block something agreed at central government level in Madrid; it's that mini-me principle in action.
Then there is the actual exercise of public administration, the interaction with the public that this administration is meant to serve. Note the word "serve", one to which President Antich has also referred. There is a shocking antipathy towards the concept of service, just witness for example the workings of the Trafico building in Palma or how many town halls treat their "customers". Antich should be demanding a complete re-education programme in terms of service.
The suggestion of rationalisation is a good thing if only because a senior politician might actually wish to improve the system of public administration in Mallorca. It would be a massive task to do it well, but perhaps there is, after all, a political will to do so. It'll do for starters.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Godsmack, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9zxrIlFpCk. Today's title - comes from something useless.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Let's consider the following: the absence of a culture of service, excessive bureaucracy, too many tiers of government and therefore duplication, unclear lines of responsibility, legislation that is poorly communicated or implemented, corruption, nepotism, incompetence, self-interest, political in-fighting, disregard of what is meant to occur ... They'll do for starters.
An editorial in "The Bulletin" argued that as important as any rationalisation at executive level would be a consideration of the tiers of government. It referred to three; it could have added two more. Central government in Madrid, the Balearic regional government, the Council of Mallorca and the town halls. On top of all of this lot there is also Brussels. Multi-tiered it may be, but so are public administrations elsewhere. Apart from the Council of Mallorca, about which one can legitimately ask what purpose it serves, the model is not in itself wrong. Localisation of democracy through the town halls and the mayors is a strength, albeit that it can go badly wrong mainly because of the lack of checks and balances and the resultant scandals. Devolution to the regions may be a political expedient in some countries, as in the UK, but it, together with regional autonomy, is a political necessity in democratic Spain. Perhaps the greatest political problem that has dogged Spain for more than two centuries is how to handle the regions.
But the consequence of these tiers is that each becomes a mini-me of the one higher up the political food chain. The town halls have councillors for this and that, directors for so and so. There are far too many of them, recipients of jobs for the boys and girls and unfortunately sometimes recipients of favours or the issuers thereof. If there is to be rationalisation of the regional government executive, so there should also be at town hall level. Merging municipalities would actually make a lot of sense in terms of better management of resources, but it wouldn't happen, so efficiencies need to be found inside the current municipal boundaries.
Strength though it is that local democracy is so active, there is also a weakness in the obstructive nature of the exercise of local politics. No better example of this can be found than in the case of the Alcúdia train. The impasse over the siting is fundamentally political. Yet it would benefit not only Alcúdia but also Mallorca as a whole to finally have an extended rail line to the north. The regional government should be allowed to simply veto the local objections, but it struggles to - because of those tiers. It is in the relationship between the tiers of government and their actual areas of responsibility that the fault lies, not in the levels themselves. But because Alcúdia, for example, has a responsibility for the environment within the municipality, it can use this (or indeed other factors) to block something agreed at central government level in Madrid; it's that mini-me principle in action.
Then there is the actual exercise of public administration, the interaction with the public that this administration is meant to serve. Note the word "serve", one to which President Antich has also referred. There is a shocking antipathy towards the concept of service, just witness for example the workings of the Trafico building in Palma or how many town halls treat their "customers". Antich should be demanding a complete re-education programme in terms of service.
The suggestion of rationalisation is a good thing if only because a senior politician might actually wish to improve the system of public administration in Mallorca. It would be a massive task to do it well, but perhaps there is, after all, a political will to do so. It'll do for starters.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Godsmack, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9zxrIlFpCk. Today's title - comes from something useless.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, September 04, 2009
Serenity
Paul Danks, tax accountant of the parish of Puerto Pollensa, has alerted me to what is a scam that is being operated via email by someone or some people claiming to be the Agencia Tributaria (the Hacienda). The email claims to offer recipients money by way of refunds from the Hacienda. Nice incentive, huh. All the recipient has to do is to supply his or her bank details. What could be easier? Unfortunately, some may have fallen for it, especially if they happen to be less than wary Brits or those who panic every time the name Hacienda comes into view.
The Hacienda itself is well aware of what is basically an attempt at identity fraud. It has confirmed the existence of the scam to professional advisors and reminded them that it never asks for bank details via email. It should be noted that the Hacienda already has individuals' bank details. They would not be asking for them again, certainly not by email. If anyone feels they may have been taken in, contact your advisor and bank immediately.
Barcarès
A couple of years ago I did a piece that wasn't necessarily that complimentary about Barcarès. I was taken to task by Anne-Marie who described Barcarès as her favourite place in the world and one with a calm enchantment. I now know what she means.
Yesterday morning I spent some time in Barcarès. It was still quite early. The sea was flat calm. It was hot and the skies clear. Calm enchantment. Absolutely. I had gone to Barcarès because a story had appeared in the press about a planned re-development of the small port (for which read marina). To be totally honest, I hadn't previously been aware that there was one. Maybe that's because it is so small. The story didn't really amount to much. The objections being raised seemed pretty petty. One concerned a new building. It won't be very big, said the chap from the ports authority in his portakabin. The residents were saying that such a building would be a sort of blot on the landscape. Hardly.
Having ascertained that this was something and nothing, I looked for something more interesting, and what I found was the sheer nothingness of Barcarès, in the sense that it is a place where nothing happens. It is a blissful place. Serene, especially when the sea is so calm, the weather so perfect. Calm enchantment. Absolutely.
It is a place of suspended time, totally devoid of the trappings of the resort that is Puerto Alcúdia. I don't know how busy the Red Rum bar gets, but, boy, there can't be many better places to have a bar, especially as it's the only one, and right on the water front with the little port away to the left. Rather like Cala San Vicente can take you to another place, so does Barcarès. What was I thinking of when I wrote that unflattering piece?
It had been my intention to just go and find some information for a news item in the next issue of "Talk Of The North". Well I did, but the article has turned out quite differently. Read it from next Wednesday on.
Oasis
And thanks to Steve for adding that Jamiroquai played Mallorca, a name Lynne had also mentioned. But, as some have asked, here is just one blog wish-list. Those who, in a dream world, would play a fantasy gig on the beach in Alcúdia:
Cocteau Twins (who would of course have to re-form)
Ladytron
Air
Elbow
British Sea Power.
Just five. Man, what a night that would be.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Wonderwall", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzrDeceEKc. Today's title - heavy metal, but this is acoustic. American.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The Hacienda itself is well aware of what is basically an attempt at identity fraud. It has confirmed the existence of the scam to professional advisors and reminded them that it never asks for bank details via email. It should be noted that the Hacienda already has individuals' bank details. They would not be asking for them again, certainly not by email. If anyone feels they may have been taken in, contact your advisor and bank immediately.
Barcarès
A couple of years ago I did a piece that wasn't necessarily that complimentary about Barcarès. I was taken to task by Anne-Marie who described Barcarès as her favourite place in the world and one with a calm enchantment. I now know what she means.
Yesterday morning I spent some time in Barcarès. It was still quite early. The sea was flat calm. It was hot and the skies clear. Calm enchantment. Absolutely. I had gone to Barcarès because a story had appeared in the press about a planned re-development of the small port (for which read marina). To be totally honest, I hadn't previously been aware that there was one. Maybe that's because it is so small. The story didn't really amount to much. The objections being raised seemed pretty petty. One concerned a new building. It won't be very big, said the chap from the ports authority in his portakabin. The residents were saying that such a building would be a sort of blot on the landscape. Hardly.
Having ascertained that this was something and nothing, I looked for something more interesting, and what I found was the sheer nothingness of Barcarès, in the sense that it is a place where nothing happens. It is a blissful place. Serene, especially when the sea is so calm, the weather so perfect. Calm enchantment. Absolutely.
It is a place of suspended time, totally devoid of the trappings of the resort that is Puerto Alcúdia. I don't know how busy the Red Rum bar gets, but, boy, there can't be many better places to have a bar, especially as it's the only one, and right on the water front with the little port away to the left. Rather like Cala San Vicente can take you to another place, so does Barcarès. What was I thinking of when I wrote that unflattering piece?
It had been my intention to just go and find some information for a news item in the next issue of "Talk Of The North". Well I did, but the article has turned out quite differently. Read it from next Wednesday on.
Oasis
And thanks to Steve for adding that Jamiroquai played Mallorca, a name Lynne had also mentioned. But, as some have asked, here is just one blog wish-list. Those who, in a dream world, would play a fantasy gig on the beach in Alcúdia:
Cocteau Twins (who would of course have to re-form)
Ladytron
Air
Elbow
British Sea Power.
Just five. Man, what a night that would be.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Wonderwall", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzrDeceEKc. Today's title - heavy metal, but this is acoustic. American.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, September 03, 2009
And After All, You're My Wonder ...
So I pass by the tourist office in Alcúdia old town as they've called and want a favour. This is the deal: they're going to produce some postcards in association with the Oceanos folk in Bonaire. Some excellent photos of sea creatures, which they show me - the photos that is. They need an English slogan. "Paraiso," they keep mentioning (as in paradise). "No, no, forget all this paradise malarkey," I don't say, but do say something along the lines of the paradise motif is done to death. So I think and come up with "Alcúdia - an underwater wonderland". Trips off the tongue, it has a melody and a sort of alliteration. Quite good, I reckon. It's only afterwards I realise its similarity to "walking in a winter wonderland". Oh well, not to worry; still sounds ok. Anyway, as I was leaving the office, I said that I would pass by with my invoice. Thousand euros should cover it. Laughter all round. Ho, ho, ho. Like Santa guffawing in a winter or indeed an underwater wonderland. But why not, thinks I. Plenty. Apart from the fact that the town halls are notoriously bad payers, there is the fact that payments (were they to be made or indeed invoices submitted) have to meet some sort of "market value" test. What is market value though?
You, if you happen to be the creative director of a major ad agency, could probably slap in a five-figure bill for such a slogan. Especially in the UK. But we're talking a local town hall here. And in Mallorca. And something unimportant. This market value test, though, is becoming important. It is all part of trying to stamp out spurious invoices for often huge amounts that are raised without any work necessarily being done. The latest great scandal in Mallorca concerns the Palma velodrome. All manner of people have been implicated, and all manner of unjustified invoices seem to have surfaced together with payments of black money. Fair enough. It's the public purse that may or may not have been cleaned out. But let us assume for a moment that work has been done, and done well. Who is to say what the market value is? This is where this test becomes nigh on impossible to prove, unless there is some form of governmental going rate, as there is for many jobs. While the government may feel that it can establish rates for jobs such as waiters, how can it do so for something creative? I guess they can try, but ultimately a market value is, to state the bleeding obvious, a value that the market decides, in other words pretty much what anyone is willing to pay. Unless, that is, the market is controlled, which is what the authorities seem to have in mind.
This makes no sense in what is ostensibly a free market. There are ways and means of catching those who abuse public (and also private) funds by raising outlandish bills, as the velodrome case (and others) prove. But a controlled market value distorts the workings of the market. As with the daft calls for price controls for the likes of a cup of coffee, it really has no place in a modern economy. Not that I should worry, as there will be no invoice and no payment. Favours, always favours.
Oasis
Apropos yesterday, I need to thank Lynne for pointing out that Oasis played in Mallorca a few years back. Was it part of a Radio 1 comes to Mallorca thing? Or am I mixing these up? Doesn't matter. The Gallaghers did indeed once put in an appearance, not that they are likely to again; certainly not together. And it was the real Oasis and not the bunch which has the same name that pitches up on a regular basis at local fiestas.
Temperature watch
And so the heat goes on. The met boys say that the three months of June, July and August have been the second hottest since 1971, temperatures exceeded only by those of 2003. The average temperature for Sa Pobla for these months has been 25.4 (it was 27 in 2003). Sounds a bit on the low side to be honest, but that second spot is totally believable.
QUIZ
Today's title - a Blankety-Blank cheque book and pen if you can fill in the missing word, but don't bother with the invoice.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
You, if you happen to be the creative director of a major ad agency, could probably slap in a five-figure bill for such a slogan. Especially in the UK. But we're talking a local town hall here. And in Mallorca. And something unimportant. This market value test, though, is becoming important. It is all part of trying to stamp out spurious invoices for often huge amounts that are raised without any work necessarily being done. The latest great scandal in Mallorca concerns the Palma velodrome. All manner of people have been implicated, and all manner of unjustified invoices seem to have surfaced together with payments of black money. Fair enough. It's the public purse that may or may not have been cleaned out. But let us assume for a moment that work has been done, and done well. Who is to say what the market value is? This is where this test becomes nigh on impossible to prove, unless there is some form of governmental going rate, as there is for many jobs. While the government may feel that it can establish rates for jobs such as waiters, how can it do so for something creative? I guess they can try, but ultimately a market value is, to state the bleeding obvious, a value that the market decides, in other words pretty much what anyone is willing to pay. Unless, that is, the market is controlled, which is what the authorities seem to have in mind.
This makes no sense in what is ostensibly a free market. There are ways and means of catching those who abuse public (and also private) funds by raising outlandish bills, as the velodrome case (and others) prove. But a controlled market value distorts the workings of the market. As with the daft calls for price controls for the likes of a cup of coffee, it really has no place in a modern economy. Not that I should worry, as there will be no invoice and no payment. Favours, always favours.
Oasis
Apropos yesterday, I need to thank Lynne for pointing out that Oasis played in Mallorca a few years back. Was it part of a Radio 1 comes to Mallorca thing? Or am I mixing these up? Doesn't matter. The Gallaghers did indeed once put in an appearance, not that they are likely to again; certainly not together. And it was the real Oasis and not the bunch which has the same name that pitches up on a regular basis at local fiestas.
Temperature watch
And so the heat goes on. The met boys say that the three months of June, July and August have been the second hottest since 1971, temperatures exceeded only by those of 2003. The average temperature for Sa Pobla for these months has been 25.4 (it was 27 in 2003). Sounds a bit on the low side to be honest, but that second spot is totally believable.
QUIZ
Today's title - a Blankety-Blank cheque book and pen if you can fill in the missing word, but don't bother with the invoice.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Whatever You Want
It must have been 1975. There was a concert at university. Some got very excited about it. I didn't. Indeed I got decidedly hacked off with it, especially when I was asked to prove my age in one of the campus bars by a zealous steward aghast at the early adolescents attempting to purchase pints of McEwan's. The campus was full of townie young hippiette types or townie young rockerettes, all greatcoats, brushing hair from their cheeks and walking in that earnest and headlocked fashion that was once affected by those of a long-hair disposition. Perhaps they still walk that way, the new generation that is, the neck tight and the head staccato as though it were in time with a slow drum beat. The group was big back then. Massive in fact. One of the country's foremost rock acts. They were taken seriously then, not by a few but by a great number. That great number in their greatcoats.
I had always found it difficult to apprehend the transition from "Pictures of Matchstick Men", all phasing and jangling post-Byrds guitars, to heavy rockers. Though whether Status Quo were ever really heavy rockers is open to some question. They were more an elevated pub-rock band, the Chas and Daves of the electric guitar. Even then they were becoming outmoded. Dr. Feelgood and Eddie and the Hot Rods were in the vanguard of pub rock, and it was they who, in part, blazed the trail for punk. Status Quo had sailed into rock leviathan deep water. Simple and basic was their music, but it tended to be lumped in with monstrosities of rock such as Emerson Lake and Palmer; well, by Fluff Freeman anyway.
Turn the clock forward some 35 years, and what does one have? The Quo playing the Palma arena. On 8th September to be precise. Recently, Leonard Cohen took Palma as well: together with Messrs Rossi and Parfitt, some two hundred years worth of ancient rock iconicity, assuming one can permit such a description of the Quo, which is doubtful. Icons of rock would not have been booted out of Radio 1 and consigned to the outer limits of obscure music channels, there to be interviewed by faded former Radio 1 or Capitol DJs, amidst the prehistoric jingles and playing snooker on the radio, in a reunion of musical decrepitude.
Palma is a repository of the relics of rock. Only, if memory serves, has one international act of relative youth - The Corrs - taken to a Palma stage these past few years. They tried internationalising the San Sebastià music stages and ended up with some version of ELO and a debacle surrounding what may or may not have been Earth Wind and Fire. They didn't bother trying a repetition this year. Otherwise there has been Joe Cocker warbling and jerking like a puppet from "Watch With Mother" and the one-time de rigueur act on the in-car entertainment systems of professional footballers, the "Stars" era Simply Red whose star did shine brightly for as long as it took their first album to fade from the memory, to be replaced by the cabaret slick Mick. And now the Quo-sters.
There has been some late-in-life credibility given back to the Quo by their appearing at Glastonbury albeit that Glastonbury has a strong line in post-modern irony by re-creating "Top Of The Pops" circa the seventies with the Quos and Shakin' Stevenses. Not everyone is impressed by this, such as "Tree Badger": "The heavens will open, rain and displeasure will lash down upon them, and luck willing some part of the rig will give way while they play ‘Whatever You Want’, crushing them and electrocuting any hapless roadies that may happen to be in the surrounding area" (http://www.treebadger.co.uk).
But of course the mere presence of Rick and Francis will allow for some island-media photo opps for the cliquish celebrity cadre of southern Mallorca and for the non- or wannabe celebs, also of the south, and will cause some to announce that Palma and therefore Mallorca has much to offer by way of entertainment and as an entertainment location and, by extension, something to do with tourism, whatever that might be. Just that this entertainment tends to be old. Very, very old. There is one saving grace. At least it's not a tribute band.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Frank Sinatra.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
I had always found it difficult to apprehend the transition from "Pictures of Matchstick Men", all phasing and jangling post-Byrds guitars, to heavy rockers. Though whether Status Quo were ever really heavy rockers is open to some question. They were more an elevated pub-rock band, the Chas and Daves of the electric guitar. Even then they were becoming outmoded. Dr. Feelgood and Eddie and the Hot Rods were in the vanguard of pub rock, and it was they who, in part, blazed the trail for punk. Status Quo had sailed into rock leviathan deep water. Simple and basic was their music, but it tended to be lumped in with monstrosities of rock such as Emerson Lake and Palmer; well, by Fluff Freeman anyway.
Turn the clock forward some 35 years, and what does one have? The Quo playing the Palma arena. On 8th September to be precise. Recently, Leonard Cohen took Palma as well: together with Messrs Rossi and Parfitt, some two hundred years worth of ancient rock iconicity, assuming one can permit such a description of the Quo, which is doubtful. Icons of rock would not have been booted out of Radio 1 and consigned to the outer limits of obscure music channels, there to be interviewed by faded former Radio 1 or Capitol DJs, amidst the prehistoric jingles and playing snooker on the radio, in a reunion of musical decrepitude.
Palma is a repository of the relics of rock. Only, if memory serves, has one international act of relative youth - The Corrs - taken to a Palma stage these past few years. They tried internationalising the San Sebastià music stages and ended up with some version of ELO and a debacle surrounding what may or may not have been Earth Wind and Fire. They didn't bother trying a repetition this year. Otherwise there has been Joe Cocker warbling and jerking like a puppet from "Watch With Mother" and the one-time de rigueur act on the in-car entertainment systems of professional footballers, the "Stars" era Simply Red whose star did shine brightly for as long as it took their first album to fade from the memory, to be replaced by the cabaret slick Mick. And now the Quo-sters.
There has been some late-in-life credibility given back to the Quo by their appearing at Glastonbury albeit that Glastonbury has a strong line in post-modern irony by re-creating "Top Of The Pops" circa the seventies with the Quos and Shakin' Stevenses. Not everyone is impressed by this, such as "Tree Badger": "The heavens will open, rain and displeasure will lash down upon them, and luck willing some part of the rig will give way while they play ‘Whatever You Want’, crushing them and electrocuting any hapless roadies that may happen to be in the surrounding area" (http://www.treebadger.co.uk).
But of course the mere presence of Rick and Francis will allow for some island-media photo opps for the cliquish celebrity cadre of southern Mallorca and for the non- or wannabe celebs, also of the south, and will cause some to announce that Palma and therefore Mallorca has much to offer by way of entertainment and as an entertainment location and, by extension, something to do with tourism, whatever that might be. Just that this entertainment tends to be old. Very, very old. There is one saving grace. At least it's not a tribute band.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Frank Sinatra.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Baubles, Bangles And Beads
Little shops, little trinkets, bangles and beads, sashes and scarves, colours of this, colours of that. Little shops like little markets. Little shops like little markets which, when the market is in full swing, blend seamlessly into the street stalls of little trinkets, bangles and beads, sashes and scarves, colours of this, colours of that. When the market packs up and it is any other day, the little shops remain, the little shops that have suddenly sprung up, selling their little trinkets and all the rest.
This is the Calle Mayor in Alcúdia, the "high street" from the town hall down to the Mallorca gate opposite the auditorium. Disappeared from this street is the one-time electrical store of S'Estel. There are still the two real estate agencies and the two bars, but otherwise it is trinket street, colourful t-shirt or scarf street, bangle street. If New Orleans can have its Bourbon Street, then Alcúdia now has its Bauble Street.
There are not so many little shops, but there are enough. Maybe there are too many. They look pretty and what they sell looks pretty, but why do they all somehow seem the same? They meld into the old town atmosphere and environment of the high street like the shutters of and the plant pots in front of the stone facades of the townhouses. The fabrics they display become part of the fabric of the street itself. They are enchanting, but why do they all somehow seem the same?
Bauble Street is an example of what happens when new shops open and follow the leaders. Years ago, maybe still the case nowadays, a road like Tottenham Court Road in London was known as the street to go to for hi-fi. Every store seemed the same - shiny technology, tax free for the Arab clientele. Yet this was a case of clustering that made some sense. Despite the competition from every other store, here was a whole marketplace to come and see and buy the latest gear. To not be there was to somehow be invisible. The comparison with Bauble Street may seem far-fetched, but it is the same principle, or would be if the wares were big-ticket items, which they are not; obviously they are not. One guesses that some might descend on the street and the little shops if one knows that there are a number with similar gifts and small items to take home, but otherwise one has the impression of people opening shops with certain products because someone else has done so with the same or similar certain products. As such, it is rather indicative of what happens locally. And that is that, ultimately, there is too much of the same. When shop owners, bar owners, whoever, say times are tough, you do then wonder why they went and opened another shop with the same, or they opened yet another bar. There is in fact now a third bar along Bauble Street, and nip across the main road by the Mallorca gate and a bar has sprung up on the corner of the small parking area, opposite the old-established Bar Muralles.
Everything the same, and too much of the same. Shame though in the case of Bauble Street because it does all look nice. But looking nice and making money are two very different things.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Thomas Dolby, and the scientist was Magnus Pyke, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IlHgbOWj4o. Today's title - and this was?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
This is the Calle Mayor in Alcúdia, the "high street" from the town hall down to the Mallorca gate opposite the auditorium. Disappeared from this street is the one-time electrical store of S'Estel. There are still the two real estate agencies and the two bars, but otherwise it is trinket street, colourful t-shirt or scarf street, bangle street. If New Orleans can have its Bourbon Street, then Alcúdia now has its Bauble Street.
There are not so many little shops, but there are enough. Maybe there are too many. They look pretty and what they sell looks pretty, but why do they all somehow seem the same? They meld into the old town atmosphere and environment of the high street like the shutters of and the plant pots in front of the stone facades of the townhouses. The fabrics they display become part of the fabric of the street itself. They are enchanting, but why do they all somehow seem the same?
Bauble Street is an example of what happens when new shops open and follow the leaders. Years ago, maybe still the case nowadays, a road like Tottenham Court Road in London was known as the street to go to for hi-fi. Every store seemed the same - shiny technology, tax free for the Arab clientele. Yet this was a case of clustering that made some sense. Despite the competition from every other store, here was a whole marketplace to come and see and buy the latest gear. To not be there was to somehow be invisible. The comparison with Bauble Street may seem far-fetched, but it is the same principle, or would be if the wares were big-ticket items, which they are not; obviously they are not. One guesses that some might descend on the street and the little shops if one knows that there are a number with similar gifts and small items to take home, but otherwise one has the impression of people opening shops with certain products because someone else has done so with the same or similar certain products. As such, it is rather indicative of what happens locally. And that is that, ultimately, there is too much of the same. When shop owners, bar owners, whoever, say times are tough, you do then wonder why they went and opened another shop with the same, or they opened yet another bar. There is in fact now a third bar along Bauble Street, and nip across the main road by the Mallorca gate and a bar has sprung up on the corner of the small parking area, opposite the old-established Bar Muralles.
Everything the same, and too much of the same. Shame though in the case of Bauble Street because it does all look nice. But looking nice and making money are two very different things.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Thomas Dolby, and the scientist was Magnus Pyke, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IlHgbOWj4o. Today's title - and this was?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Blinded Me With Science
It has indeed been museum month on the blog. To bring August to a close, there is more. This time it concerns the projected science and technology museum that is due to rise from if not the ashes then the ashen soil of what was the old power station by the port in Alcúdia. This is the science and technology museum about which there was all manner of hullabaloo some two years ago: went out to tender, the likes of Lord Rogers pitched for the gig as architect, a firm in Barcelona got it, the museum was going to be a great advance for tourism in the north, all the usual spin. When the actual project was presented and heralded as a "great icon in the north of the island" (reported on 23 October 2008, (Car) Parklife), it was observed that the funding was not actually in place. By coincidence, on 23 October I pointed out that 23 million euros were needed. They still are. And these still missing millions are but part of the problem. Various interested parties, not least Gesa, which still owns the installations, and the ports authority, have raised objections to aspects of the project. They have arisen only some ten months after the project was presented; only ten months. It may have taken this time but perhaps they needed it in order to realise that there are aspects of the project that no-one had recognised, such as what to do with deposits of gas that Gesa, quite rightly, would not like to be seen "given off". There is also the not small matter of an electrical substation on the site which would need to be re-sited.
The good news is that all parties are wanting to work to find an agreement and solution. The less good news is quite why some of this was not taken into account in the first place. Putting the project back on the drawing-board will probably mean more money for the architects to re-draw it and of course more time; more money for the architects from what pot exactly? There is no obvious time frame for the project to start or indeed to finish; you wouldn't expect there to be so given that there is no money for it, which there isn't. The bigger question, therefore, surrounds whether it will ever start, owing to that funding requirement. While the museum may indeed become "iconic", assuming there is ever something physical that could be seen as an icon, quite what would make it so is also not clear. And one returns, inevitably, to the key question. What is the point of it? It may indeed yet be something rather grand and splendid that will attract extra tourists, but the key surely lies in that word "extra".
Major tourist attractions on Mallorca are mostly to be found in the south. It is to the south that many excursions, from the north, go. Would there be excursions in reverse, i.e. from south to north? It is this sort of question that needs to be asked of the project, and an answer offered, and one can only begin to arrive at such an answer if one knows exactly what is intended. Museums are all well and good, but it would have to be something special to shake tourists from their southern sloth (and from that in other parts of the island as well as locally) to make the Alcúdia project truly worthwhile and truly iconic. Perhaps it will be. But the portents are not necessarily favourable, and nor is the fact that some fairly basic oversights appear to have been made.
When this project was first announced in May 2007 (23 May in fact; always 23), I made the rather obviously flippant reference to the Millennium Dome, given Lord Rogers' appearance on the list of those up for it. But the experience of that building may not be wholly without parallel. One feels that the "iconic" aspect of this new museum would lie in its appearance, i.e. its architectural magnificence - maybe. One would feel rather more comfortable if the project was more bottom-up, as in what it will be and what it will include. The building itself seems to take precedence. That is not unimportant. Most certainly it is not, nor would be its visual harmony on the bay of Alcúdia nor its potentially emblematic statement. But as important, if not more so, is what they would actually do with it.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Whispers, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySaHZZhSwXE. Today's title - who was this and which scientist appeared on the record?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for August 2009
All-inclusives - 28 August 2009, 29 August 2009
August, lazy in - 8 August 2009, 24 August 2009
Beata 2009 - 30 August 2009
Bellevue hotel, Alcúdia - 16 August 2009, 28 August 2009, 29 August 2009
Calle Bot, Puerto Pollensa - 15 August 2009
Can Picafort live ducks - 17 August 2009
Car-hire shortage - 17 August 2009, 20 August 2009
Catalan radical groups - 3 August 2009
Cooperativa Agricola Murense, Muro - 18 August 2009
Disco excursion, Can Picafort - 12 August 2009
Ethnology museum, Muro - 14 August 2009
Excursions, reduction in bookings - 4 August 2009
Fiestas - 30 August 2009
Fires - 26 August 2009
Glosada - 30 August 2009
Golf tourism - 13 August 2009
History in Muro, farming - 18 August 2009
Hotels closing in September? - 21 August 2009
Inca footwear museum - 7 August 2009, 9 August 2009
Internet review sites - 16 August 2009, 28 August 2009
Jellyfish and weever fish - 19 August 2009
Kroxan café, Puerto Alcúdia - 13 August 2009
La Gola park, Puerto Pollensa - 9 August 2009
La Residencia, Deía - 11 August 2009
La Villa restaurant - 6 August 2009
Mallorca expensive? - 5 August 2009, 17 August 2009, 19 August 2009, 20 August 2009, 21 August 2009, 22 August 2009
Palma bombs - 9 August 2009, 11 August 2009, 12 August 2009
Palmanova bombing - 1 August 2009, 2 August 2009, 3 August 2009, 4 August 2009, 5 August 2009, 6 August 2009
Pickpocketing - 13 August 2009
Pollentia museum, Alcúdia - 9 August 2009
Prices - 5 August 2009, 17 August 2009, 19 August 2009, 20 August 2009, 21 August 2009, 22 August 2009, 30 August 2009
Puerto Pollensa marina security - 10 August 2009
Rafael Nadal tourism promotion - 15 August 2009
Real Mallorca under new ownership - 10 August 2009
Road humps, Puerto Pollensa - 7 August 2009
Sa Pobla-Alcúdia railway - 27 August 2009
Science and technology museum, Alcúdia - 31 August 2009
Temperatures and weather - 26 August 2009
Tourist complaints - 21 August 2009
Tourist satisfaction and expectations - 16 August 2009
Violence, tourist - 25 August 2009
Windsurfing - 9 August 2009
The good news is that all parties are wanting to work to find an agreement and solution. The less good news is quite why some of this was not taken into account in the first place. Putting the project back on the drawing-board will probably mean more money for the architects to re-draw it and of course more time; more money for the architects from what pot exactly? There is no obvious time frame for the project to start or indeed to finish; you wouldn't expect there to be so given that there is no money for it, which there isn't. The bigger question, therefore, surrounds whether it will ever start, owing to that funding requirement. While the museum may indeed become "iconic", assuming there is ever something physical that could be seen as an icon, quite what would make it so is also not clear. And one returns, inevitably, to the key question. What is the point of it? It may indeed yet be something rather grand and splendid that will attract extra tourists, but the key surely lies in that word "extra".
Major tourist attractions on Mallorca are mostly to be found in the south. It is to the south that many excursions, from the north, go. Would there be excursions in reverse, i.e. from south to north? It is this sort of question that needs to be asked of the project, and an answer offered, and one can only begin to arrive at such an answer if one knows exactly what is intended. Museums are all well and good, but it would have to be something special to shake tourists from their southern sloth (and from that in other parts of the island as well as locally) to make the Alcúdia project truly worthwhile and truly iconic. Perhaps it will be. But the portents are not necessarily favourable, and nor is the fact that some fairly basic oversights appear to have been made.
When this project was first announced in May 2007 (23 May in fact; always 23), I made the rather obviously flippant reference to the Millennium Dome, given Lord Rogers' appearance on the list of those up for it. But the experience of that building may not be wholly without parallel. One feels that the "iconic" aspect of this new museum would lie in its appearance, i.e. its architectural magnificence - maybe. One would feel rather more comfortable if the project was more bottom-up, as in what it will be and what it will include. The building itself seems to take precedence. That is not unimportant. Most certainly it is not, nor would be its visual harmony on the bay of Alcúdia nor its potentially emblematic statement. But as important, if not more so, is what they would actually do with it.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Whispers, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySaHZZhSwXE. Today's title - who was this and which scientist appeared on the record?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for August 2009
All-inclusives - 28 August 2009, 29 August 2009
August, lazy in - 8 August 2009, 24 August 2009
Beata 2009 - 30 August 2009
Bellevue hotel, Alcúdia - 16 August 2009, 28 August 2009, 29 August 2009
Calle Bot, Puerto Pollensa - 15 August 2009
Can Picafort live ducks - 17 August 2009
Car-hire shortage - 17 August 2009, 20 August 2009
Catalan radical groups - 3 August 2009
Cooperativa Agricola Murense, Muro - 18 August 2009
Disco excursion, Can Picafort - 12 August 2009
Ethnology museum, Muro - 14 August 2009
Excursions, reduction in bookings - 4 August 2009
Fiestas - 30 August 2009
Fires - 26 August 2009
Glosada - 30 August 2009
Golf tourism - 13 August 2009
History in Muro, farming - 18 August 2009
Hotels closing in September? - 21 August 2009
Inca footwear museum - 7 August 2009, 9 August 2009
Internet review sites - 16 August 2009, 28 August 2009
Jellyfish and weever fish - 19 August 2009
Kroxan café, Puerto Alcúdia - 13 August 2009
La Gola park, Puerto Pollensa - 9 August 2009
La Residencia, Deía - 11 August 2009
La Villa restaurant - 6 August 2009
Mallorca expensive? - 5 August 2009, 17 August 2009, 19 August 2009, 20 August 2009, 21 August 2009, 22 August 2009
Palma bombs - 9 August 2009, 11 August 2009, 12 August 2009
Palmanova bombing - 1 August 2009, 2 August 2009, 3 August 2009, 4 August 2009, 5 August 2009, 6 August 2009
Pickpocketing - 13 August 2009
Pollentia museum, Alcúdia - 9 August 2009
Prices - 5 August 2009, 17 August 2009, 19 August 2009, 20 August 2009, 21 August 2009, 22 August 2009, 30 August 2009
Puerto Pollensa marina security - 10 August 2009
Rafael Nadal tourism promotion - 15 August 2009
Real Mallorca under new ownership - 10 August 2009
Road humps, Puerto Pollensa - 7 August 2009
Sa Pobla-Alcúdia railway - 27 August 2009
Science and technology museum, Alcúdia - 31 August 2009
Temperatures and weather - 26 August 2009
Tourist complaints - 21 August 2009
Tourist satisfaction and expectations - 16 August 2009
Violence, tourist - 25 August 2009
Windsurfing - 9 August 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
And The Beata Goes On
The last great local fiesta of the summer is now underway in Santa Margalida. It is the one that always announces itself as the "most typical" of the fiestas and one, therefore, to which one supposes only a smattering of tourists dare venture. Santa Margalida occupies something of a never land, some eight kilometres inland from its resort of Can Picafort; it is somewhere to which people never go, except the worthies who want their photos taken at this most typical of fiestas. The fiesta, known as La Beata in honour of the saintly Catalina Thomás who resisted the temptation of the devil, does a good job of getting itself hidden from anyone other than hardcore Mallorcans. You should try reading this year's publicity. Catalan with local idioms and with a font style that makes some letters rather questionable. Obscure it all is if you happen not to be Mallorcan. Maybe this is how they prefer it. The most typical and the most unintelligible.
Previously I have explained how a local "girl" comes to receive modern-day beatification by being elected for the Beata gig. You have to have paid your dues in order to qualify for the final knockout rounds, i.e. taken on some of the supporting roles in past Beata events. The publicity features photos of the various Beata fellow travellers - 12 of them in all - from which, one imagines, next year's Beata may come. Do you suppose they run a book?
Buried within the schedule of the fiesta's seemingly interminable sports contests, the obligatory DJs and pipers and whistlers, and of course Beata and the demons is something called a "glosada". It is, I confess, something new to me and therefore took a bit of hunting to try and make sense of what it actually is. Help was at hand from our trusty youtube. On there are some examples of "glosadors". And who they, you ask? They are, it would appear, sort of open-mike folk singers, unaccompanied, who stand on a stage, three or four of them, and take turns to sing (I use the word loosely) when not taking on board whatever it is in the paper cups in front of them. It is the most God awful caterwauling. If you must, try this for size - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zizsgc9_dJA. If you decide to go to La Beata, you might want to give the evening of 2 September a miss: gloss over the glosada, so to speak. Or you may decide that it is the highlight of the whole fiesta week, assuming that you find bad to be good. On the principle that the vast majority of those who take to a karaoke mike are no good, then one might argue that this is similar (just without the music and in an impenetrable language). Except some of the "glosadors" are meant to be vaguely good. I've got news for them ...
Info on the Beata is, as always, on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com, and for the original publicity, go to the town hall's website - http://www.ajsantamargalida.net.
Control freaks
And of course it carries on. The price is not right debate. The editor of "The Bulletin" had been on hols. One found the lack of a comment in the leader about the prices rather conspicuous by its absence until two days ago. While yet more letters were saying much the same as all the other ones that had gone before, we were - yet again - told that something had to be done in the form of price control. There are times when I have the desire to hurl myself at high speed head first against a very solid wall. Can someone please tell me - how do you exert price controls on the likes of bar or restaurant menus? Perhaps "The Bulletin" knows but isn't saying. It would certainly be beneficial were it to say as we might then be a little wiser as to how price controls, even if they were a good idea, might actually be implemented. And what this might mean in terms of bars and restaurants' supply costs and their profit and loss accounts and in terms of how it all might be policed, and and and ...
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - U2, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfSnjL0pd8. Today's title - it was beat of course, so who was it? '80s disco.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Previously I have explained how a local "girl" comes to receive modern-day beatification by being elected for the Beata gig. You have to have paid your dues in order to qualify for the final knockout rounds, i.e. taken on some of the supporting roles in past Beata events. The publicity features photos of the various Beata fellow travellers - 12 of them in all - from which, one imagines, next year's Beata may come. Do you suppose they run a book?
Buried within the schedule of the fiesta's seemingly interminable sports contests, the obligatory DJs and pipers and whistlers, and of course Beata and the demons is something called a "glosada". It is, I confess, something new to me and therefore took a bit of hunting to try and make sense of what it actually is. Help was at hand from our trusty youtube. On there are some examples of "glosadors". And who they, you ask? They are, it would appear, sort of open-mike folk singers, unaccompanied, who stand on a stage, three or four of them, and take turns to sing (I use the word loosely) when not taking on board whatever it is in the paper cups in front of them. It is the most God awful caterwauling. If you must, try this for size - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zizsgc9_dJA. If you decide to go to La Beata, you might want to give the evening of 2 September a miss: gloss over the glosada, so to speak. Or you may decide that it is the highlight of the whole fiesta week, assuming that you find bad to be good. On the principle that the vast majority of those who take to a karaoke mike are no good, then one might argue that this is similar (just without the music and in an impenetrable language). Except some of the "glosadors" are meant to be vaguely good. I've got news for them ...
Info on the Beata is, as always, on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com, and for the original publicity, go to the town hall's website - http://www.ajsantamargalida.net.
Control freaks
And of course it carries on. The price is not right debate. The editor of "The Bulletin" had been on hols. One found the lack of a comment in the leader about the prices rather conspicuous by its absence until two days ago. While yet more letters were saying much the same as all the other ones that had gone before, we were - yet again - told that something had to be done in the form of price control. There are times when I have the desire to hurl myself at high speed head first against a very solid wall. Can someone please tell me - how do you exert price controls on the likes of bar or restaurant menus? Perhaps "The Bulletin" knows but isn't saying. It would certainly be beneficial were it to say as we might then be a little wiser as to how price controls, even if they were a good idea, might actually be implemented. And what this might mean in terms of bars and restaurants' supply costs and their profit and loss accounts and in terms of how it all might be policed, and and and ...
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - U2, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfSnjL0pd8. Today's title - it was beat of course, so who was it? '80s disco.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
With Or Without You
So after the marathon of yesterday, a bit of a follow-up.
First thing to say is that the Bellevue article was subject to approval. There was a lot that could have been and could be said, but a lot that is better unsaid. But from what was published, perhaps the most revealing aspects are those to do with going all-inclusive (AI) and the impact that this has and has had.
When the interview was conducted and the question was put as to the possibility of going totally AI, the response was a firm "maybe". Equivocal perhaps, but the intent exists. It is clear that this is what the market is demanding, whether local businesses or indeed hotels like it. The further growth of AI seems almost inevitable and not only at Bellevue. And it isn't only the "crisis" that is driving it. If businesses had preferred, hitherto, to hope that it might all just go away, they had better start re-thinking. Alcúdia is not unique either.
I had long considered the notion of responsibility, especially of such a large complex as Bellevue, to what surrounds it. I had once couched this in terms analogous to the mine, the steelworks, the factory towns of Bournville and the like. The hotel was akin to some benevolent employer around which businesses and dwellings grew. I was clearly wrong. Unlike the factory towns that needed the houses and the businesses to support the factories, somewhere like Bellevue never needed them as such, or never asked for them to emerge. It is, as the interview pointed out, a question of it (the hotel) doing what it has to do. The responsibility is not there. However, one can look at this rather differently. A hotel, any hotel, does actually need what the resort can offer, and this includes local bars and restaurants. For without them, there is no resort. It is, if you like, the apocalyptic vision of where AI might ultimately lead. Unlikely though it may be, the logic is of hotels standing isolated among closed-down businesses which then convey a poor image of the resort. Would the tourist still come? He, the tourist, may be quite happy to spend his money solely on his AI package, but he still wants the sight of bars and the rest, even if he has no intention of visiting them. The bars become almost like museum pieces. It is perhaps also pertinent to observe that Bellevue, and other hotels, themselves grew wealthy because of the emergence of local businesses which, as much as the hotels, were what attracted the tourists. There has always been a symbiotic relationship; one that has now been undermined.
Yet you can understand the hotel's attitude, at least I can. Their business is the hotel, nothing else. Do local businesses feel responsibilities to each other? Doubtful. It is also true to say that businesses grew up and owners grew wealthy merely by dint of being there. They didn't always have to work that hard for custom. And this is the crux of where we now are; whether people like it or not. It may seem harsh but the hotels do not owe the local businesses. Those businesses had it great for years. And then the market changed, as markets always change, ultimately. In this market, the hotels are no longer as strong as they once were. Witness, for instance, the tour operators insistence on price reductions in 2010. It is the tour operators and tourist demand that are advancing the cause of AI, and the hotels have to adapt and are. This represents the power in the tourist market; the local bars and the rest are subservient and have to themselves adapt, assuming they can.
QUIZ
Today's title - not so much "can't live" as "can live"; who is it?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
First thing to say is that the Bellevue article was subject to approval. There was a lot that could have been and could be said, but a lot that is better unsaid. But from what was published, perhaps the most revealing aspects are those to do with going all-inclusive (AI) and the impact that this has and has had.
When the interview was conducted and the question was put as to the possibility of going totally AI, the response was a firm "maybe". Equivocal perhaps, but the intent exists. It is clear that this is what the market is demanding, whether local businesses or indeed hotels like it. The further growth of AI seems almost inevitable and not only at Bellevue. And it isn't only the "crisis" that is driving it. If businesses had preferred, hitherto, to hope that it might all just go away, they had better start re-thinking. Alcúdia is not unique either.
I had long considered the notion of responsibility, especially of such a large complex as Bellevue, to what surrounds it. I had once couched this in terms analogous to the mine, the steelworks, the factory towns of Bournville and the like. The hotel was akin to some benevolent employer around which businesses and dwellings grew. I was clearly wrong. Unlike the factory towns that needed the houses and the businesses to support the factories, somewhere like Bellevue never needed them as such, or never asked for them to emerge. It is, as the interview pointed out, a question of it (the hotel) doing what it has to do. The responsibility is not there. However, one can look at this rather differently. A hotel, any hotel, does actually need what the resort can offer, and this includes local bars and restaurants. For without them, there is no resort. It is, if you like, the apocalyptic vision of where AI might ultimately lead. Unlikely though it may be, the logic is of hotels standing isolated among closed-down businesses which then convey a poor image of the resort. Would the tourist still come? He, the tourist, may be quite happy to spend his money solely on his AI package, but he still wants the sight of bars and the rest, even if he has no intention of visiting them. The bars become almost like museum pieces. It is perhaps also pertinent to observe that Bellevue, and other hotels, themselves grew wealthy because of the emergence of local businesses which, as much as the hotels, were what attracted the tourists. There has always been a symbiotic relationship; one that has now been undermined.
Yet you can understand the hotel's attitude, at least I can. Their business is the hotel, nothing else. Do local businesses feel responsibilities to each other? Doubtful. It is also true to say that businesses grew up and owners grew wealthy merely by dint of being there. They didn't always have to work that hard for custom. And this is the crux of where we now are; whether people like it or not. It may seem harsh but the hotels do not owe the local businesses. Those businesses had it great for years. And then the market changed, as markets always change, ultimately. In this market, the hotels are no longer as strong as they once were. Witness, for instance, the tour operators insistence on price reductions in 2010. It is the tour operators and tourist demand that are advancing the cause of AI, and the hotels have to adapt and are. This represents the power in the tourist market; the local bars and the rest are subservient and have to themselves adapt, assuming they can.
QUIZ
Today's title - not so much "can't live" as "can live"; who is it?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Bellevue Interview
As trailed on here, below is the result of the interview with the assistant director of Bellevue. This has now been published in "Talk Of The North", so as an additional archive, here it is. The first part is the feature itself and this is followed by some history and facts.
Realism At Bellevue
"Every day we think of how we can improve our product." To read some of the criticisms levelled at the Bellevue hotel complex, one might find that hard to believe, but listening to assistant director Syb Sijbertsma one does believe it. "Ridiculous," is his assessment of some of the things that are trotted out on the internet.
The web consumes much of our discussion time. "There is a danger with the internet. It creates too high a level of expectation." This is expectation not just of what Bellevue might have to offer but of what any hotel or destination can provide. "It used to be an adventure," the holiday that is. "But not now." Accordingly, hotels are compared with others, and in the case of Bellevue a false impression can be created through inaccuracies or through unreal expectations.
At Bellevue they are clear as to what their product is, but often it becomes distorted, not least by some tour operators who do not inform their customers correctly. The holidaymaker needs to "experience things for himself" and be realistic. As an example, we touch on a familiar criticism as to length of queues. The main restaurant can cater for 1000 at a sitting. If everyone comes at the same time, then there are bound to be queues. At Bellevue they know this, but the message does not always get across.
We have to take a step back. Back to why I felt it important to hear the Bellevue story. There were a number of factors, not least the criticisms that one read on the internet, the rumours that one constantly heard and the apparent lack of communication by the hotel in addressing these. Then there was the sheer scale of Bellevue - it is the largest holiday complex in Spain - its importance to the economy of Alcúdia and its almost iconic status. Moreover, what occurs at Bellevue is not wholly unique as it is indicative of what is occurring in the mass tourism holiday market across Mallorca and not just in the north of the island.
But let's get back to that apparent lack of communication. On Syb's computer screen are comments from the review site "Trip Advisor". Contrary to what I had believed, these are taken very seriously. However, there is frustration. While he can respond with information, that is all he can do: no opinion, no sense of criticising a poster. "If you sit with people who have a problem, you can explain and then they are normally happy. The internet is not the same." "There is always something to pick on at Bellevue," be it cleanliness, the queues, safety or even mosquitoes.
We take a walk around the complex. Five thousand people and you have to expect some litter. Yet the impression is far from unfavourable despite the lack of consideration that leads to Syb picking up discarded plastic cups or wrappers. He is, as he puts it, "manic" about collecting litter. In the middle of the afternoon, pool sides are full of guests with cups and plates. It is not just the assistant director who cleans up, there are staff everywhere in a constant battle with abandoned containers. Behaviour is an issue. He admits that it has got worse. And not just where litter is concerned. He relates stories, none of them repeatable, but they all add up to making his job far broader than just that of a manager or a strategist. He is also social worker, family counsellor, mediator. A background as a physical education instructor is perhaps useful in being able to deal with certain situations.
The fires
We take a look at the burnt-out lift in Minerva 2. The health and safety criticism is one that annoys him. It was one bandied about after the two fires. I study the specification for the hotel, note the ticks for items such as smoke detectors and alarms. "The tour operators come every year and see for themselves. They are always happy." Were they not, they wouldn't send their clients to Bellevue. He doesn't wish to go into the issue, but the TUI decision to pull out of Bellevue was not related to health and safety. "There weren't any fires for years, then two. Similar circumstances surrounding both." He cites theories as to possible origins of the fires, but they are a police matter so I am not about to repeat them.
The fires, however, were indicative of how the internet can inflame, as it were, the situation. He is critical of those whose first impulse is to go onto a review site and disseminate what is not wholly accurate. "The fires were dealt with in a perfect way," he says. The first fire, in Minerva 1, attracted more attention than the second, partly because the alarms did not sound. He explains that if there is a fire or smoke - and there was a lot of smoke and very little by way of flames with the first fire - an alarm goes off at reception. There is a five-minute delay before the alarms go off, enabling staff to investigate the nature of the fire. In the case of Minerva 1, it was under control. To have sounded the alarms would have made the situation worse by causing more panic. The Minerva 2 fire involved more flames, and the alarms were set off in this instance. One has to understand, Syb explains, that there are over 15 false alarms every week, which is why they have the system they do.
To see what was said on the internet, it was easy to form an impression as to a lack of information, but an office was set aside for four days after the fires to handle guests' queries or concerns, while there was also a press relations facility established. In terms of both safety and communications, he is satisfied that the incidents were handled well.
Responsibilities and all-inclusive
Back in Minerva 2, from a room on the eighth floor you get an impression not just of the size of the complex but also the setting. It is extraordinary. One can see the length of the Lago Esperanza and appreciate just how big that is. Across the sea and bay of Alcúdia are the mountains of Artà. I wanted to talk about responsibility, the responsibility that Bellevue has to the local community. It is the physical splendour of the immediate surroundings that informs this responsibility, the hotel's part in maintaining the beauty of the environment and in the plans to upgrade the lake area. There are other responsibilities, I suggest, and so we come to the local community and businesses.
What of all the rumours that fly around? Bellevue is being sold, Bellevue is closing, Bellevue this and Bellevue that. Is there a responsibility to respond to them? Not really, he says. Alcúdia is a small town, one in which all sorts of rumour spread quickly. To make statements might simply make matters worse, as though they would imply that there was some truth to the rumours when there never is.
And what of the impact of changes at Bellevue, most obviously all-inclusive (AI) packages? It is Syb's turn to want to take a step back. From the time Bellevue really took off as a holiday complex in the early '80s, its clientele would leave the site and patronise the bars, restaurants and shops that grew up along and off The Mile. Syb is unequivocal. "Some people got really rich on it." But things have changed. He sees no responsibility for this change. "A hotel is a hotel. We do what we do."
The AI side of the Bellevue product has grown significantly. From trialling it in 2005, it has grown to the extent that it now comprises over half the number of guests. Of a maximum occupancy this year just shy of 5100 guests, around 2800 are staying on an AI basis. "We're being pushed into it," he concedes. The crisis, as much as anything, has contributed to a rise this year from a maximum of 2000 AI guests in 2008. Despite this, he is not particularly in favour of AI, and the reasoning for this is based on the service that can be offered. "AI is like a basic family car, when you would really like to be offering a Mercedes. It's impossible on a 3-star basis." He draws a comparison with the Caribbean where costs are that much lower, allowing branded products to form part of the AI offer and far greater levels of staffing. Spain is that much more expensive. You come back to that level of expectation. Bellevue is at the limits as to what it can achieve in terms of providing AI in its restaurants, and there is an acknowledgement that some re-organisation and development will need to occur in order to comply with the diktats of the tourism ministry in terms of the space per guest. So, AI could grow more, I ask. Yes. Might Bellevue become totally AI? Maybe, he replies, but counters this by suggesting that AI could be cyclical and that it could fade away as tourist needs and demands change.
I return to the local businesses. "It was all so easy in the past," he explains. Syb constantly refers to product, and he is critical of some who have paid too little attention to their product or quality. "Other businesses will still come in," he believes in answer to the question about the impact along The Mile. "They will offer products that people want." The hotel itself has had to adapt to a changing market; this is all a part of that thinking every day as to how they can improve. He sees some evidence of businesses doing this as well. It is necessary that they do. Despite the possibility that AI is indeed cyclical, Syb says starkly that "it is AI or nothing".
Bellevue history and facts
The Bellevue complex was built between 1972 and 1974 by the same German developer behind what are now the Club Mac hotels. The Siesta apartments were sold off separately in 1974 and the Bellevue apartments were put on the market as a form of time-share option. That was the plan, but it didn't work. Between 1974 and 1983 there was little activity at Bellevue, the complex being in the hands of the bank Banesto. In 1983 the first hotel company was formed, effectively creating the complex as it now is. But there were several years of changes in the actual running of the complex until 2000 when Hotetur in partnership with My Travel took over and Banesto finally left the scene. For five years the arrangement with My Travel gave the hotel guaranteed places, but in 2005 Hotetur bought out My Travel's stake which had amounted to a minority holding of 49%.
Bellevue comprises 17 separate accommodation blocks which stand on an area of 200,000 square metres. There is facility to house over 6000 guests, but the maximum occupation in 2009 is around 5100, down on the 5500 of 2007. This can be explained partially by economic conditions but also by smaller family units. There are five different types of board category, the most popular being self-catering and all-inclusive. Around 400 staff are employed at the complex.
While the buildings are now quite old, the apartments themselves are maintained to good standards. I saw an example of each category. While they might be cramped for larger groups, they generally have ample space with kitchen units, bathrooms and toilets; the actual sizes are, respectively, 25, 35 and 45 square metres for studios and one and two-bedroomed apartments. In total there are 1468 apartments. The impression is that they are clean, functional and safe.
The breakdown of nationalities has changed this year. The main market is British at around 65 to 70%, down around 20%, but compensated for by an increase in other groups - Scandinavian, German, French and Dutch. Internet bookings are a vital part of the hotel's operations, and these can rise as high as 80%.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Razorlight, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3aAt22Y7QQ.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Realism At Bellevue
"Every day we think of how we can improve our product." To read some of the criticisms levelled at the Bellevue hotel complex, one might find that hard to believe, but listening to assistant director Syb Sijbertsma one does believe it. "Ridiculous," is his assessment of some of the things that are trotted out on the internet.
The web consumes much of our discussion time. "There is a danger with the internet. It creates too high a level of expectation." This is expectation not just of what Bellevue might have to offer but of what any hotel or destination can provide. "It used to be an adventure," the holiday that is. "But not now." Accordingly, hotels are compared with others, and in the case of Bellevue a false impression can be created through inaccuracies or through unreal expectations.
At Bellevue they are clear as to what their product is, but often it becomes distorted, not least by some tour operators who do not inform their customers correctly. The holidaymaker needs to "experience things for himself" and be realistic. As an example, we touch on a familiar criticism as to length of queues. The main restaurant can cater for 1000 at a sitting. If everyone comes at the same time, then there are bound to be queues. At Bellevue they know this, but the message does not always get across.
We have to take a step back. Back to why I felt it important to hear the Bellevue story. There were a number of factors, not least the criticisms that one read on the internet, the rumours that one constantly heard and the apparent lack of communication by the hotel in addressing these. Then there was the sheer scale of Bellevue - it is the largest holiday complex in Spain - its importance to the economy of Alcúdia and its almost iconic status. Moreover, what occurs at Bellevue is not wholly unique as it is indicative of what is occurring in the mass tourism holiday market across Mallorca and not just in the north of the island.
But let's get back to that apparent lack of communication. On Syb's computer screen are comments from the review site "Trip Advisor". Contrary to what I had believed, these are taken very seriously. However, there is frustration. While he can respond with information, that is all he can do: no opinion, no sense of criticising a poster. "If you sit with people who have a problem, you can explain and then they are normally happy. The internet is not the same." "There is always something to pick on at Bellevue," be it cleanliness, the queues, safety or even mosquitoes.
We take a walk around the complex. Five thousand people and you have to expect some litter. Yet the impression is far from unfavourable despite the lack of consideration that leads to Syb picking up discarded plastic cups or wrappers. He is, as he puts it, "manic" about collecting litter. In the middle of the afternoon, pool sides are full of guests with cups and plates. It is not just the assistant director who cleans up, there are staff everywhere in a constant battle with abandoned containers. Behaviour is an issue. He admits that it has got worse. And not just where litter is concerned. He relates stories, none of them repeatable, but they all add up to making his job far broader than just that of a manager or a strategist. He is also social worker, family counsellor, mediator. A background as a physical education instructor is perhaps useful in being able to deal with certain situations.
The fires
We take a look at the burnt-out lift in Minerva 2. The health and safety criticism is one that annoys him. It was one bandied about after the two fires. I study the specification for the hotel, note the ticks for items such as smoke detectors and alarms. "The tour operators come every year and see for themselves. They are always happy." Were they not, they wouldn't send their clients to Bellevue. He doesn't wish to go into the issue, but the TUI decision to pull out of Bellevue was not related to health and safety. "There weren't any fires for years, then two. Similar circumstances surrounding both." He cites theories as to possible origins of the fires, but they are a police matter so I am not about to repeat them.
The fires, however, were indicative of how the internet can inflame, as it were, the situation. He is critical of those whose first impulse is to go onto a review site and disseminate what is not wholly accurate. "The fires were dealt with in a perfect way," he says. The first fire, in Minerva 1, attracted more attention than the second, partly because the alarms did not sound. He explains that if there is a fire or smoke - and there was a lot of smoke and very little by way of flames with the first fire - an alarm goes off at reception. There is a five-minute delay before the alarms go off, enabling staff to investigate the nature of the fire. In the case of Minerva 1, it was under control. To have sounded the alarms would have made the situation worse by causing more panic. The Minerva 2 fire involved more flames, and the alarms were set off in this instance. One has to understand, Syb explains, that there are over 15 false alarms every week, which is why they have the system they do.
To see what was said on the internet, it was easy to form an impression as to a lack of information, but an office was set aside for four days after the fires to handle guests' queries or concerns, while there was also a press relations facility established. In terms of both safety and communications, he is satisfied that the incidents were handled well.
Responsibilities and all-inclusive
Back in Minerva 2, from a room on the eighth floor you get an impression not just of the size of the complex but also the setting. It is extraordinary. One can see the length of the Lago Esperanza and appreciate just how big that is. Across the sea and bay of Alcúdia are the mountains of Artà. I wanted to talk about responsibility, the responsibility that Bellevue has to the local community. It is the physical splendour of the immediate surroundings that informs this responsibility, the hotel's part in maintaining the beauty of the environment and in the plans to upgrade the lake area. There are other responsibilities, I suggest, and so we come to the local community and businesses.
What of all the rumours that fly around? Bellevue is being sold, Bellevue is closing, Bellevue this and Bellevue that. Is there a responsibility to respond to them? Not really, he says. Alcúdia is a small town, one in which all sorts of rumour spread quickly. To make statements might simply make matters worse, as though they would imply that there was some truth to the rumours when there never is.
And what of the impact of changes at Bellevue, most obviously all-inclusive (AI) packages? It is Syb's turn to want to take a step back. From the time Bellevue really took off as a holiday complex in the early '80s, its clientele would leave the site and patronise the bars, restaurants and shops that grew up along and off The Mile. Syb is unequivocal. "Some people got really rich on it." But things have changed. He sees no responsibility for this change. "A hotel is a hotel. We do what we do."
The AI side of the Bellevue product has grown significantly. From trialling it in 2005, it has grown to the extent that it now comprises over half the number of guests. Of a maximum occupancy this year just shy of 5100 guests, around 2800 are staying on an AI basis. "We're being pushed into it," he concedes. The crisis, as much as anything, has contributed to a rise this year from a maximum of 2000 AI guests in 2008. Despite this, he is not particularly in favour of AI, and the reasoning for this is based on the service that can be offered. "AI is like a basic family car, when you would really like to be offering a Mercedes. It's impossible on a 3-star basis." He draws a comparison with the Caribbean where costs are that much lower, allowing branded products to form part of the AI offer and far greater levels of staffing. Spain is that much more expensive. You come back to that level of expectation. Bellevue is at the limits as to what it can achieve in terms of providing AI in its restaurants, and there is an acknowledgement that some re-organisation and development will need to occur in order to comply with the diktats of the tourism ministry in terms of the space per guest. So, AI could grow more, I ask. Yes. Might Bellevue become totally AI? Maybe, he replies, but counters this by suggesting that AI could be cyclical and that it could fade away as tourist needs and demands change.
I return to the local businesses. "It was all so easy in the past," he explains. Syb constantly refers to product, and he is critical of some who have paid too little attention to their product or quality. "Other businesses will still come in," he believes in answer to the question about the impact along The Mile. "They will offer products that people want." The hotel itself has had to adapt to a changing market; this is all a part of that thinking every day as to how they can improve. He sees some evidence of businesses doing this as well. It is necessary that they do. Despite the possibility that AI is indeed cyclical, Syb says starkly that "it is AI or nothing".
Bellevue history and facts
The Bellevue complex was built between 1972 and 1974 by the same German developer behind what are now the Club Mac hotels. The Siesta apartments were sold off separately in 1974 and the Bellevue apartments were put on the market as a form of time-share option. That was the plan, but it didn't work. Between 1974 and 1983 there was little activity at Bellevue, the complex being in the hands of the bank Banesto. In 1983 the first hotel company was formed, effectively creating the complex as it now is. But there were several years of changes in the actual running of the complex until 2000 when Hotetur in partnership with My Travel took over and Banesto finally left the scene. For five years the arrangement with My Travel gave the hotel guaranteed places, but in 2005 Hotetur bought out My Travel's stake which had amounted to a minority holding of 49%.
Bellevue comprises 17 separate accommodation blocks which stand on an area of 200,000 square metres. There is facility to house over 6000 guests, but the maximum occupation in 2009 is around 5100, down on the 5500 of 2007. This can be explained partially by economic conditions but also by smaller family units. There are five different types of board category, the most popular being self-catering and all-inclusive. Around 400 staff are employed at the complex.
While the buildings are now quite old, the apartments themselves are maintained to good standards. I saw an example of each category. While they might be cramped for larger groups, they generally have ample space with kitchen units, bathrooms and toilets; the actual sizes are, respectively, 25, 35 and 45 square metres for studios and one and two-bedroomed apartments. In total there are 1468 apartments. The impression is that they are clean, functional and safe.
The breakdown of nationalities has changed this year. The main market is British at around 65 to 70%, down around 20%, but compensated for by an increase in other groups - Scandinavian, German, French and Dutch. Internet bookings are a vital part of the hotel's operations, and these can rise as high as 80%.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Razorlight, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3aAt22Y7QQ.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Somewhere Else
There are certain stories that, amidst an outpouring of outrage, blaze brightly for a while - like the price of a coffee. And then there are those that just refuse to go away because there is a refusal to reach any sort of closure or agreement - like the bloody rail extension to Alcúdia. It may now not be an extension to Alcúdia, if the regional government's transport minister can be believed.
The impasse between the ministry and Alcúdia town hall as to the siting of the railway line and terminus threatens the Madrid funding that is in place. The minister is not about to see that taken back. It may sound a bit childish, but he has said that if there cannot be an agreement, the railway will go somewhere else. Up to a point, you can understand this stance. The town hall simply refuses to budge on its preference for the so-called southern route. This despite the fact, and irrespective of which route were to be adopted, that the train would benefit Alcúdia and would not require the town hall to put its hands into its pockets. In a way this all highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a political system that involves different tiers of government - Madrid, the regional government and the local government. The latter cannot be ridden roughshod over by a train it does not wish to be sited in a particular place - a strength - but the latter two together cannot see eye to eye - a weakness, and one not completely without political machinations. The town hall mayor makes references to the Bloc in the regional government, which effectively controls the transport ministry, and it is opposed by the Unió Mallorquina-dominated town hall.
Should one take the minister's threat seriously? Consider the alternatives. The railway could, in theory, go to Pollensa, Playa de Muro or Can Picafort. In theory. But in practice? One of the key arguments in favour of the northern route within Alcúdia, that which the minister wants, is that it would serve the highest density of immediate population. Alcúdia has a greater population than any of the neighbouring municipalities in any event. Pollensa is close behind, but unlike Alcúdia it is split up - there are several kilometres between the town and the port, which is not the case in Alcúdia. The population-density argument would not hold.
Then there would be the not insignificant matters of feasibility studies, environmental knickers twisted, public debates, political wranglings that would occur were a different location to be chosen or recommended. There is also the fact that the planned route to Alcúdia is years old. It was first thought of back in the 1930s. This is only a guess, but it could well be that there exists a legal basis for the Alcúdia route that goes back all those years. You may recall that the bypass in Puerto Pollensa was something agreed to in the 1960s and backed by a central government plan from the time. It is quite possible that the Alcúdia train is similarly covered. Were this to be the case, then it might require Madrid to legislate on any other route, which would almost certainly not be a good idea if Madrid is getting twitchy about its 400 million euros of funding. As an adjunct to this, another rail extension, that from Manacor to Artà, is due to see work starting this winter. This despite much opposition. But in this particular case, there used to be a railway line to Artá. The new one is essentially a reactivation of an old land plan.
But let us assume they said no to Alcúdia and yes to somewhere else. Put a terminus in Playa de Muro and you would have the same arguments as Alcúdia. Greater ones probably as the most direct route would go along the side of Albufera. Put a terminus in Can Picafort and then why bother running the line from Sa Pobla. There is already a station in Muro town (part of the line from Inca to Sa Pobla), which would be closer. In either instance, however, one comes back to the population-density issue. How many people live all year in Playa de Muro or Can Picafort? Far, far fewer than in Alcúdia. Put a terminus in Pollensa or even Puerto Pollensa and the route may seem straightforward - alongside the road past Crestatx and the golf course. Yep, and see what sort of opposition that causes. And then there is that idea of a tram line, either one between Alcúdia and Can Picafort or one between Puerto Pollensa and Alcúdia, or both maybe, connecting with the train station. These seem to have been completely forgotten in all this debate, assuming there was ever any serious plan for them.
Unless the ministry decides on some completely different train project, away from the north, the only really sensible option is Alcúdia, which is probably why it has been mooted for over 70 years. Alcúdia town hall really needs to swallow its pride, hurt by what was seen as a fait accompli when the northern route was announced by the ministry, and accept the plan. Or else the railway may never be built. The only problem then would be that it, the town hall, would need to be involved in the process of project management and expropriation - against its wishes. Without a change in political hue in Alcúdia, that would be difficult, and is very unlikely to happen. More likely would be a political change at the ministry. And when the mayor talks about hoping for a future change of heart at regional government level, this may well be what he has in mind. Always assuming Madrid doesn't pull the funding in the meantime. Otherwise it will be another 70 years.
Stormy weather
And apropos yesterday. There was in fact a storm, it did not hit Alcúdia but Pollensa. Back to sun.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Carole King, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMjoF4xtMko.
Today's title - a hit from a Brit indie bunch.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The impasse between the ministry and Alcúdia town hall as to the siting of the railway line and terminus threatens the Madrid funding that is in place. The minister is not about to see that taken back. It may sound a bit childish, but he has said that if there cannot be an agreement, the railway will go somewhere else. Up to a point, you can understand this stance. The town hall simply refuses to budge on its preference for the so-called southern route. This despite the fact, and irrespective of which route were to be adopted, that the train would benefit Alcúdia and would not require the town hall to put its hands into its pockets. In a way this all highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a political system that involves different tiers of government - Madrid, the regional government and the local government. The latter cannot be ridden roughshod over by a train it does not wish to be sited in a particular place - a strength - but the latter two together cannot see eye to eye - a weakness, and one not completely without political machinations. The town hall mayor makes references to the Bloc in the regional government, which effectively controls the transport ministry, and it is opposed by the Unió Mallorquina-dominated town hall.
Should one take the minister's threat seriously? Consider the alternatives. The railway could, in theory, go to Pollensa, Playa de Muro or Can Picafort. In theory. But in practice? One of the key arguments in favour of the northern route within Alcúdia, that which the minister wants, is that it would serve the highest density of immediate population. Alcúdia has a greater population than any of the neighbouring municipalities in any event. Pollensa is close behind, but unlike Alcúdia it is split up - there are several kilometres between the town and the port, which is not the case in Alcúdia. The population-density argument would not hold.
Then there would be the not insignificant matters of feasibility studies, environmental knickers twisted, public debates, political wranglings that would occur were a different location to be chosen or recommended. There is also the fact that the planned route to Alcúdia is years old. It was first thought of back in the 1930s. This is only a guess, but it could well be that there exists a legal basis for the Alcúdia route that goes back all those years. You may recall that the bypass in Puerto Pollensa was something agreed to in the 1960s and backed by a central government plan from the time. It is quite possible that the Alcúdia train is similarly covered. Were this to be the case, then it might require Madrid to legislate on any other route, which would almost certainly not be a good idea if Madrid is getting twitchy about its 400 million euros of funding. As an adjunct to this, another rail extension, that from Manacor to Artà, is due to see work starting this winter. This despite much opposition. But in this particular case, there used to be a railway line to Artá. The new one is essentially a reactivation of an old land plan.
But let us assume they said no to Alcúdia and yes to somewhere else. Put a terminus in Playa de Muro and you would have the same arguments as Alcúdia. Greater ones probably as the most direct route would go along the side of Albufera. Put a terminus in Can Picafort and then why bother running the line from Sa Pobla. There is already a station in Muro town (part of the line from Inca to Sa Pobla), which would be closer. In either instance, however, one comes back to the population-density issue. How many people live all year in Playa de Muro or Can Picafort? Far, far fewer than in Alcúdia. Put a terminus in Pollensa or even Puerto Pollensa and the route may seem straightforward - alongside the road past Crestatx and the golf course. Yep, and see what sort of opposition that causes. And then there is that idea of a tram line, either one between Alcúdia and Can Picafort or one between Puerto Pollensa and Alcúdia, or both maybe, connecting with the train station. These seem to have been completely forgotten in all this debate, assuming there was ever any serious plan for them.
Unless the ministry decides on some completely different train project, away from the north, the only really sensible option is Alcúdia, which is probably why it has been mooted for over 70 years. Alcúdia town hall really needs to swallow its pride, hurt by what was seen as a fait accompli when the northern route was announced by the ministry, and accept the plan. Or else the railway may never be built. The only problem then would be that it, the town hall, would need to be involved in the process of project management and expropriation - against its wishes. Without a change in political hue in Alcúdia, that would be difficult, and is very unlikely to happen. More likely would be a political change at the ministry. And when the mayor talks about hoping for a future change of heart at regional government level, this may well be what he has in mind. Always assuming Madrid doesn't pull the funding in the meantime. Otherwise it will be another 70 years.
Stormy weather
And apropos yesterday. There was in fact a storm, it did not hit Alcúdia but Pollensa. Back to sun.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Carole King, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMjoF4xtMko.
Today's title - a hit from a Brit indie bunch.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Rain Until September
Are we seeing a change? The weather, that is. The stifling humidity of yesterday suggested that the almost unbroken sun and fine weather could come to a crashing halt; crashing as in the crash, bang and wallop of storms. Since early May there has been barely any appreciable rain. There have been some spots and some cloudy spells, but apart from a cloudburst that deluged Puerto Pollensa some weeks ago, there has been nothing ... no rain, only heat upon unrelenting heat, dry upon unrelenting scorched earth.
This has been a summer similar in some ways to the fierce one of 2003, the one that claimed lives across western Europe. In that year interior temperatures nudged the 40 mark in June and hardly fell below 30 for the next two months. And then right on cue, almost at the stroke of midnight on 1 September, came the storms. And they lasted for several days. The end of August and into September is the stormy season. Indeed it is far from unusual for there to be fierce storms and heavy rains in August. It was one such August storm that led to the closure of the farcically ill-prepared new metro system in Palma that was flooded. When was that? Three years ago?
This year has seen some record temperatures. The 42 of July in Sa Pobla was the highest for some fifteen years. The heat of this summer, say some, was nature's correction following what had been a generally wet winter. Nature's correction could be about to be experienced in a different way - deluges. It would not be altogether surprising. The heat and the dry weather may have turned some gardens shades of brown or even grey, but the landscape is resilient. It is a remarkable feature of Mallorca that so much retains a greenness despite the lack of rain. The dryness has its dangers. There have been large billboards - in Catalan of course - warning against fires in the forests. Make that also fires on mountains. A Briton has been detained following the fire on the Puig Sant Martí in Puerto Alcúdia on Sunday. The helicopter with its demolition-ball-style water bombs was scooping from the Lago Menor and the Canadair firefighting planes from the sea. On Monday there were other fires in the interior.
Mallorca, though it has its forests, is not as densely wooded as other places. Fires do not tend to take on the levels of seriousness that were the case in southern Spain earlier this summer and have been the case just recently in Greece. Unlike another Mediterranean island, Corsica, it is not the site of devastating fires, usually deliberately started. Having experienced the proximity of a major fire in Corsica and witnessed the environmental disasters visited on that island, it is something to be grateful for that Mallorca is spared such natural violence, albeit artificially created.
The most powerful remedy to fires, however, is natural, and that means rain. And rain, lots of it, is not, one fancies, that far away. Some will be saying thank goodness.
SPANISH FOOTY
And as the seasons being to change, possibly, so the football season arrives together with the No Frills bus to take those of a footballing Darren bent off to the ONO stadium (Oh, no, it's ONO; oh, no, it's Real Mallorca). The first game of the new season is against Xerez, which presumably means a lot of sherry - or maybe not. Anyway, info on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - David Bowie, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyMm4rJemtI.
Today's title - and into September, it might be argued. It might as well ... Who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
This has been a summer similar in some ways to the fierce one of 2003, the one that claimed lives across western Europe. In that year interior temperatures nudged the 40 mark in June and hardly fell below 30 for the next two months. And then right on cue, almost at the stroke of midnight on 1 September, came the storms. And they lasted for several days. The end of August and into September is the stormy season. Indeed it is far from unusual for there to be fierce storms and heavy rains in August. It was one such August storm that led to the closure of the farcically ill-prepared new metro system in Palma that was flooded. When was that? Three years ago?
This year has seen some record temperatures. The 42 of July in Sa Pobla was the highest for some fifteen years. The heat of this summer, say some, was nature's correction following what had been a generally wet winter. Nature's correction could be about to be experienced in a different way - deluges. It would not be altogether surprising. The heat and the dry weather may have turned some gardens shades of brown or even grey, but the landscape is resilient. It is a remarkable feature of Mallorca that so much retains a greenness despite the lack of rain. The dryness has its dangers. There have been large billboards - in Catalan of course - warning against fires in the forests. Make that also fires on mountains. A Briton has been detained following the fire on the Puig Sant Martí in Puerto Alcúdia on Sunday. The helicopter with its demolition-ball-style water bombs was scooping from the Lago Menor and the Canadair firefighting planes from the sea. On Monday there were other fires in the interior.
Mallorca, though it has its forests, is not as densely wooded as other places. Fires do not tend to take on the levels of seriousness that were the case in southern Spain earlier this summer and have been the case just recently in Greece. Unlike another Mediterranean island, Corsica, it is not the site of devastating fires, usually deliberately started. Having experienced the proximity of a major fire in Corsica and witnessed the environmental disasters visited on that island, it is something to be grateful for that Mallorca is spared such natural violence, albeit artificially created.
The most powerful remedy to fires, however, is natural, and that means rain. And rain, lots of it, is not, one fancies, that far away. Some will be saying thank goodness.
SPANISH FOOTY
And as the seasons being to change, possibly, so the football season arrives together with the No Frills bus to take those of a footballing Darren bent off to the ONO stadium (Oh, no, it's ONO; oh, no, it's Real Mallorca). The first game of the new season is against Xerez, which presumably means a lot of sherry - or maybe not. Anyway, info on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - David Bowie, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyMm4rJemtI.
Today's title - and into September, it might be argued. It might as well ... Who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Ashes To Ashes
It should probably come as no real surprise that young (and not so young) tourists rock up in Mallorca for a bit of a bundle, or at least find themselves involved in bundling. "The Diario" reports on a study by the "European Journal of Public Health" which, taking data from summer 2007, finds that one out of ten young tourists (defined as those between 16 and 35) ends up in a fight or is attacked. Perhaps the surprise is that the number is not higher.
The study compared the situations in Ibiza and Mallorca and found that violence is twice as likely to occur in Mallorca. Maybe that's because more tourists are stoned in Ibiza, where the consumption of drugs is higher. Despite the British origins of the study, it does not confine itself to British tourists; three groups were considered - Brits, Germans and Spanish. No conclusions seem to be drawn in respect of different nationalities; they are equally capable of getting paralytic and out of their heads. Indeed, this is a major reason for the holiday, during which the levels of alcohol and drugs imbibed and taken are higher than they would be "at home". In something of the bleeding obvious but with a rather bizarre description of differences, fights are more likely to occur in places with cheap booze, easy pick-ups and loud music as opposed to those with an "agreeable" atmosphere and "clean toilets".
What may be interesting about all this is the fact that violence, heavy drinking and drug abuse is not the preserve just of the Brits but also of the Spanish. One comes back to this rather misguided impression that many have of the civility and respect among Spanish youth when compared to their British counterparts. It is a bit of a myth, and this study seems to confirm this. Recently, there was another study, one of Spanish university students, conducted by the Galician university of Santiago de Compostela. It was interested in discovering the impact of alcohol and substance abuse on memory and attention, but it also found a significant number of students to be pretty much chronic alcoholics or those who would take on-board copious amounts at the weekends. Sounds rather familiar in terms of binge drinking, does it not? Furthermore, it should also come as no surprise to anyone familiar with student campuses in the UK to realise that Spanish students are as capable of getting tanked up as those in the UK.
But just to come back to the drinking and fighting clans of youth tourists, last year there was another study, one from the European Commission. It found that 12 per cent of Brits got into a scrap, mainly in "places of night entertainment" (with or without clean toilets, it wasn't made clear), and that the Brits were indeed league leaders in the bundling stakes. So the Spanish still have a way to go, it would seem.
Meanwhile over in Sa Pobla ...
Los Ashes
On Saturday evening there was the now traditional annual open-air supper in numerous streets of the town, but there were greater festivities on Sunday evening when the "Palmy Army" at the SPCC (Sa Pobla Cricket Club) celebrated England's famous Ashes victory with the now equally traditional burning of a potato, the remnants of which are deposited in a small terracotta urn (available from all good souvenir shops) on which is scratched "los Ashes" (there is some discussion as to whether the Mallorquín usage "els" should be used instead of "los"). The association between the SPCC and The Oval, scene of England's victory, is short but memorable, marked by one member of the SPCC who made a pilgrimage to the ground, couldn't find it and asked, with poor pronunciation, for directions to "The Offal". The president of the SPCC has sent his warm wishes to England's captain who can be assured both of a cheery welcome when he is next in Sa Pobla and of a bowl of eels. We understand that he is yet to take up the offer. Well done and play up, England, say the gentlemen of the SPCC.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Groovin' ", The Young Rascals: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15pd5_the-young-rascals-groovin_music
"Summertime", Fresh Prince (Will Smith) and DJ Jazzy Jeff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9kcxdPPjk
Today's title - easy, and brilliant.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The study compared the situations in Ibiza and Mallorca and found that violence is twice as likely to occur in Mallorca. Maybe that's because more tourists are stoned in Ibiza, where the consumption of drugs is higher. Despite the British origins of the study, it does not confine itself to British tourists; three groups were considered - Brits, Germans and Spanish. No conclusions seem to be drawn in respect of different nationalities; they are equally capable of getting paralytic and out of their heads. Indeed, this is a major reason for the holiday, during which the levels of alcohol and drugs imbibed and taken are higher than they would be "at home". In something of the bleeding obvious but with a rather bizarre description of differences, fights are more likely to occur in places with cheap booze, easy pick-ups and loud music as opposed to those with an "agreeable" atmosphere and "clean toilets".
What may be interesting about all this is the fact that violence, heavy drinking and drug abuse is not the preserve just of the Brits but also of the Spanish. One comes back to this rather misguided impression that many have of the civility and respect among Spanish youth when compared to their British counterparts. It is a bit of a myth, and this study seems to confirm this. Recently, there was another study, one of Spanish university students, conducted by the Galician university of Santiago de Compostela. It was interested in discovering the impact of alcohol and substance abuse on memory and attention, but it also found a significant number of students to be pretty much chronic alcoholics or those who would take on-board copious amounts at the weekends. Sounds rather familiar in terms of binge drinking, does it not? Furthermore, it should also come as no surprise to anyone familiar with student campuses in the UK to realise that Spanish students are as capable of getting tanked up as those in the UK.
But just to come back to the drinking and fighting clans of youth tourists, last year there was another study, one from the European Commission. It found that 12 per cent of Brits got into a scrap, mainly in "places of night entertainment" (with or without clean toilets, it wasn't made clear), and that the Brits were indeed league leaders in the bundling stakes. So the Spanish still have a way to go, it would seem.
Meanwhile over in Sa Pobla ...
Los Ashes
On Saturday evening there was the now traditional annual open-air supper in numerous streets of the town, but there were greater festivities on Sunday evening when the "Palmy Army" at the SPCC (Sa Pobla Cricket Club) celebrated England's famous Ashes victory with the now equally traditional burning of a potato, the remnants of which are deposited in a small terracotta urn (available from all good souvenir shops) on which is scratched "los Ashes" (there is some discussion as to whether the Mallorquín usage "els" should be used instead of "los"). The association between the SPCC and The Oval, scene of England's victory, is short but memorable, marked by one member of the SPCC who made a pilgrimage to the ground, couldn't find it and asked, with poor pronunciation, for directions to "The Offal". The president of the SPCC has sent his warm wishes to England's captain who can be assured both of a cheery welcome when he is next in Sa Pobla and of a bowl of eels. We understand that he is yet to take up the offer. Well done and play up, England, say the gentlemen of the SPCC.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Groovin' ", The Young Rascals: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15pd5_the-young-rascals-groovin_music
"Summertime", Fresh Prince (Will Smith) and DJ Jazzy Jeff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9kcxdPPjk
Today's title - easy, and brilliant.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Monday, August 24, 2009
Life Would Be Ecstasy
On a Sunday afternoon. The temperature's about 88. On a Sunday afternoon. Escape the interior furnace. Couldn't get away too soon. The cars pull up. Out tumble children, out stumble old folk, out pops a lilo. There's a sort of a buzz. A constant hum. A constant contentment against the wash of waves. Picnics and umbrellas. Chatter, shouts, yelps, splashes, laughs. The back-and-forth pit and pat of paddles tennis-ing. The bounce of a football, a Barnes Wallis catching the wave together with a mini boogie board. Lying and sleeping. Strolling and distant, mind emptied of anything but that hum and the sound and vision of a beach Sunday in August. Floating and rolling. Even the gulls are languid, hanging on thermals, all but motionless. Heat and breeze, and everything stops for one of the last Sundays of summer, of real summer. Yellow alerts of temperatures, as they are greater than 88 by mid-afternoon, slowing everyone down but not the kids who race everywhere, constant blurs in motion, to the water, into the water, then back, grab a mask, back to the water, cajoling, arguing, shouting; little Bobby builders constructing castles along the coast. 60s latin soul congas on an I-Pod and sunny 90s Philly rap twists and winds from a system. The beach bars packed, bowls of mussels, the coals of a barbecue, how the smell from a grill can spark off nostalgia, chunks of ice clunking into glass, excited babble and bursts of laughter. The guys drumming their washboards, checking out the honeys from the back, the summer's a natural aphrodisiac. Summer time. On a Sunday afternoon. August high summer and holiday, but summer's coming to an end but it isn't. The long hours of a Sunday afternoon, the endless sun and the endless hum, the constancy of every year and every Sunday the same. Think of the summers of the past. Nothing else seems to matter in this endless summer and on this endless Sunday in August. We'll keep on spending sunny days this way.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Oasis, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEzmU7YSXJs. Today's title - from which all-time great summer record does this, and other references, come, and what is the other summer song referred to in the above?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Oasis, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEzmU7YSXJs. Today's title - from which all-time great summer record does this, and other references, come, and what is the other summer song referred to in the above?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Falling Down
Falling, falling, everything falling. All sorts of things falling. Where to start? Shall we begin with next year? Maybe we should, and just forget about this one. Only problem is it is still falling - it being the demands from the tour operators to the local hoteliers to drop their prices for next summer by 20%. There is the sound of contract papers being shuffled and also of negotiations across the meeting table. Who holds the whip hand? The tour operators. How things have changed. Once was the time when the hotels could more or less name their price. Not now they can't. The hotels may have to bring their prices down, but how much will the tour operators drop theirs?
Let's keep to this year then, shall we? Try this one. The number of foreign tourists to the Balearics between January and July has fallen by 420,000, or 7.3% if you prefer. The Brits are down by 16.2%, a figure that does rather concur with one reported in Alcúdia of around 20%.
Then there is one of the tourism service sectors - coaches. That 20% figure is in play again. This is the decline in the number of passengers being ferried around the island. The operators have reduced their fleets accordingly, the fall in demand caused by fewer arrivals at the airport needing transfers but also by a tumble in those going on excursions - the actual figure for that is down by 30%, which is higher than that which was being reported earlier this month (20%, always 20% it seems - 4 August: Big Night Out). And this despite the problems of supply in the car-hire sector.
And then there is the export of footwear. Not a tourist industry of course, but one of the few other meaningful industries on the island. The fall here is 11%, or was during the first four months of the year. To give an impression of the value of this industry, here is the actual value of that export (for these four months) - a bit over 44 and a half million euros. Oh well, never mind, when they eventually, if they eventually finish that footwear museum in Inca, that will give the industry a shot in the arm, or is that a shot in the foot, shooting itself in the foot - whatever.
Still on the prices issue. There was yet another damn letter in "The Bulletin" about the cost of car hire. Now clearly this is an issue that troubles a number of people - about half a dozen at any rate who have written to the paper - and if it is such an issue, why is there no investigation as to what is going on? By which I mean, might the paper not wish to go and talk to the people who matter, the agencies themselves and their association, in order to give a picture as to what really is the situation, rather than leaving it to letter-writers with their bits of half-information, opinion and disgruntlement? Maybe it will, but it would be surprising. It doesn't do investigation, and yet here is a subject that is causing much discussion and which is deserving of a proper piece of journalism.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Smiths, "Hand In Glove", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juSJ4OCWzjg. (And Sandie Shaw covered it with The Smiths minus Stephen Patrick.) Special word to Bruce who got both parts. Today's title - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Let's keep to this year then, shall we? Try this one. The number of foreign tourists to the Balearics between January and July has fallen by 420,000, or 7.3% if you prefer. The Brits are down by 16.2%, a figure that does rather concur with one reported in Alcúdia of around 20%.
Then there is one of the tourism service sectors - coaches. That 20% figure is in play again. This is the decline in the number of passengers being ferried around the island. The operators have reduced their fleets accordingly, the fall in demand caused by fewer arrivals at the airport needing transfers but also by a tumble in those going on excursions - the actual figure for that is down by 30%, which is higher than that which was being reported earlier this month (20%, always 20% it seems - 4 August: Big Night Out). And this despite the problems of supply in the car-hire sector.
And then there is the export of footwear. Not a tourist industry of course, but one of the few other meaningful industries on the island. The fall here is 11%, or was during the first four months of the year. To give an impression of the value of this industry, here is the actual value of that export (for these four months) - a bit over 44 and a half million euros. Oh well, never mind, when they eventually, if they eventually finish that footwear museum in Inca, that will give the industry a shot in the arm, or is that a shot in the foot, shooting itself in the foot - whatever.
Still on the prices issue. There was yet another damn letter in "The Bulletin" about the cost of car hire. Now clearly this is an issue that troubles a number of people - about half a dozen at any rate who have written to the paper - and if it is such an issue, why is there no investigation as to what is going on? By which I mean, might the paper not wish to go and talk to the people who matter, the agencies themselves and their association, in order to give a picture as to what really is the situation, rather than leaving it to letter-writers with their bits of half-information, opinion and disgruntlement? Maybe it will, but it would be surprising. It doesn't do investigation, and yet here is a subject that is causing much discussion and which is deserving of a proper piece of journalism.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Smiths, "Hand In Glove", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juSJ4OCWzjg. (And Sandie Shaw covered it with The Smiths minus Stephen Patrick.) Special word to Bruce who got both parts. Today's title - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Everything Depends
And ever more on the theme of the month ... Mallorca expensive or not. One of our own, as it were, Glen, acquired stardom yesterday by having a letter to "The Bulletin" published in pride of place on page 2. Clearly, it was a bit of a thin news day, as there were several more letters on prices etc. on another page. Another 3 euro coffee, someone bemoaning the cost of a sandwich and a menu that was only in Spanish and German (that should be added to the list of yesterday), and another who has got a bee in his bonnet about alleged cartels operating in the car-hire business and on golf courses. Ho hum. And then the other side of the coin; examples of where one can eat out reasonably. As for that further 3 euro a coffee, it refers to a beach café in Porto Colom - four years ago. QED, Mallorca has long been overcharging. Maybe. Some friends went to Porto Colom, it would be three years ago now, and were distinctly miffed at what they had to pay for a meal at a particular restaurant. So maybe one could draw a conclusion about Porto Colom being particularly expensive, which, I imagine, would be completely erroneous. But some might do just that. One pricey meal, one pricey coffee, and Bob's your wide-boy, ripping-off uncle - Porto Colom is overpriced and over there - on the east side of the island.
Mallorca is not cheap, let's just nail the canard once and for all that it is. Last year Thomas Cook provided a survey of ten holiday destinations. This found that Mallorca was the third most expensive, only Florida and, surprisingly, Croatia being more so. Less expensive were, for example, Turkey and Bulgaria, with Goa the cheapest of the lot. The calculation in that survey was that Mallorca was cheaper than the UK by a factor of nearly fifteen pounds (daily spend) (22 June 2008: One On One). It all depends what you use as your measures of course. On 30 July I offered a number of items that made up a daily spend some way short of Thomas Cook's and which included significantly greater amounts of the boys' bevvy as well.
Depends. Depends. That should be the word of this debate. For every tale of expensiveness, there is another of cheapness. Back and forth we go. But it is the use of these single examples, these cups of coffee, these bottles of suntan lotion, these boxes of paracetamol, which is so galling. Galling because they prove precisely nothing. And the expectation that Mallorca should be cheap is something else that is galling. Have those who complain ever stopped and taken a look at prices of property in Mallorca? All that expensive, yes expensive, real estate, and they expect a coffee or a beer to cost a handful of centimos. Get real. That said, it still comes down to "depends" - where you go, what you buy, blah, blah.
Might the authorities, as suggested a couple of days ago, be minded to "do something"? You know what, I don't think they would be. And why not? Because they want so-called quality tourism. And that means tourists of money. And that does not mean pints for a euro, even if these were attainable, which they are not, or not sustainably attainable at any rate. Yet the authorities are misguided. The fact that hotel occupancies might be "catastrophic" this season are not as a result of prices, they are the result of a fall in the bread-and-butter regular mass tourism, that upon which the island is built. The authorities should take note of complaints of high prices, but only in the sense of analysing why they might be high. And they still wouldn't do anything, because they are bound by the rules of engagement that are market forces, economic circumstances, and the European Union. Want cheap? Ok, go to Bulgaria, but its prices will catch up.
Everything depends. Mallorca may not be cheap, but it doesn't have to be expensive, only if you want to make it so. In the UK, and in Holland, people have been telling me that everything seems so much more expensive now. And there is some truth in that, despite low inflation. But that also depends. Depends what you are referring to. I come back again to the assistant director at Bellevue. He reckons that there is a lot more budgeting occurring now. It wasn't always the case. People would go out to bars and the like and spend money and not really know what they were spending. This has changed, and has been highlighted by the crisis. People are far more aware, and it is this awareness, as much as anything else, which leads to the "expensive" claim. I am repeating myself I know, but I am convinced that in many instances prices have not gone up significantly, if at all, just that people seem to believe so because previously they hadn't taken much notice. But there again, maybe it all depends.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - John Lennon, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10ln3_john-lennon-nobody-told-me_music. Today's title - line from what was the first single by? There was a cover by one without shoes.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Mallorca is not cheap, let's just nail the canard once and for all that it is. Last year Thomas Cook provided a survey of ten holiday destinations. This found that Mallorca was the third most expensive, only Florida and, surprisingly, Croatia being more so. Less expensive were, for example, Turkey and Bulgaria, with Goa the cheapest of the lot. The calculation in that survey was that Mallorca was cheaper than the UK by a factor of nearly fifteen pounds (daily spend) (22 June 2008: One On One). It all depends what you use as your measures of course. On 30 July I offered a number of items that made up a daily spend some way short of Thomas Cook's and which included significantly greater amounts of the boys' bevvy as well.
Depends. Depends. That should be the word of this debate. For every tale of expensiveness, there is another of cheapness. Back and forth we go. But it is the use of these single examples, these cups of coffee, these bottles of suntan lotion, these boxes of paracetamol, which is so galling. Galling because they prove precisely nothing. And the expectation that Mallorca should be cheap is something else that is galling. Have those who complain ever stopped and taken a look at prices of property in Mallorca? All that expensive, yes expensive, real estate, and they expect a coffee or a beer to cost a handful of centimos. Get real. That said, it still comes down to "depends" - where you go, what you buy, blah, blah.
Might the authorities, as suggested a couple of days ago, be minded to "do something"? You know what, I don't think they would be. And why not? Because they want so-called quality tourism. And that means tourists of money. And that does not mean pints for a euro, even if these were attainable, which they are not, or not sustainably attainable at any rate. Yet the authorities are misguided. The fact that hotel occupancies might be "catastrophic" this season are not as a result of prices, they are the result of a fall in the bread-and-butter regular mass tourism, that upon which the island is built. The authorities should take note of complaints of high prices, but only in the sense of analysing why they might be high. And they still wouldn't do anything, because they are bound by the rules of engagement that are market forces, economic circumstances, and the European Union. Want cheap? Ok, go to Bulgaria, but its prices will catch up.
Everything depends. Mallorca may not be cheap, but it doesn't have to be expensive, only if you want to make it so. In the UK, and in Holland, people have been telling me that everything seems so much more expensive now. And there is some truth in that, despite low inflation. But that also depends. Depends what you are referring to. I come back again to the assistant director at Bellevue. He reckons that there is a lot more budgeting occurring now. It wasn't always the case. People would go out to bars and the like and spend money and not really know what they were spending. This has changed, and has been highlighted by the crisis. People are far more aware, and it is this awareness, as much as anything else, which leads to the "expensive" claim. I am repeating myself I know, but I am convinced that in many instances prices have not gone up significantly, if at all, just that people seem to believe so because previously they hadn't taken much notice. But there again, maybe it all depends.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - John Lennon, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10ln3_john-lennon-nobody-told-me_music. Today's title - line from what was the first single by? There was a cover by one without shoes.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, August 21, 2009
Nobody Told Us
August is of course the month when the hotels can pretty much all expect to be full. It is 100% month. Not this year. "Catastrophic," is the word, the prediction being that there will be a decline of 10%. And then there is September. Up to 20% down at present. There are likely to be hotels closing in September. From a report in "The Diario", the president of JS Hotels - that runs, for instance, the Sol Alcúdia Hotel - says that September closure is a prospect. JS also has four hotels in Can Picafort, one in Playa de Muro and a nice new office building at the Eroski roundabout in Can Pic - that might not have been the greatest bit of timing. The report does actually refer specifically to Alcúdia, so the Sol, given that it is the only JS hotel in Alcúdia, would presumably be the one that is being alluded to.
I am grateful to Ben for sending a selection of tourist complaints received by ABTA and Thomas Cook. They are truly priceless, and so here are some of them (I'm assuming they are for real; even if not, they are unfortunately extremely plausible):
"It's lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time - siesta should be banned."
"We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels."
"We bought 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses for five euros from a street trader, only to find out they were fake."
"No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled."
"I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller."
"I was bitten by a mosquito - no-one said they could bite."
"I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."
"There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners."
And as a footnote to the prices and everything expensive carry-on, thanks to Sheila for pointing out that "the sun is free and so is the general friendliness and laidback way of life in Spain. As for money, well you cut your cloth ... as the old saying goes". Amen to that.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Roxette, "Sleeping In My Car", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDjdMxHHmF4. Today's title - well, the song was "me" and not "us", but who was it?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
I am grateful to Ben for sending a selection of tourist complaints received by ABTA and Thomas Cook. They are truly priceless, and so here are some of them (I'm assuming they are for real; even if not, they are unfortunately extremely plausible):
"It's lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time - siesta should be banned."
"We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels."
"We bought 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses for five euros from a street trader, only to find out they were fake."
"No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled."
"I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller."
"I was bitten by a mosquito - no-one said they could bite."
"I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."
"There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners."
And as a footnote to the prices and everything expensive carry-on, thanks to Sheila for pointing out that "the sun is free and so is the general friendliness and laidback way of life in Spain. As for money, well you cut your cloth ... as the old saying goes". Amen to that.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Roxette, "Sleeping In My Car", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDjdMxHHmF4. Today's title - well, the song was "me" and not "us", but who was it?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Back Seat Of My Car
We are in a period not of price inflation but of outrage inflation. It continues. It was the cost of car hire (again) yesterday. At least someone had the good sense to right the gross coffee distortion by penning a note to "The Bulletin". But elsewhere we were told that the "alleged" shortage of cars to hire and their inflated prices is a situation the industry has created. Well yes, that's true but only in the sense that lack of access to finance has been the primary cause of fleet reductions. If people want to beat up on anyone, then let it be the banks. I say once more, however, this is a situation that has been known about for months; it should come as no surprise. Moreover, it is not a situation unique to Mallorca nor indeed Spain. Similar gripes are to be heard from tourist armies in the likes of Tuscany, wishing to motor around the green lands of northern Italy in a formerly less expensive Alfa Romeo cabriolet.
The regular calls for "government" or "authorities" to "do something" are laughable if they come from those who, under different circumstances, are only too happy to be the beneficiaries of a market relatively free and unhindered by central intervention. Perhaps they might wish to call on governments to prevent the making of profits on the sale of property (not great at the moment admittedly, but that, strange to report, is because of the workings of the market). There is a sense of having cake and eating it as well about all this. Or anywhere but the back seat of my hire car.
One writer called on the paper to pass on letters to the "authorities". Were it to, the "authorities" would no doubt say gravely that they will look at the matter, pose for a photo and do precisely nothing. Or, they will have a word, to which the reply will be - you lower our rents and our taxes and then we'll talk about prices.
The government could, one supposes, "do something" were it minded to. The tourism industry in Mallorca is a strategic industry. One element of that industry, the hotels, is to benefit from low or zero finance, courtesy of the Balearic Government, in order to undertake certain redevelopments. This, so the theory goes, will help to kick-start the other strategic industry - construction - while bringing about upgrades in hotel stock that are deemed necessary in the face of competition from other destinations. But the hotel sector is fundamental. I'm not sure the same can be said about hire cars or indeed bars and restaurants. The government would only "do something" if it somehow had hold of the purse strings. The hotels have been told they can create spas and the like within existing complexes but they can't actually build out - these are the terms on which that finance is available. Were there to be a central fund for other sectors that serve the tourism industry to avail themselves of, then the government would be able to "do something", such as, perhaps, impose certain constraints on prices charged. But why would they? To do so would require an accord with the banks, who would otherwise see a source of their business taken away, even if they might be currently disinclined to lend finance. And you would end up with a quasi-nationalised bank to fund aspects of the tourism industry, with strings attached. It wouldn't happen. Even were such a system of finance to be created, it would have to be applied across the board. The car-hire sector is not a special case.
Yes, there are examples of higher prices this year, but there are also examples of small companies benefiting. They are taking up the slack from the larger agencies unable to meet demand for cars. They may well be charging higher prices, but they are also being given a shot in the arm.
One should not underplay the potentially bad PR that high prices create, but one needs to be aware of the short-term circumstances that have brought about these prices; circumstances not of the car-hire agencies' making. These are circumstances being repeated in other countries as well. Were the current charges being quoted by some agencies to persist, once normal circumstances are re-applied, then there would be cause not just for concern but also for genuine accusations of profiteering. But these are unlikely to arise. There are also suggestions as to the operation of some sort of cartel. I would like to know what evidence there is for these allegations. Despite what some might argue, rules of competition do actually apply in Mallorca, both in the legal and the market sense of the words.
And those rules of competition bring one back to what goes on in the bars and restaurants. It is they, above all else, that go to shape prices and products. If a café does indeed charge 3.50 euros for a coffee, well that is its affair. If the one next door is charging the normal 1.50, then the 3.50 café may not be in business that long, but it depends what sort of a place it is. One of my email correspondents, Lynne, points out that bars etc. are supposed to display their officially stamped price list. The point being that you can check the price before ordering. Don't like the price, go somewhere else. But maybe that 3.50 café has an ambience or style that you do like. More expensive, but you pay a different price for different products. That's the market for you.
Wrapped up in all these complaints about prices is an unrealistic notion that somehow bars and the rest have an obligation, a responsibility to the resorts and the island as tourist destinations. They do not. Their responsibility is to themselves. And it is their responsibility to price and to provide product that the market demands and that has an edge over the competition. Let me tell you about external responsibility, or how it was summed up by the assistant director of Bellevue. There is none, except for the environment. In Bellevue's case, they do what they do - his words. And so it is for any business, be it bar, restaurant, or whatever.
Glen, another correspondent, in the context of the gripes about bar prices, wonders whether the only reasons that some people go on holiday are to eat and drink. It's a fair point, and the impression some of these letters gives is that these are the reasons. Oh, and hiring a car as well. Someone else made the point to me the other day that the Brits seem to believe that wherever they go on holiday it should always be cheaper than at home. The car-hire issue is one thing, but as for the rest ... you make it as cheap or as expensive as you want, but please spare us these spurious conclusions based on specific and arguably isolated examples. And I maintain that the crisis and the exchange rate have heightened awareness as to actual spend, causing a perception of higher prices even where these do not exist. To repeat from yesterday - just give it a rest, please.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Steve Miller Band, "Midnight Tango", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3VT-NpsjyY. Today's title - line from a car song. Swedish.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The regular calls for "government" or "authorities" to "do something" are laughable if they come from those who, under different circumstances, are only too happy to be the beneficiaries of a market relatively free and unhindered by central intervention. Perhaps they might wish to call on governments to prevent the making of profits on the sale of property (not great at the moment admittedly, but that, strange to report, is because of the workings of the market). There is a sense of having cake and eating it as well about all this. Or anywhere but the back seat of my hire car.
One writer called on the paper to pass on letters to the "authorities". Were it to, the "authorities" would no doubt say gravely that they will look at the matter, pose for a photo and do precisely nothing. Or, they will have a word, to which the reply will be - you lower our rents and our taxes and then we'll talk about prices.
The government could, one supposes, "do something" were it minded to. The tourism industry in Mallorca is a strategic industry. One element of that industry, the hotels, is to benefit from low or zero finance, courtesy of the Balearic Government, in order to undertake certain redevelopments. This, so the theory goes, will help to kick-start the other strategic industry - construction - while bringing about upgrades in hotel stock that are deemed necessary in the face of competition from other destinations. But the hotel sector is fundamental. I'm not sure the same can be said about hire cars or indeed bars and restaurants. The government would only "do something" if it somehow had hold of the purse strings. The hotels have been told they can create spas and the like within existing complexes but they can't actually build out - these are the terms on which that finance is available. Were there to be a central fund for other sectors that serve the tourism industry to avail themselves of, then the government would be able to "do something", such as, perhaps, impose certain constraints on prices charged. But why would they? To do so would require an accord with the banks, who would otherwise see a source of their business taken away, even if they might be currently disinclined to lend finance. And you would end up with a quasi-nationalised bank to fund aspects of the tourism industry, with strings attached. It wouldn't happen. Even were such a system of finance to be created, it would have to be applied across the board. The car-hire sector is not a special case.
Yes, there are examples of higher prices this year, but there are also examples of small companies benefiting. They are taking up the slack from the larger agencies unable to meet demand for cars. They may well be charging higher prices, but they are also being given a shot in the arm.
One should not underplay the potentially bad PR that high prices create, but one needs to be aware of the short-term circumstances that have brought about these prices; circumstances not of the car-hire agencies' making. These are circumstances being repeated in other countries as well. Were the current charges being quoted by some agencies to persist, once normal circumstances are re-applied, then there would be cause not just for concern but also for genuine accusations of profiteering. But these are unlikely to arise. There are also suggestions as to the operation of some sort of cartel. I would like to know what evidence there is for these allegations. Despite what some might argue, rules of competition do actually apply in Mallorca, both in the legal and the market sense of the words.
And those rules of competition bring one back to what goes on in the bars and restaurants. It is they, above all else, that go to shape prices and products. If a café does indeed charge 3.50 euros for a coffee, well that is its affair. If the one next door is charging the normal 1.50, then the 3.50 café may not be in business that long, but it depends what sort of a place it is. One of my email correspondents, Lynne, points out that bars etc. are supposed to display their officially stamped price list. The point being that you can check the price before ordering. Don't like the price, go somewhere else. But maybe that 3.50 café has an ambience or style that you do like. More expensive, but you pay a different price for different products. That's the market for you.
Wrapped up in all these complaints about prices is an unrealistic notion that somehow bars and the rest have an obligation, a responsibility to the resorts and the island as tourist destinations. They do not. Their responsibility is to themselves. And it is their responsibility to price and to provide product that the market demands and that has an edge over the competition. Let me tell you about external responsibility, or how it was summed up by the assistant director of Bellevue. There is none, except for the environment. In Bellevue's case, they do what they do - his words. And so it is for any business, be it bar, restaurant, or whatever.
Glen, another correspondent, in the context of the gripes about bar prices, wonders whether the only reasons that some people go on holiday are to eat and drink. It's a fair point, and the impression some of these letters gives is that these are the reasons. Oh, and hiring a car as well. Someone else made the point to me the other day that the Brits seem to believe that wherever they go on holiday it should always be cheaper than at home. The car-hire issue is one thing, but as for the rest ... you make it as cheap or as expensive as you want, but please spare us these spurious conclusions based on specific and arguably isolated examples. And I maintain that the crisis and the exchange rate have heightened awareness as to actual spend, causing a perception of higher prices even where these do not exist. To repeat from yesterday - just give it a rest, please.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Steve Miller Band, "Midnight Tango", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3VT-NpsjyY. Today's title - line from a car song. Swedish.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
You Have A Cup Of Coffee
Oh no, here we go again. Hot on the heels of the piece of two days, another letter complaining about prices. One grows tired of this litany of expensive woe, especially when it's so skewed. Up pops someone else in "The Bulletin", this time using the price of a coffee as the stick with which to beat the cost of Mallorca. How much? 3.50 euros. 3.50 euros? Where the hell have they been taking a coffee? It can be the case that some restaurants will charge excessive amounts for the likes of a coffee, but they are usually expensive restaurants anyway. The solution is to go somewhere else, or take a post-prandial stroll to a café or bar where the coffee will be, typically, 1.50 (you can indeed pay less). Or maybe this was a special type of coffee, who knows? And that's just the problem, you never know. You never know which restaurant or bar, you don't necessarily know where it is. I daresay that in the high- and well-heeled boutique bars of Deía or Portals you can cop a big'n for one with milk. Doesn't mean to say that you pay it everywhere, and you don't. Of course you don't. So why say it? You know, I might write a letter, say I was charged five euros for a coffee. No, make that a tenner. And then I'll demand that the authorities do something about it all before the tourism apocalypse occurs. And of course I won't say where this tenner was charged, because it was all a fabrication. Can we please just give this all a rest, as it is, yes really is, rather tiresome.
Not the year of the jellyfish
Been stung by a jellyfish this year? Chances are you haven't been. According to the "Cruz Roja", its lifeguards and staff have had to attend to a mere 3,221 bathers in the Balearics who have been on the wrong end of a jellyfish tentacle. Sounds a lot? Not really. In 2008 the number was 13,767, while in 2006 - the year of the plague - it was almost double that figure at over 26 thousand. Ibiza is the place you need to go to be more likely to be stung; the number of victims there is not far off a half of that 3000 plus total for this year. Given that more people go to Mallorca than to Ibiza or Menorca, it is perhaps surprising that the fewest numbers of stings are recorded on the biggest of the islands. Or maybe the Cruz Roja doesn't patrol that many beaches in Mallorca. Anyway, it's all rather encouraging. Perhaps the winds have just been in the wrong direction and have blown the sea and the devils away. But don't get too complacent, there have, in Mallorca, been nearly 270 people stung by fishes, most obviously the weever fish. My neighbour for example. "Merde", said he when his foot expanded and he had to head off to Muro General. Well, he is French, so he would say that.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Farmer's Song", Neil Young, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxBgWTi4zIY. Today's title - the first line of a song by one of the best of the West Coast rock bands emanating from the '60s. Abracadabra.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Not the year of the jellyfish
Been stung by a jellyfish this year? Chances are you haven't been. According to the "Cruz Roja", its lifeguards and staff have had to attend to a mere 3,221 bathers in the Balearics who have been on the wrong end of a jellyfish tentacle. Sounds a lot? Not really. In 2008 the number was 13,767, while in 2006 - the year of the plague - it was almost double that figure at over 26 thousand. Ibiza is the place you need to go to be more likely to be stung; the number of victims there is not far off a half of that 3000 plus total for this year. Given that more people go to Mallorca than to Ibiza or Menorca, it is perhaps surprising that the fewest numbers of stings are recorded on the biggest of the islands. Or maybe the Cruz Roja doesn't patrol that many beaches in Mallorca. Anyway, it's all rather encouraging. Perhaps the winds have just been in the wrong direction and have blown the sea and the devils away. But don't get too complacent, there have, in Mallorca, been nearly 270 people stung by fishes, most obviously the weever fish. My neighbour for example. "Merde", said he when his foot expanded and he had to head off to Muro General. Well, he is French, so he would say that.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Farmer's Song", Neil Young, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxBgWTi4zIY. Today's title - the first line of a song by one of the best of the West Coast rock bands emanating from the '60s. Abracadabra.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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