Thursday, June 03, 2010
Sis Pins New Owners
The Sis Pins hotel in Puerto Pollensa, which will re-open on 12 June following its closure after the collapse of Globespan, is under the ownership of Britons Peter Buckley and Geoff Hopkins. The owners will also be taking on the Alexia Apartments and La Singala which will open on 11 June. Staff have also been retained.
Having A Mare: The mayor and the Puerto Pollensa revolution
Who would be mayor of a local town hall? Especially Pollensa.
There must have been a point, many years ago, when Joan Cerdà thought, if only I could be mayor of Pollensa. The people would look up to me. I would represent them all fairly and justly, always seeking to put their wishes into action. At some time in the past, the mayors of Sa Pobla and Santa Margalida probably had similar thoughts. They have ended up, respectively, being lambasted for hiring private detectives to spy on personnel and having their face superimposed onto a mock 500 euro note. Cerdà has ended up - ended up yesterday - holed up inside the municipal building in Puerto Pollensa while a thousand or so demonstrators gathered outside to demand some action by him and by his town hall administration. Even the thickest-skinned mayor must feel some hurt by such intense a protest. I felt sorry for him yesterday. Just as he was instructing the press to leave the office in which he was going to talk to the organisers of the demonstration, I took a photograph of him. He looked straight at the camera. It was a mixture of boiling-point and breaking-point. Who would be mayor of a local town hall?
On the march yesterday, and speaking to some leading lights, there was confirmation of what I have said about the demonstration: that its origins can be traced back to the successful opposition to the pedestrianisation scheme; that tourism economic hard times had been instrumental in provoking it; that there is a real issue in terms of the separation between the town and the resort. In an ideal world, the last of these might be overcome through the creation of - in effect - a separate mayor or at least a port delegate with some real teeth and some real money. Even more than the mayor perhaps, the current delegate - Francisca Ramon - is held in general contempt, and she was treated with huge amounts of it when she tried to address the masses. But she has no real power; it's not totally her fault, even if she may be considered to be little more than a town hall lackey.
The tourism hard times are the fault of neither the mayor nor the delegate, but Cerdà is somehow now being blamed - by implication (that of the deficiencies in the port) - for the tourism downturn. It's unfair, but he has done little to prevent such an impression. "First-class tax but third-class service," was a chant yesterday. The town hall takes - massively - but doesn't give back, and lets the local tourism industry suffer. That, at least, is what the protesters believe.
And the town hall have fanned more flames. Among the protesters were The Hustlers. I had suggested that the apparent music ban might be tagged onto the protest, and so it was. The band, and other musicians, are proposing their own showdown with the mayor. The timing of pursuing the ban was crass, to say the least. The mayor is also facing more pressure - to come today at the plenary session - regarding the Pollensa music festival finances and possible links to the Operación Voltor corruption case. He really couldn't will himself any more grief. But he's got it. Stacks of it. Who would be mayor of a local town hall?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
There must have been a point, many years ago, when Joan Cerdà thought, if only I could be mayor of Pollensa. The people would look up to me. I would represent them all fairly and justly, always seeking to put their wishes into action. At some time in the past, the mayors of Sa Pobla and Santa Margalida probably had similar thoughts. They have ended up, respectively, being lambasted for hiring private detectives to spy on personnel and having their face superimposed onto a mock 500 euro note. Cerdà has ended up - ended up yesterday - holed up inside the municipal building in Puerto Pollensa while a thousand or so demonstrators gathered outside to demand some action by him and by his town hall administration. Even the thickest-skinned mayor must feel some hurt by such intense a protest. I felt sorry for him yesterday. Just as he was instructing the press to leave the office in which he was going to talk to the organisers of the demonstration, I took a photograph of him. He looked straight at the camera. It was a mixture of boiling-point and breaking-point. Who would be mayor of a local town hall?
On the march yesterday, and speaking to some leading lights, there was confirmation of what I have said about the demonstration: that its origins can be traced back to the successful opposition to the pedestrianisation scheme; that tourism economic hard times had been instrumental in provoking it; that there is a real issue in terms of the separation between the town and the resort. In an ideal world, the last of these might be overcome through the creation of - in effect - a separate mayor or at least a port delegate with some real teeth and some real money. Even more than the mayor perhaps, the current delegate - Francisca Ramon - is held in general contempt, and she was treated with huge amounts of it when she tried to address the masses. But she has no real power; it's not totally her fault, even if she may be considered to be little more than a town hall lackey.
The tourism hard times are the fault of neither the mayor nor the delegate, but Cerdà is somehow now being blamed - by implication (that of the deficiencies in the port) - for the tourism downturn. It's unfair, but he has done little to prevent such an impression. "First-class tax but third-class service," was a chant yesterday. The town hall takes - massively - but doesn't give back, and lets the local tourism industry suffer. That, at least, is what the protesters believe.
And the town hall have fanned more flames. Among the protesters were The Hustlers. I had suggested that the apparent music ban might be tagged onto the protest, and so it was. The band, and other musicians, are proposing their own showdown with the mayor. The timing of pursuing the ban was crass, to say the least. The mayor is also facing more pressure - to come today at the plenary session - regarding the Pollensa music festival finances and possible links to the Operación Voltor corruption case. He really couldn't will himself any more grief. But he's got it. Stacks of it. Who would be mayor of a local town hall?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Puerto Pollensa Protest - Manifestación - 2 June (2)
More photos from the protest. Includes various restaurant owners/managers, Garry Bonsall getting the petition signed and the mayor getting shirty.
Puerto Pollensa Protest - Manifestación - 2 June
Here are some photos from today's protest. Delegate Francisca Ramon and Mayor Joan Cerdà under pressure. Protesters outside the town hall building. Banners laid out in front of the building.
Window-Dressing: The Balearic Government's adjustment measures
The local "austerity" and "adjustment" measures are taking shape. The regional government will raise income tax for high earners, but it is opposing the central government's move to prevent town halls getting into greater debt. Ministries at regional level are to be further rationalised, this time as a means of saving money as opposed to being a political expedient (as was the case with the combining of transport and environment). These measures come on top of the increase in IVA (VAT) which is due to kick in from 1 July. The opposition Partido Popular is, as you might expect, against the income tax rise and the ministry rationalisation. So much for any consensus for getting Mallorca and the Balearic out of their current mess.
Changes at government level, scrapping specific ministries for agriculture and work, can be seen as either window-dressing or sensible. The office of the president will assume responsibility for agriculture, and work will be combined with tourism, a justification for the latter being that as tourism is the main generator of employment then it makes sense to bring them together. Up to a point, the government has a point. But does getting away with a couple of ministers really amount to much? There will still, presumably, be civil servants to support the combined ministries. That President Antich is holding out for the town halls to still be able to mount up debt just adds to what I would say is in fact window-dressing. If there is to be rationalisation at governmental level - at all governmental levels - then it needs to be more savage. The question would be, what?
I am, as you might be aware, unconvinced as to the necessity for the Council of Mallorca, but this would be most unlikely to be either rationalised dramatically or scrapped altogether. There have been suggestions that local municipalities should be merged. This might reduce all the duplication, but it would be politically (and socially) impossible. The towns are historical entities, and the notion of local representation is long; even during Franco's time it remained. Putting towns together would only create the potential for alienation which already exists, as in, for example, Puerto Pollensa. It is the functions at town hall level that need addressing, not the number of town halls.
The regional government is also looking at the role and the funding of some of its agencies or "companies", as they are called. One such is Inestur, the tourism strategy institute at the heart of the massive corruption scandal that led to Unió Mallorquina ministers being booted out of the coalition. There are other such companies. But what do they do? In Inestur's case, it serves different roles - one is promotion of aspects of tourism to tourists. Why? There are other agencies doing the same thing, such as IBATUR, which is the tourism board, and not to be confused with the essentially private Fomento del Turismo (otherwise known as the tourism board). Confusing, huh? Confusing and seemingly duplicating. Inestur also acts in a research capacity, which is rather more acceptable a purpose. However, when you consider what it provides, e.g. library facilities, archives, etc., you do have to wonder why this can't be rolled into efforts at the university's tourism department, which provides a similar function.
Yesterday, I sent an email to Inestur. Why? To tell them that I have a project in mind that would be aimed at tourism promotion of Mallorca overseas and to ask if it would be possible to make an appointment so that I could come and explain it in greater detail and to discuss possible assistance or collaboration. They may well have read the word "ayuda" (meaning help or assistance) and thought "money". That wasn't what I had in mind (well not necessarily). And the project is not another tourism website; it's something completely different and unique, not aimed at tourists as such. Whatever. I have had no response. Maybe they will respond, but I'm not holding my breath.
But rather as tourism promotion as a whole is, or should be, a collaboration between public and private sectors - as evidenced by the very existence of the Fomento - so I'm raising the possibility of just such a collaboration. Greater involvement by the private sector is just one way that the government can trim its costs. But more fundamental is the need for a root-and-branch study of the system of public administration in Mallorca. Chopping a couple of ministries does not amount to this; it is window-dressing.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Changes at government level, scrapping specific ministries for agriculture and work, can be seen as either window-dressing or sensible. The office of the president will assume responsibility for agriculture, and work will be combined with tourism, a justification for the latter being that as tourism is the main generator of employment then it makes sense to bring them together. Up to a point, the government has a point. But does getting away with a couple of ministers really amount to much? There will still, presumably, be civil servants to support the combined ministries. That President Antich is holding out for the town halls to still be able to mount up debt just adds to what I would say is in fact window-dressing. If there is to be rationalisation at governmental level - at all governmental levels - then it needs to be more savage. The question would be, what?
I am, as you might be aware, unconvinced as to the necessity for the Council of Mallorca, but this would be most unlikely to be either rationalised dramatically or scrapped altogether. There have been suggestions that local municipalities should be merged. This might reduce all the duplication, but it would be politically (and socially) impossible. The towns are historical entities, and the notion of local representation is long; even during Franco's time it remained. Putting towns together would only create the potential for alienation which already exists, as in, for example, Puerto Pollensa. It is the functions at town hall level that need addressing, not the number of town halls.
The regional government is also looking at the role and the funding of some of its agencies or "companies", as they are called. One such is Inestur, the tourism strategy institute at the heart of the massive corruption scandal that led to Unió Mallorquina ministers being booted out of the coalition. There are other such companies. But what do they do? In Inestur's case, it serves different roles - one is promotion of aspects of tourism to tourists. Why? There are other agencies doing the same thing, such as IBATUR, which is the tourism board, and not to be confused with the essentially private Fomento del Turismo (otherwise known as the tourism board). Confusing, huh? Confusing and seemingly duplicating. Inestur also acts in a research capacity, which is rather more acceptable a purpose. However, when you consider what it provides, e.g. library facilities, archives, etc., you do have to wonder why this can't be rolled into efforts at the university's tourism department, which provides a similar function.
Yesterday, I sent an email to Inestur. Why? To tell them that I have a project in mind that would be aimed at tourism promotion of Mallorca overseas and to ask if it would be possible to make an appointment so that I could come and explain it in greater detail and to discuss possible assistance or collaboration. They may well have read the word "ayuda" (meaning help or assistance) and thought "money". That wasn't what I had in mind (well not necessarily). And the project is not another tourism website; it's something completely different and unique, not aimed at tourists as such. Whatever. I have had no response. Maybe they will respond, but I'm not holding my breath.
But rather as tourism promotion as a whole is, or should be, a collaboration between public and private sectors - as evidenced by the very existence of the Fomento - so I'm raising the possibility of just such a collaboration. Greater involvement by the private sector is just one way that the government can trim its costs. But more fundamental is the need for a root-and-branch study of the system of public administration in Mallorca. Chopping a couple of ministries does not amount to this; it is window-dressing.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The Day The Music Died: Puerto Pollensa and live music
On Sunday, the press was reporting on issues with bar noise in Puerto Pollensa. The reports had to do primarily with one particular bar and with the fact that music was going on till the wee small hours. This was the main aspect of the reports, but when I read them - the Spanish as well in order to check that "The Bulletin" hadn't got it wrong - there was a piece at the end which struck me as being far more important. The mayor, it was reported, said that there could be no live music in bars in Pollensa. Can't be right, I thought. Then, on Sunday night, plod did the rounds. At least one bar was told that they had to "see the mayor".
Apparently it has never been the case that there could be live music. Seemingly, it's one of those things that has just gone on. But to prevent it would be complete madness. There is a huge difference between live music that stops by or before midnight and a club or disco that goes on till four, five or six in the morning. Live music should be a feature of a thriving tourism resort, but one wonders, as ever, whether the town halls and others actually want this - thriving tourism. Noise is a facet of tourism resorts. It can be moderated, but it can't be eliminated; nor should it be.
But how far does this apparent prohibition extend? The hotels with their entertainment, the church with its occasional concerts, the golf club with its proposed China Crisis concert? What about the music in the old Tango? The jazz sessions in the old Fat Cats? Under this "rule", they should never have been happening. It would be utterly unfair if different rules were to apply, or in fact if one rule were to apply - that of no live music. It's absurd.
Chances are that the town hall will see sense. Oh, what am I saying? But you can but hope. This isn't necessarily an attack on Puerto Pollensa, as clearly this so-called rule applies everywhere. The bars in Pollensa town would also be affected. Nevertheless, it is indicative of a town hall that has a thorough lack of appreciation of tourism and of evening/nightlife in the port and the town. To all the other moans of the protest on Wednesday can be added another - the killjoys of the town hall. But you wonder if this move isn't somehow coincidental. It might be construed as driving a wedge between factions in the port, those who do want and those who don't want music and some noise. The town hall can say that it is "doing something", unrelated to the items of the protest manifesto, but can attempt to take the higher ground. Whatever the motives, it sucks. Sucks big time.
HOT! Online
For anyone who might have been following my trials and tribulations, there is a version of HOT! that can be seen in its entirety on the net. Go to the home page of http://www.thealcudiaguide.com and you'll see the banner to the right for HOT! Click on it and the PDF will download. Depending on your broadband speed, it might take a bit longer than in just an instant. The resolution is not the highest because this version had to be reduced drastically in size, but it's ok. Oh, and I know that the ad for El Limón (page 17) has slipped down the page.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Apparently it has never been the case that there could be live music. Seemingly, it's one of those things that has just gone on. But to prevent it would be complete madness. There is a huge difference between live music that stops by or before midnight and a club or disco that goes on till four, five or six in the morning. Live music should be a feature of a thriving tourism resort, but one wonders, as ever, whether the town halls and others actually want this - thriving tourism. Noise is a facet of tourism resorts. It can be moderated, but it can't be eliminated; nor should it be.
But how far does this apparent prohibition extend? The hotels with their entertainment, the church with its occasional concerts, the golf club with its proposed China Crisis concert? What about the music in the old Tango? The jazz sessions in the old Fat Cats? Under this "rule", they should never have been happening. It would be utterly unfair if different rules were to apply, or in fact if one rule were to apply - that of no live music. It's absurd.
Chances are that the town hall will see sense. Oh, what am I saying? But you can but hope. This isn't necessarily an attack on Puerto Pollensa, as clearly this so-called rule applies everywhere. The bars in Pollensa town would also be affected. Nevertheless, it is indicative of a town hall that has a thorough lack of appreciation of tourism and of evening/nightlife in the port and the town. To all the other moans of the protest on Wednesday can be added another - the killjoys of the town hall. But you wonder if this move isn't somehow coincidental. It might be construed as driving a wedge between factions in the port, those who do want and those who don't want music and some noise. The town hall can say that it is "doing something", unrelated to the items of the protest manifesto, but can attempt to take the higher ground. Whatever the motives, it sucks. Sucks big time.
HOT! Online
For anyone who might have been following my trials and tribulations, there is a version of HOT! that can be seen in its entirety on the net. Go to the home page of http://www.thealcudiaguide.com and you'll see the banner to the right for HOT! Click on it and the PDF will download. Depending on your broadband speed, it might take a bit longer than in just an instant. The resolution is not the highest because this version had to be reduced drastically in size, but it's ok. Oh, and I know that the ad for El Limón (page 17) has slipped down the page.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Going Up! Newspapers and the internet
"The Times" is set to end its free online service. It's a gamble, but for readers in places like Mallorca, who might otherwise pay an exorbitant price for the daily paper, two quid a week is extremely good value. Not that this is necessarily the point. Free should be free, say many, and a cover price for the online version will simply cause readers to go elsewhere. We'll see. The new site is actually pretty good.
The "Diario de Mallorca" is not "The Times", nothing like it of course. But there is something interesting about this paper. It has a good website - free - which has enjoyed increased traffic recently. At the same time, the printed version has also increased its circulation. Its main competitor, "Ultima Hora", has experienced a decline in circulation, and its website is not as good but is improving. Of daily papers in Spain with a circulation over 10,000 (not huge admittedly), the "Diario" has registered the second greatest increase in physical circulation among the 39 papers with circulation over this number.
On the face of it, the two increases seem illogical. As the website beefs up its traffic, so, you would think, the circulation of printed version would decrease. So how to explain the apparent contradiction, as evidenced by the "Diario"? Maybe it's all the free publicity I give it, but probably not. Perhaps it has something to do with its local nature. Despite the plans by "The Times" to create its own online "community", it is, like all big papers, rather removed. A paper like the "Diario" isn't. There is a far greater sense of reader "ownership" of the different formats; they are complementary, even if their content is basically the same.
I confess that I am casting around to find a reason. I don't know the answer. But answer there must be, and if the experience of the "Diario" is echoed elsewhere, the doomsday predictions for newspapers and/or their websites would not hold up. What will be interesting is whether the circulation and the site traffic continue to increase. If they do, then someone should try and discover the paper's secret. I should be at the paper's offices today, so maybe I'll ask.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for May 2010
All-inclusives - 6 May 2010, 12 May 2010
British election - 3 May 2010, 7 May 2010
Children's play garden, Sa Romana - 10 May 2010
Diario de Mallorca - 31 May 2010
Economic crisis gets worse - 25 May 2010
Economic diversification - 27 May 2010
Eroski queues and scales - 17 May 2010
Floods - 4 May 2010, 5 May 2010, 7 May 2010
Fraud operation based in Mallorca - 30 May 2010
Gay hotels - 8 May 2010
General strike - 30 May 2010
Holiday club and scratch cards - 21 May 2010, 30 May 2010
Hornblower Embroidery, Puerto Alcúdia - 15 May 2010
Jolly Roger - 9 May 2010
Match Point bar, Puerto Pollensa - 4 May 2010
Mulligans, Puerto Pollensa - 15 May 2010
Newspapers and the internet - 31 May 2010
Parking in Alcúdia - 12 May 2010
Phoning and personal communication - 11 May 2010
Prices - 13 May 2010
Protest in Puerto Pollensa - 26 May 2010, 29 May 2010
Public spending cuts in Spain - 14 May 2010
Rancho Ses Roques, Puerto Alcúdia - 20 May 2010
Sant Marti cave, Puerto Alcúdia - 20 May 2010
Season 2010 - 1 May 2010, 3 May 2010, 19 May 2010
Smoking ban - 18 May 2010
Telefonica - 28 May 2010
Tourism, opening hours & - 2 May 2010
Tourism problems - 11 May 2010
Tourism publications - 16 May 2010
Trip Advisor and review sites - 22 May 2010
Vandalism - 23 May 2010
The "Diario de Mallorca" is not "The Times", nothing like it of course. But there is something interesting about this paper. It has a good website - free - which has enjoyed increased traffic recently. At the same time, the printed version has also increased its circulation. Its main competitor, "Ultima Hora", has experienced a decline in circulation, and its website is not as good but is improving. Of daily papers in Spain with a circulation over 10,000 (not huge admittedly), the "Diario" has registered the second greatest increase in physical circulation among the 39 papers with circulation over this number.
On the face of it, the two increases seem illogical. As the website beefs up its traffic, so, you would think, the circulation of printed version would decrease. So how to explain the apparent contradiction, as evidenced by the "Diario"? Maybe it's all the free publicity I give it, but probably not. Perhaps it has something to do with its local nature. Despite the plans by "The Times" to create its own online "community", it is, like all big papers, rather removed. A paper like the "Diario" isn't. There is a far greater sense of reader "ownership" of the different formats; they are complementary, even if their content is basically the same.
I confess that I am casting around to find a reason. I don't know the answer. But answer there must be, and if the experience of the "Diario" is echoed elsewhere, the doomsday predictions for newspapers and/or their websites would not hold up. What will be interesting is whether the circulation and the site traffic continue to increase. If they do, then someone should try and discover the paper's secret. I should be at the paper's offices today, so maybe I'll ask.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for May 2010
All-inclusives - 6 May 2010, 12 May 2010
British election - 3 May 2010, 7 May 2010
Children's play garden, Sa Romana - 10 May 2010
Diario de Mallorca - 31 May 2010
Economic crisis gets worse - 25 May 2010
Economic diversification - 27 May 2010
Eroski queues and scales - 17 May 2010
Floods - 4 May 2010, 5 May 2010, 7 May 2010
Fraud operation based in Mallorca - 30 May 2010
Gay hotels - 8 May 2010
General strike - 30 May 2010
Holiday club and scratch cards - 21 May 2010, 30 May 2010
Hornblower Embroidery, Puerto Alcúdia - 15 May 2010
Jolly Roger - 9 May 2010
Match Point bar, Puerto Pollensa - 4 May 2010
Mulligans, Puerto Pollensa - 15 May 2010
Newspapers and the internet - 31 May 2010
Parking in Alcúdia - 12 May 2010
Phoning and personal communication - 11 May 2010
Prices - 13 May 2010
Protest in Puerto Pollensa - 26 May 2010, 29 May 2010
Public spending cuts in Spain - 14 May 2010
Rancho Ses Roques, Puerto Alcúdia - 20 May 2010
Sant Marti cave, Puerto Alcúdia - 20 May 2010
Season 2010 - 1 May 2010, 3 May 2010, 19 May 2010
Smoking ban - 18 May 2010
Telefonica - 28 May 2010
Tourism, opening hours & - 2 May 2010
Tourism problems - 11 May 2010
Tourism publications - 16 May 2010
Trip Advisor and review sites - 22 May 2010
Vandalism - 23 May 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The Webs They Weave
Well, that didn't last long.
The latest version of the timeshare/holiday club/call it what you want outfit in Puerto Alcúdia has closed. Or at least the office is closed at the moment. That office is what was the AIC and Casabonaire estate agencies near to the Magic roundabout. It goes under the name of Sun & Sea Resorts. Go try googling that and see where it gets you, just like the previous incarnation - To Holiday - would have produced thousands, millions of possibilities. You have to ask why the choice of name is so vague.
I am only guessing, but something that happened on Thursday may have to do with this apparent closure. Tourism was in town, as in the tourism ministry inspectors. They were checking on registrations and documents. Whatever the outcome may or may not be if one is unlucky to be taken in by the scratch-cardists, the basis of the business is meant to be the sale of holidays. This being the case, as far as I understand it, there has to be a licence to act as a travel agency, one that is issued by the government. But I am only guessing. Maybe just a coincidence. Don't be surprised if the operation re-emerges, with the "consultants" hanging around on street corners with their cards inside Burger King literature. One trusts that Burger King is suitably impressed, and one has to ask another question - why try and disguise what you're doing?
While the signs on the doors to the office say Sun & Sea, peer inside and you can see the name Interval. It's very difficult to know, but the Timeshare Council includes a couple of Intervals on its black list. And this highlights one, just one, of the problems with these operations; you really don't know who you are ultimately dealing with. The web is very tangled.
And also tangled would appear to be the web surrounding a multi-million pound racket that has been the subject of police action. Based in Mallorca, the swindle has been investigated in a joint operation by the Spanish national police and Scotland Yard, and offices in the south of the island were raided on Thursday. With links to Switzerland, the fraudulent operation promised returns of 30 per cent. In the report from the "Diario" it says that fictitious companies were created related to gold, fuel or travel.
A general strike is still on the cards. Originally it was planned for 20 May, then 2 June was mentioned. It is still not clear when it might be staged. 8 June is now a possibility, but whenever it takes place, assuming it actually does, some businesses are expressing their concerns. A general strike of public sector workers would include the police. There is talk, apparently, of security firms being hired for the day or of closing for the day. This may all be an over-reaction, but some are obviously taking the potential threat of no police on duty seriously.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The latest version of the timeshare/holiday club/call it what you want outfit in Puerto Alcúdia has closed. Or at least the office is closed at the moment. That office is what was the AIC and Casabonaire estate agencies near to the Magic roundabout. It goes under the name of Sun & Sea Resorts. Go try googling that and see where it gets you, just like the previous incarnation - To Holiday - would have produced thousands, millions of possibilities. You have to ask why the choice of name is so vague.
I am only guessing, but something that happened on Thursday may have to do with this apparent closure. Tourism was in town, as in the tourism ministry inspectors. They were checking on registrations and documents. Whatever the outcome may or may not be if one is unlucky to be taken in by the scratch-cardists, the basis of the business is meant to be the sale of holidays. This being the case, as far as I understand it, there has to be a licence to act as a travel agency, one that is issued by the government. But I am only guessing. Maybe just a coincidence. Don't be surprised if the operation re-emerges, with the "consultants" hanging around on street corners with their cards inside Burger King literature. One trusts that Burger King is suitably impressed, and one has to ask another question - why try and disguise what you're doing?
While the signs on the doors to the office say Sun & Sea, peer inside and you can see the name Interval. It's very difficult to know, but the Timeshare Council includes a couple of Intervals on its black list. And this highlights one, just one, of the problems with these operations; you really don't know who you are ultimately dealing with. The web is very tangled.
And also tangled would appear to be the web surrounding a multi-million pound racket that has been the subject of police action. Based in Mallorca, the swindle has been investigated in a joint operation by the Spanish national police and Scotland Yard, and offices in the south of the island were raided on Thursday. With links to Switzerland, the fraudulent operation promised returns of 30 per cent. In the report from the "Diario" it says that fictitious companies were created related to gold, fuel or travel.
A general strike is still on the cards. Originally it was planned for 20 May, then 2 June was mentioned. It is still not clear when it might be staged. 8 June is now a possibility, but whenever it takes place, assuming it actually does, some businesses are expressing their concerns. A general strike of public sector workers would include the police. There is talk, apparently, of security firms being hired for the day or of closing for the day. This may all be an over-reaction, but some are obviously taking the potential threat of no police on duty seriously.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Manifesto Of The Puerto Pollensa Party
More on the protest thing - the Puerto Pollensa one. There is a "manifesto" for this "manifestación" (which is Spanish for demonstration): a four-page document, outlining the gripes and fingering the town hall. The demo will coincide with market day on Wednesday next week. Don't try getting any petrol in Puerto Pollensa on Wednesday, as the petrol station's likely to be log-jammed with protesters.
The manifesto deals with the items listed on 26 May (Fix You?), to which has been added a further item regarding the state of the waste of space and money that is La Gola. "The state" pretty much sums the whole thing up. The state of Puerto Pollensa in different respects.
The second main point in this manifesto is telling. It refers to the fact that tourism is the "motor" of the local economy. Yes, we do know this, as the manifesto says. But let's just imagine, shall we, that Puerto Pollensa was currently flush with great hordes of tourists, flush with cash. Would this protest be going ahead? No, it wouldn't. Macroeconomic difficulties have created the micro-ist economic problems of Puerto Pollensa's tourism, not dog mess, rubbish collection or a lack of parking.
Then there is something even more telling. The manifesto refers to an abundance of domestic properties at the expense of hotels or residential areas of high social status. While the latter sounds - and is - appallingly elitist, it is the former that seems to give the game away. Separate to this latest protest (or is it part of the same thing?), the local hotels recently themselves complained about an abandonment and neglect. The manifesto appears to be supporting the hoteliers in calling for not just an appreciation of the apparent disregard of the Moll but also for more hotels. It, the manifesto, goes on to say that plots exist on which such hotels (or elitist residences) could be located. Maybe so. But the very presence of this "demand" confirms the impetus behind this manifesto: the parlous state of current tourism. It also flies in the face of that "guru" piece of the other day; that resources are stretched and that alternatives to tourism (and thus hotels) have to be sought. While the current town hall can be criticised, rightly, for all manner of things, it is not their fault that there are not more hotels; their lack is an historical fact of local planning.
This protest is a manifestation of the pain caused by recession. Let's not be fooled into thinking that it is anything else, except ...
There is justification for the protest. The lack of hotel stock has, arguably, held Puerto Pollensa back, even if the wisdom of building hotels now would be open to question; and such building would be most unlikely to occur. There is justification in there being a protest, period. In its organisation and publicity, it is an example to those elsewhere who voice discontent and then do precisely nothing, as in, most notably, the Bellevue area of Puerto Alcúdia. There is justification, though God knows where the money might come from to right the wrongs. There is justification, but of a different order to that which is being stated.
Mayor Cerdà is said to be "concerned". About what exactly? The fact that there are elections next year? One thing he should be concerned about is the structure of how the town, as a whole, is run. Let's just compare the situation in Puerto Pollensa with that in Puerto Alcúdia. There, the embellishments to the beach (costing some 700k) were recently officially "opened". Alcúdia has neither the psychological nor the physical distance problems I referred to the other day.
The justification, and if this protest is to achieve anything, and it probably won't, will be to highlight the deficiencies of the local political structure not the deficiencies with street lighting and all the rest. The perception of injustice towards the port has existed for years. It has come to a head. It needs sorting out.
QUIZ -
Yesterday: Saint Etienne, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OgV4F7JzVc
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The manifesto deals with the items listed on 26 May (Fix You?), to which has been added a further item regarding the state of the waste of space and money that is La Gola. "The state" pretty much sums the whole thing up. The state of Puerto Pollensa in different respects.
The second main point in this manifesto is telling. It refers to the fact that tourism is the "motor" of the local economy. Yes, we do know this, as the manifesto says. But let's just imagine, shall we, that Puerto Pollensa was currently flush with great hordes of tourists, flush with cash. Would this protest be going ahead? No, it wouldn't. Macroeconomic difficulties have created the micro-ist economic problems of Puerto Pollensa's tourism, not dog mess, rubbish collection or a lack of parking.
Then there is something even more telling. The manifesto refers to an abundance of domestic properties at the expense of hotels or residential areas of high social status. While the latter sounds - and is - appallingly elitist, it is the former that seems to give the game away. Separate to this latest protest (or is it part of the same thing?), the local hotels recently themselves complained about an abandonment and neglect. The manifesto appears to be supporting the hoteliers in calling for not just an appreciation of the apparent disregard of the Moll but also for more hotels. It, the manifesto, goes on to say that plots exist on which such hotels (or elitist residences) could be located. Maybe so. But the very presence of this "demand" confirms the impetus behind this manifesto: the parlous state of current tourism. It also flies in the face of that "guru" piece of the other day; that resources are stretched and that alternatives to tourism (and thus hotels) have to be sought. While the current town hall can be criticised, rightly, for all manner of things, it is not their fault that there are not more hotels; their lack is an historical fact of local planning.
This protest is a manifestation of the pain caused by recession. Let's not be fooled into thinking that it is anything else, except ...
There is justification for the protest. The lack of hotel stock has, arguably, held Puerto Pollensa back, even if the wisdom of building hotels now would be open to question; and such building would be most unlikely to occur. There is justification in there being a protest, period. In its organisation and publicity, it is an example to those elsewhere who voice discontent and then do precisely nothing, as in, most notably, the Bellevue area of Puerto Alcúdia. There is justification, though God knows where the money might come from to right the wrongs. There is justification, but of a different order to that which is being stated.
Mayor Cerdà is said to be "concerned". About what exactly? The fact that there are elections next year? One thing he should be concerned about is the structure of how the town, as a whole, is run. Let's just compare the situation in Puerto Pollensa with that in Puerto Alcúdia. There, the embellishments to the beach (costing some 700k) were recently officially "opened". Alcúdia has neither the psychological nor the physical distance problems I referred to the other day.
The justification, and if this protest is to achieve anything, and it probably won't, will be to highlight the deficiencies of the local political structure not the deficiencies with street lighting and all the rest. The perception of injustice towards the port has existed for years. It has come to a head. It needs sorting out.
QUIZ -
Yesterday: Saint Etienne, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OgV4F7JzVc
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, May 28, 2010
He's On The Phone: Dealing with Telefonica
The mobile rang three times. A four-figure number. Some sort of spam call, I thought. After the third time of calling and ignoring it, I thought again. Erm, maybe it was Telefonica. I had, after all, been asked to take a call from them.
The German neighbours. Needed to sort out a line and internet and all that. Could Telefonica call me so that I could pass on some info? Yes. But don't Telefonica have a German helpline? Yes. But it's not so easy. It never is, to be honest. Just having a German mobile probably doesn't make it any easier. Nor does Telefonica ringing Germany, to a relative, the one who had set this all in motion in the first place.
I do hope you're following all this, because I got lost with it well before the four-figure number started appearing on my mobile. When the number rang again, I relented, and answered. Half fearing not hearing anything - in good spam style - I was relieved when a voice started speaking - in German. Do I speak German, came the question. A bit, I responded, clearly unconvincingly. I can do German, but over a phone I would rather not. "English?" This was more like it. I didn't venture to suggest Spanish, and so waited to be transferred.
What I had thought they wanted to know, in order to get the neighbours kitted out in a Telefonica style, seemed straightforward enough. Confirmation of address, tax number, bank details. We never got past the address. Indeed, it took an inordinate length of time to do the first of these - the address.
"I can't find it," said the Telefonica-ist. The address, that is. So I repeated it. Twice more, once in Catalan. No, still couldn't find it. The street, it was suggested, was in Cala Ratjada. No, I responded, it is in Playa de Muro. There may be a street with the same name in Cala Ratjada, but there is definitely one in Playa de Muro. I am now standing on it, I explained, having walked for some distance while waving my arm around in good Spanish fashion while using a mobile. "This is your street?" asked the Telefonica-ist. "No, no, it's not my street. I just live next to it." "Next to it? Can you give me the number?" "A number? What of? A telephone, or a house?" "Which is your house?" "Sorry, what do you mean, which is my house?" "Your house is in the same street." "No, my house is in a different street." "It's next to the house where you want the phone line." "No, it's not next exactly. Near. And it's not me who wants the line. It's the neighbours, the ones you have the name for." "Oh. But can you give me your address?" "Why do you want my address? I'm not the one who wants the line." "It's not for you?" "No, no, it's for the neighbours. The ones you have the name for." "Ah yes. Can you give me the name of the street?" "I've given you the name of the street, but here it is again." "Sorry, I can't find the street." "You can't find it! It's been here for... for at least 40 years." "Can you spell it?" "Yes, I can spell it, thank you." "Oh, I still can't find it. Maybe if you tell me the name of the street in Catalan?" "I told you that before, but ok. Here it is." "Ah, ok, now I've found it." "Good. Do you want the other information? The bank details?" "No, we'll ring in a couple of days."
God forbid.
QUIZ -
Yep, it's back. "He's On The Phone"? If you don't know, then guess one of this blog's regulars, the very great ...
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The German neighbours. Needed to sort out a line and internet and all that. Could Telefonica call me so that I could pass on some info? Yes. But don't Telefonica have a German helpline? Yes. But it's not so easy. It never is, to be honest. Just having a German mobile probably doesn't make it any easier. Nor does Telefonica ringing Germany, to a relative, the one who had set this all in motion in the first place.
I do hope you're following all this, because I got lost with it well before the four-figure number started appearing on my mobile. When the number rang again, I relented, and answered. Half fearing not hearing anything - in good spam style - I was relieved when a voice started speaking - in German. Do I speak German, came the question. A bit, I responded, clearly unconvincingly. I can do German, but over a phone I would rather not. "English?" This was more like it. I didn't venture to suggest Spanish, and so waited to be transferred.
What I had thought they wanted to know, in order to get the neighbours kitted out in a Telefonica style, seemed straightforward enough. Confirmation of address, tax number, bank details. We never got past the address. Indeed, it took an inordinate length of time to do the first of these - the address.
"I can't find it," said the Telefonica-ist. The address, that is. So I repeated it. Twice more, once in Catalan. No, still couldn't find it. The street, it was suggested, was in Cala Ratjada. No, I responded, it is in Playa de Muro. There may be a street with the same name in Cala Ratjada, but there is definitely one in Playa de Muro. I am now standing on it, I explained, having walked for some distance while waving my arm around in good Spanish fashion while using a mobile. "This is your street?" asked the Telefonica-ist. "No, no, it's not my street. I just live next to it." "Next to it? Can you give me the number?" "A number? What of? A telephone, or a house?" "Which is your house?" "Sorry, what do you mean, which is my house?" "Your house is in the same street." "No, my house is in a different street." "It's next to the house where you want the phone line." "No, it's not next exactly. Near. And it's not me who wants the line. It's the neighbours, the ones you have the name for." "Oh. But can you give me your address?" "Why do you want my address? I'm not the one who wants the line." "It's not for you?" "No, no, it's for the neighbours. The ones you have the name for." "Ah yes. Can you give me the name of the street?" "I've given you the name of the street, but here it is again." "Sorry, I can't find the street." "You can't find it! It's been here for... for at least 40 years." "Can you spell it?" "Yes, I can spell it, thank you." "Oh, I still can't find it. Maybe if you tell me the name of the street in Catalan?" "I told you that before, but ok. Here it is." "Ah, ok, now I've found it." "Good. Do you want the other information? The bank details?" "No, we'll ring in a couple of days."
God forbid.
QUIZ -
Yep, it's back. "He's On The Phone"? If you don't know, then guess one of this blog's regulars, the very great ...
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Death Of The Hen: Diversification in Mallorca
"Mallorca vive una fantasía: el turismo no volverá a ser la gallina de los huevos de oro."
I wouldn't normally reproduce a newspaper headline, especially not one in Spanish, but this one deserves reproduction. If you do the native, then you'll understand. If you don't, you might get the drift. If the drift is not with you, then: "Mallorca is living a fantasy: tourism will not return to be the hen with golden eggs".
The headline came from the "Diario" two days ago. The words are those of Jerry Mander, a "guru" and the director of the International Globalization Forum. He, along with other worthies, gathered together in Alaró the other day, in a meeting organised by Camper, the Inca footwear company. As befits a coming together of those with sound credentials of a "sustainable" nature, there was a fair bit about sustainability, that mantra of current-day tourism. But the key message, the key conclusion was that the island's future lies in a diversification of its economy.
I should nominate myself as a guru. I couldn't tell you how many times I have referred to the need for economic diversification on this blog over the years. The Balearic Government, some while back, looked to set in motion a so-called innovation and development plan (largely forgotten about), but otherwise I have, and I don't wish to sound immodest, felt like a lone voice. You just never hear about economic diversification, or not in a way that addresses the subject seriously. Yet the need has been obvious for years.
Mallorca lives its fantasy because many of the people who live in Mallorca occupy a fantasy world - the absence of being in the real world, as I said two days ago. Perhaps it is something to do with the illusion or delusion of a "paradise island", lulling them into a false sense of security.
Mander's statement is, of course, inaccurate. Tourism hasn't gone away. But the implication is that it will not return on the scale that it once was. Moreover, it cannot be grown in any meaningful way; there just aren't the resources on a small area of land. It's that sustainability again, but this time in terms of the environment. Even if it were to be grown, more hotels, more golf courses, more this and more that, who would come?
Forty or more years ago, Mallorca set itself on a strategic path to economic transformation through tourism. Its old industries, agriculture most obviously, were shunted into the background. Those attending the Camper meeting seem to think that there is a need for some going back to the future. But is agriculture really a solution? It is one that smacks of the idyllic meeting the more wacky end of economics. It wouldn't represent diversification either. It has never gone away, just, in certain instances, such as almond-growing, been surpassed by superior technology and productivity elsewhere.
The general conclusion - that of diversification - is undeniably true, even if there might be disagreement as to the precise road-map for that diversification. What is staggering, though, is that the subject is even being discussed, as in being discussed now. It should have been on the table years ago.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
I wouldn't normally reproduce a newspaper headline, especially not one in Spanish, but this one deserves reproduction. If you do the native, then you'll understand. If you don't, you might get the drift. If the drift is not with you, then: "Mallorca is living a fantasy: tourism will not return to be the hen with golden eggs".
The headline came from the "Diario" two days ago. The words are those of Jerry Mander, a "guru" and the director of the International Globalization Forum. He, along with other worthies, gathered together in Alaró the other day, in a meeting organised by Camper, the Inca footwear company. As befits a coming together of those with sound credentials of a "sustainable" nature, there was a fair bit about sustainability, that mantra of current-day tourism. But the key message, the key conclusion was that the island's future lies in a diversification of its economy.
I should nominate myself as a guru. I couldn't tell you how many times I have referred to the need for economic diversification on this blog over the years. The Balearic Government, some while back, looked to set in motion a so-called innovation and development plan (largely forgotten about), but otherwise I have, and I don't wish to sound immodest, felt like a lone voice. You just never hear about economic diversification, or not in a way that addresses the subject seriously. Yet the need has been obvious for years.
Mallorca lives its fantasy because many of the people who live in Mallorca occupy a fantasy world - the absence of being in the real world, as I said two days ago. Perhaps it is something to do with the illusion or delusion of a "paradise island", lulling them into a false sense of security.
Mander's statement is, of course, inaccurate. Tourism hasn't gone away. But the implication is that it will not return on the scale that it once was. Moreover, it cannot be grown in any meaningful way; there just aren't the resources on a small area of land. It's that sustainability again, but this time in terms of the environment. Even if it were to be grown, more hotels, more golf courses, more this and more that, who would come?
Forty or more years ago, Mallorca set itself on a strategic path to economic transformation through tourism. Its old industries, agriculture most obviously, were shunted into the background. Those attending the Camper meeting seem to think that there is a need for some going back to the future. But is agriculture really a solution? It is one that smacks of the idyllic meeting the more wacky end of economics. It wouldn't represent diversification either. It has never gone away, just, in certain instances, such as almond-growing, been surpassed by superior technology and productivity elsewhere.
The general conclusion - that of diversification - is undeniably true, even if there might be disagreement as to the precise road-map for that diversification. What is staggering, though, is that the subject is even being discussed, as in being discussed now. It should have been on the table years ago.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Fix You? Puerto Pollensa and protest
The protest season goes from strength to strength. A general strike, some time or other; Puerto Alcúdia, a petition against all-inclusives, possibly; now Puerto Pollensa. On 2 June, setting off from the petrol station, i.e. the one opposite the fire-fighter-roundabout Eroski, a thousand people, so it is hoped, will take to the streets. Why?
I am grateful to Zelda at www.puertopollensa.com for sending me the bits and pieces which come from Annika at Sail & Surf who seems to be the main organiser of this demo. I like Annika. Who wouldn't? I wish her success. But the question remains - why?
The litany of problems that the small businesses of the Moll want addressing are as follows: the lack of good parking; access ways from the by-pass to the front line of Puerto Pollensa by car and on foot; a lack of clear signing of the entrance to the port from the by-pass; lack of street lighting; rubbish and lack of cleanliness; a need for improved pavements and green area maintenance; the speed of traffic along the coast road into the port; the need for greater night-time security; the need for a general "beautifying" of the port and for public lavs.
Fine. Anything else anyone wants to add? Why not toss in the need to pedestrianise the whole of the front line? Oh, sorry, forgot. They did away with that because the small businesses didn't want it. You'd crack some of the above at a stroke if there were no traffic along the coast road into the port.
Look, there is nothing wrong with any of what is the target of this protest. Much of it is familiar in terms of gripes regarding Puerto Pollensa. But is this, will this protest be indicative of casting around for something, anything, to put into the gun sight as a way of voicing anxiety regarding the currently lousy state of tourism? I have a horrible feeling that it might be. In which case, it is irrelevant. There is also a worry that, as I have said elsewhere in respect of protest in Puerto Alcúdia, that some sort of demo is counterproductive. Don't, whatever you do, fool yourselves into thinking that the majority of tourists either know or care about what ever the problems in Puerto Pollensa might be. Go demo-ing and bring attention to the problems, and they soon will know. Thanks very much. Best go to Croatia next year.
There is, though, more to all of this. It isn't simply a case of protest for protest's sake. There are legitimate points being raised, but it is the ones who should be listening who are the problem. Those at the town hall.
Pollensa town hall is hugely in debt, and that debt is likely to rise. It sought credit this year, only a part of which was forthcoming. There is most unlikely to be any more in the short term, given that the Spanish Government has frozen town halls' credit. Want better street lighting therefore? Go wave a lighter, then. A thousand arms waving in a Coldplay "Fix You" style. But the town hall can't fix it. No money, chums.
Even more than all this is the fact that the protest would be a manifestation of the massive distance between Moll and town. Town and down - down there by the sea. Pollensa is not unique in this regard. Think Santa Margalida and Muro as well. Only Alcúdia escapes the problems of physical and psychological distance between town and down. Ask yourselves this question? Why is there a town hall "delegate" for the Moll? One who is widely held in contempt? What do you need a delegate for? It's the same town, for crying out loud. The very existence of such a delegate tells you all you need to know. The Moll, the port is the town's second-class citizen, down there, down by the sea. Not here. Up in the town.
Protest? Go ahead. Better still, declare UDI.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
I am grateful to Zelda at www.puertopollensa.com for sending me the bits and pieces which come from Annika at Sail & Surf who seems to be the main organiser of this demo. I like Annika. Who wouldn't? I wish her success. But the question remains - why?
The litany of problems that the small businesses of the Moll want addressing are as follows: the lack of good parking; access ways from the by-pass to the front line of Puerto Pollensa by car and on foot; a lack of clear signing of the entrance to the port from the by-pass; lack of street lighting; rubbish and lack of cleanliness; a need for improved pavements and green area maintenance; the speed of traffic along the coast road into the port; the need for greater night-time security; the need for a general "beautifying" of the port and for public lavs.
Fine. Anything else anyone wants to add? Why not toss in the need to pedestrianise the whole of the front line? Oh, sorry, forgot. They did away with that because the small businesses didn't want it. You'd crack some of the above at a stroke if there were no traffic along the coast road into the port.
Look, there is nothing wrong with any of what is the target of this protest. Much of it is familiar in terms of gripes regarding Puerto Pollensa. But is this, will this protest be indicative of casting around for something, anything, to put into the gun sight as a way of voicing anxiety regarding the currently lousy state of tourism? I have a horrible feeling that it might be. In which case, it is irrelevant. There is also a worry that, as I have said elsewhere in respect of protest in Puerto Alcúdia, that some sort of demo is counterproductive. Don't, whatever you do, fool yourselves into thinking that the majority of tourists either know or care about what ever the problems in Puerto Pollensa might be. Go demo-ing and bring attention to the problems, and they soon will know. Thanks very much. Best go to Croatia next year.
There is, though, more to all of this. It isn't simply a case of protest for protest's sake. There are legitimate points being raised, but it is the ones who should be listening who are the problem. Those at the town hall.
Pollensa town hall is hugely in debt, and that debt is likely to rise. It sought credit this year, only a part of which was forthcoming. There is most unlikely to be any more in the short term, given that the Spanish Government has frozen town halls' credit. Want better street lighting therefore? Go wave a lighter, then. A thousand arms waving in a Coldplay "Fix You" style. But the town hall can't fix it. No money, chums.
Even more than all this is the fact that the protest would be a manifestation of the massive distance between Moll and town. Town and down - down there by the sea. Pollensa is not unique in this regard. Think Santa Margalida and Muro as well. Only Alcúdia escapes the problems of physical and psychological distance between town and down. Ask yourselves this question? Why is there a town hall "delegate" for the Moll? One who is widely held in contempt? What do you need a delegate for? It's the same town, for crying out loud. The very existence of such a delegate tells you all you need to know. The Moll, the port is the town's second-class citizen, down there, down by the sea. Not here. Up in the town.
Protest? Go ahead. Better still, declare UDI.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Paradise Lost: Mallorca and economic pain
So the IMF has issued another warning about Spain's economy. And called for reforms to the country's labour laws, making it, among other things, easier to fire workers.
That it has taken so long.
The chickens are coming home to roost. In all manner of ways. The problems of the bankrupt Spanish economy are mirrored - several-fold - in Mallorca. Easy money of different sorts - that from grants, the banks and, oh, the tourists - has become very much more difficult. Complacency of this easy money has given way to a panic. It all used to just fall into people's laps. Just like the Spanish Government, over years and in different political guises, sat back and trousered Europe's benefaction and careered headlong into growth on the back of the always-likely-to-shift sand of credit, so the local tourism industry (in its different manifestations) sat back and trousered the contents of the tourist purse while barely having to lift a finger or a fat arse off a bar stool while puffing on a grand Havana and slurping on a fine brandy.
The IMF, and the government (though it will try and avoid the issue), know full well what is needed. One thing is employment law. Making it easier to sack freeloading employees is one aspect. They should, but of course won't, slash the burden of social security payments. It is these, more than tax, that are a baulk where it comes to employment and to badly-needed entrepreneurship. They'll probably do the reverse, and increase them, just like they're increasing IVA (VAT). It's the economics of the mad house, but the mad are desperate, and so is the government, though you might hope that the government is about to grow up and join the real world. Likewise, many businesses in Mallorca who are having to appreciate that the days of the playground are over and are having to join the real world.
So much of what passes for the local economy is untenable, and has been for years. It is what gives rise to the obscenity of the dole queues in November. If Mallorca were a business, one with a plan for six months' trade (if it's lucky), then any half-decent consultant, or anyone with an ounce of sense, would say that it's not much of a business model. And it isn't. That it has been allowed to persist for so long is all down to that complacency.
Let's itemise some of the problems and responses: tourism down by 20% in April (admittedly the volcano didn't help); unemployment at 20%; banks starting to come under strain because of their bad debts, despite the provision for these that the Bank of Spain imposes; town halls told they can't have any credit; public works slashed. You could go on. The problems may not be unique to Mallorca and Spain, but they are exacerbated because of the fundamental flaws in the economy, especially the local one and because of that awful complacency.
Sad I am to say that I feel vindicated. I have said much of the foregoing for years on this blog. B.C. Before Crisis. I feel angry because it was all too easy to predict. The crisis just hastened the problems. The centre was never going to be able to hold when it was built on such shaky foundations.
I feel angry, but I want to relax. I have just heard The Fleet Foxes "Mykonos" on the radio. It has mellowed me. For a moment. And I remember Mykonos in 1973. When I wasn't in the real world. I wish to hell I was back there, in Mykonos 1973, on Paradise beach. A place where Paradise actually existed, rather than being monikered thus by fatuous tourism authorities and companies and their parrots in brochures and everywhere else. The Paradise Island, what they insist on calling Mallorca, is crumbling into the sea.
But relax. Fleet Foxes:
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
That it has taken so long.
The chickens are coming home to roost. In all manner of ways. The problems of the bankrupt Spanish economy are mirrored - several-fold - in Mallorca. Easy money of different sorts - that from grants, the banks and, oh, the tourists - has become very much more difficult. Complacency of this easy money has given way to a panic. It all used to just fall into people's laps. Just like the Spanish Government, over years and in different political guises, sat back and trousered Europe's benefaction and careered headlong into growth on the back of the always-likely-to-shift sand of credit, so the local tourism industry (in its different manifestations) sat back and trousered the contents of the tourist purse while barely having to lift a finger or a fat arse off a bar stool while puffing on a grand Havana and slurping on a fine brandy.
The IMF, and the government (though it will try and avoid the issue), know full well what is needed. One thing is employment law. Making it easier to sack freeloading employees is one aspect. They should, but of course won't, slash the burden of social security payments. It is these, more than tax, that are a baulk where it comes to employment and to badly-needed entrepreneurship. They'll probably do the reverse, and increase them, just like they're increasing IVA (VAT). It's the economics of the mad house, but the mad are desperate, and so is the government, though you might hope that the government is about to grow up and join the real world. Likewise, many businesses in Mallorca who are having to appreciate that the days of the playground are over and are having to join the real world.
So much of what passes for the local economy is untenable, and has been for years. It is what gives rise to the obscenity of the dole queues in November. If Mallorca were a business, one with a plan for six months' trade (if it's lucky), then any half-decent consultant, or anyone with an ounce of sense, would say that it's not much of a business model. And it isn't. That it has been allowed to persist for so long is all down to that complacency.
Let's itemise some of the problems and responses: tourism down by 20% in April (admittedly the volcano didn't help); unemployment at 20%; banks starting to come under strain because of their bad debts, despite the provision for these that the Bank of Spain imposes; town halls told they can't have any credit; public works slashed. You could go on. The problems may not be unique to Mallorca and Spain, but they are exacerbated because of the fundamental flaws in the economy, especially the local one and because of that awful complacency.
Sad I am to say that I feel vindicated. I have said much of the foregoing for years on this blog. B.C. Before Crisis. I feel angry because it was all too easy to predict. The crisis just hastened the problems. The centre was never going to be able to hold when it was built on such shaky foundations.
I feel angry, but I want to relax. I have just heard The Fleet Foxes "Mykonos" on the radio. It has mellowed me. For a moment. And I remember Mykonos in 1973. When I wasn't in the real world. I wish to hell I was back there, in Mykonos 1973, on Paradise beach. A place where Paradise actually existed, rather than being monikered thus by fatuous tourism authorities and companies and their parrots in brochures and everywhere else. The Paradise Island, what they insist on calling Mallorca, is crumbling into the sea.
But relax. Fleet Foxes:
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, May 24, 2010
3am (Again)
What time was it the night before last? 3am, 4am something like that. 3am eternal. I remember doing that last year, March time, when I was in a very different place - for very different reasons.
3am eternal. Eternal nights finishing off this HOT! project. I'm knackered, stressed, out on my feet and going out of my head. It should have been so easier. But it hasn't been. It never is in truth, but this year ... . And why, why when you approach some body or other for an article do they make things so difficult, or just don't want to know. Want to know a some body which didn't want to know? Let me tell you. Illa D'Or. Let me tell the story of the hotel. Oh no, can't do that. Did they misunderstand? No money was involved. Just a story. And there are, have been, others. You wonder why you bother in all truth.
The suspicion with which you are confronted when approaching ... approaching especially the Mallorcans is de-motivating to say the least. The attitude usually seems to be: "why do you want to do this'", rather than "great, what do you need to know?" You couldn't get much further apart, in cultural terms, than between Mallorcans and, for example, Americans. It's a cultural difference that tells a lot. A lot about why nothing happens here. Islanders, like islanders everywhere, they are, sorry to say, small-minded and vaguely paranoid. Not all, of course not, but as a generality, yes.
Whatever. I am currently not really in a right place right now either. But the help from all sorts of sources does make up for the obstruction and the resistance elsewhere. And the messages. Like one of the "cover girls" who chuckled at the idea of "Minty" on a mountain. I laughed when I put him there. The joys of Photoshop, those which have put other supporters on the cover map - "London" John, Rud, Hayley. Cheers, all.
No apologies for embedding - once more - the brilliant mu-mu-ists.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
3am eternal. Eternal nights finishing off this HOT! project. I'm knackered, stressed, out on my feet and going out of my head. It should have been so easier. But it hasn't been. It never is in truth, but this year ... . And why, why when you approach some body or other for an article do they make things so difficult, or just don't want to know. Want to know a some body which didn't want to know? Let me tell you. Illa D'Or. Let me tell the story of the hotel. Oh no, can't do that. Did they misunderstand? No money was involved. Just a story. And there are, have been, others. You wonder why you bother in all truth.
The suspicion with which you are confronted when approaching ... approaching especially the Mallorcans is de-motivating to say the least. The attitude usually seems to be: "why do you want to do this'", rather than "great, what do you need to know?" You couldn't get much further apart, in cultural terms, than between Mallorcans and, for example, Americans. It's a cultural difference that tells a lot. A lot about why nothing happens here. Islanders, like islanders everywhere, they are, sorry to say, small-minded and vaguely paranoid. Not all, of course not, but as a generality, yes.
Whatever. I am currently not really in a right place right now either. But the help from all sorts of sources does make up for the obstruction and the resistance elsewhere. And the messages. Like one of the "cover girls" who chuckled at the idea of "Minty" on a mountain. I laughed when I put him there. The joys of Photoshop, those which have put other supporters on the cover map - "London" John, Rud, Hayley. Cheers, all.
No apologies for embedding - once more - the brilliant mu-mu-ists.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Acts Of Mindless Vandalism
So you arrive at your bar in the morning. Seems normal enough. Until, that is, you notice that something is not quite right.
Mindless vandalism does not always require grand gestures, those of highly visible destruction or defacement. Sometimes its nature catches you out. Like break-ins, and don't I know, initially you don't latch on, until it becomes apparent. Some time on Saturday morning, someone decided to try and pull the barrier out of the ground between the doctor's clinic and the Foxes Arms in Puerto Alcúdia. Decided to do this and also try and break in half a strut holding up the "toldo" (terrace sun shade). This someone didn't succeed in either. The barrier didn't look worse for wear, until you touched it; the strut was bent rather than broken. But the extent of the damage didn't matter. There was, as always with these things, a sense of invasion. The visible signs may not have been that obvious, but a broken this or a broken that is dangerous - for the customer. It means a day closed, a day's loss of earnings and a day spent spending money on some repairs.
A different matter. There are new neighbours. Hotel workers. Polish, it would seem. Let's not go down the Poles-on-the-rampage routine of the Don Pedro hotel in Cala San Vicente last summer, as in let's not start castigating an entire nation. But. But, when the noise on the terrace is sufficient to require two visits - from myself - to let them know that there is noise on the terrace, then I get - how do I put it - a tad hacked off. The noise is most uncommon in a quiet urbanisation. It is most out of place. Two warnings, I was at pains to point out, despite three chaps seemingly prepared to confront me. Two warnings. Number three, and I hate the idea, and it's the "denuncia". They got my drift. They might also know that I can find out which hotel they are working at. Hotels do not take kindly to being told by stroppy neighbours that their shipped-in workforce is keeping these stroppy neighbours from their shut eye. Especially as they are usually handing over the ackers for the workforce to keep stroppy neighbours awake.
Unlike residencies close to hotels and the commercial centres, you do expect peace and quiet. It's why people don't live near to hotels and commercial centres. If you do, then you have to expect rather less peace and quiet. There is also the business about the definition of "evening" and "night". This may seem bizarre, but it is a facet of the law. Noise on a domestic terrace, after midnight, is equal - in law - to noise on a bar terrace.
Yet, these two incidents are curiously instructive. In my discussions with those with several decades of living in Alcúdia, Pollensa and elsewhere, it is clear that there is a certain nostalgia for the old days of the "generalisimo". Heaven forbid, you might think. But crime was almost non-existent. No one would think of smashing a toldo support for fear of getting a thrashing from the Guardia and a lengthy stretch in the slammer. On the other hand, back in the days before Franco died, no one did much about noise. You could be on terraces till the wee smalls, playing music, dancing, drinking. It didn't matter. Now it does. The perpetrator of the Foxes vandalism will not be found, he will not get a police kicking or a sentence, but the hotel workers, high-spirited but not malicious, can get a police visit or can get a hotel-issued one-way ticket back to Poland. It doesn't, somehow, make much sense.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Mindless vandalism does not always require grand gestures, those of highly visible destruction or defacement. Sometimes its nature catches you out. Like break-ins, and don't I know, initially you don't latch on, until it becomes apparent. Some time on Saturday morning, someone decided to try and pull the barrier out of the ground between the doctor's clinic and the Foxes Arms in Puerto Alcúdia. Decided to do this and also try and break in half a strut holding up the "toldo" (terrace sun shade). This someone didn't succeed in either. The barrier didn't look worse for wear, until you touched it; the strut was bent rather than broken. But the extent of the damage didn't matter. There was, as always with these things, a sense of invasion. The visible signs may not have been that obvious, but a broken this or a broken that is dangerous - for the customer. It means a day closed, a day's loss of earnings and a day spent spending money on some repairs.
A different matter. There are new neighbours. Hotel workers. Polish, it would seem. Let's not go down the Poles-on-the-rampage routine of the Don Pedro hotel in Cala San Vicente last summer, as in let's not start castigating an entire nation. But. But, when the noise on the terrace is sufficient to require two visits - from myself - to let them know that there is noise on the terrace, then I get - how do I put it - a tad hacked off. The noise is most uncommon in a quiet urbanisation. It is most out of place. Two warnings, I was at pains to point out, despite three chaps seemingly prepared to confront me. Two warnings. Number three, and I hate the idea, and it's the "denuncia". They got my drift. They might also know that I can find out which hotel they are working at. Hotels do not take kindly to being told by stroppy neighbours that their shipped-in workforce is keeping these stroppy neighbours from their shut eye. Especially as they are usually handing over the ackers for the workforce to keep stroppy neighbours awake.
Unlike residencies close to hotels and the commercial centres, you do expect peace and quiet. It's why people don't live near to hotels and commercial centres. If you do, then you have to expect rather less peace and quiet. There is also the business about the definition of "evening" and "night". This may seem bizarre, but it is a facet of the law. Noise on a domestic terrace, after midnight, is equal - in law - to noise on a bar terrace.
Yet, these two incidents are curiously instructive. In my discussions with those with several decades of living in Alcúdia, Pollensa and elsewhere, it is clear that there is a certain nostalgia for the old days of the "generalisimo". Heaven forbid, you might think. But crime was almost non-existent. No one would think of smashing a toldo support for fear of getting a thrashing from the Guardia and a lengthy stretch in the slammer. On the other hand, back in the days before Franco died, no one did much about noise. You could be on terraces till the wee smalls, playing music, dancing, drinking. It didn't matter. Now it does. The perpetrator of the Foxes vandalism will not be found, he will not get a police kicking or a sentence, but the hotel workers, high-spirited but not malicious, can get a police visit or can get a hotel-issued one-way ticket back to Poland. It doesn't, somehow, make much sense.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Enjoy The Trip: Trip Advisor and other websites
Having mentioned Holiday Watchdog yesterday, time today to give Trip Advisor its place in the blog's sun. It is the most important of the holiday (and restaurant) review sites, but it is not - in my opinion (and opinion is what matters) - the best. On the principle that a website should be simple to navigate, Trip Advisor gets my thumbs-down; it's not a patch on Holiday Truths when it comes to user-friendliness and simplicity. But Trip Advisor is on a rather grander scale - it is international, and it has its own director in Spain. He was interviewed yesterday in the "Diario". It is also, or has been, more susceptible to the owner-inspired (written even) glowing review, which was why the British Government legislated against such a carry-on.
Talking to the site's Spanish director is an example of how well the "Diario" does tourism and the business surrounding it, and the most interesting aspect of the interview was - if dealt with only briefly - the revelation that a well-known (unnamed) Mallorcan hotelier considers opinions posted on Trip Advisor to be more important than official categorisation, the number of stars and whatever.
It had been, before I did the Bellevue interview last summer, my impression that no one much in Mallorca took any notice of sites like Trip Advisor. No one much in terms of hotel managements, tourism authorities, town halls and so on. I would still be surprised to learn that the latter two do take any notice, but the hotels are a different matter. Well, Bellevue was, and the then assistant director was. He's no longer there. But Trip Advisor was on his favourites list (or possibly his un-favourites). It was important that it was, given the fire panic of last season.
The drawback with any site such as Trip Advisor, and any forums elsewhere and also Facebook and the rest, is that opinion is just that - opinion. By its nature it is subjective, unscientific; it is also just the tip of a very tall iceberg when it comes to the actual numbers of holidaymakers who ever go on to such sites. Should anyone take any notice therefore? Yes and no. Yes, because opinion can carry a lot of power, despite its subjectivity. No, because this opinion cannot really be challenged (and Trip Advisor has rules as to how hoteliers can respond, as was pointed out to me by the Bellevue assistant director) and because there isn't a "profile" of the person placing the opinion. You might know their sex, their date of birth, their home town, but none of this tells you anything meaningful. This just adds to the unscientific nature of the opinion generation.
Nevertheless, the reviews and comments on sites are being taken seriously, in some quarters, testimony to the power of the internet. It's those quarters that don't take them seriously or just don't even look at them that concern me, which brings us back to the tourism authorities and the town halls. I have said this before, but it bears repetition, and that is that these bodies should be devoting time and resources to monitoring to what is being said on the internet.
Were they to, they might actually learn something. Or be prompted into some course of action. They have a vast market research resource at the click of a mouse, and you doubt that they exploit it. More fool they.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Talking to the site's Spanish director is an example of how well the "Diario" does tourism and the business surrounding it, and the most interesting aspect of the interview was - if dealt with only briefly - the revelation that a well-known (unnamed) Mallorcan hotelier considers opinions posted on Trip Advisor to be more important than official categorisation, the number of stars and whatever.
It had been, before I did the Bellevue interview last summer, my impression that no one much in Mallorca took any notice of sites like Trip Advisor. No one much in terms of hotel managements, tourism authorities, town halls and so on. I would still be surprised to learn that the latter two do take any notice, but the hotels are a different matter. Well, Bellevue was, and the then assistant director was. He's no longer there. But Trip Advisor was on his favourites list (or possibly his un-favourites). It was important that it was, given the fire panic of last season.
The drawback with any site such as Trip Advisor, and any forums elsewhere and also Facebook and the rest, is that opinion is just that - opinion. By its nature it is subjective, unscientific; it is also just the tip of a very tall iceberg when it comes to the actual numbers of holidaymakers who ever go on to such sites. Should anyone take any notice therefore? Yes and no. Yes, because opinion can carry a lot of power, despite its subjectivity. No, because this opinion cannot really be challenged (and Trip Advisor has rules as to how hoteliers can respond, as was pointed out to me by the Bellevue assistant director) and because there isn't a "profile" of the person placing the opinion. You might know their sex, their date of birth, their home town, but none of this tells you anything meaningful. This just adds to the unscientific nature of the opinion generation.
Nevertheless, the reviews and comments on sites are being taken seriously, in some quarters, testimony to the power of the internet. It's those quarters that don't take them seriously or just don't even look at them that concern me, which brings us back to the tourism authorities and the town halls. I have said this before, but it bears repetition, and that is that these bodies should be devoting time and resources to monitoring to what is being said on the internet.
Were they to, they might actually learn something. Or be prompted into some course of action. They have a vast market research resource at the click of a mouse, and you doubt that they exploit it. More fool they.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Scratch, Scratch: The holiday club allergy
Well, well, well. There we were thinking that the mid-season flight of the scratch-cardists last year was the last that Alcúdia had seen of them. Wrong. Or so it would appear. There is an office near to the Magic Roundabout that looks very much like the same sort of operation. Just a different location. I'm not sure I'm bothered any longer. If the tourism ministry, town hall, police or whoever can't or won't step in and prevent these operations from emerging, why should I care? I've got other things to worry about. Let 'em go fleece some mugs.
This said ...
Whatever it might be called, the operation is always much the same. The scratch-card system works thus: It is always a couple that is approached, verification is made as to where they are from. The UK or Ireland are spot on. But the Netherlands or Scandinavia will do nicely, too, so long as the people speak English. Why is it a couple and not someone on his or her own? Because the couple each gets a card. One is always a loser, the other is always a winner. And the winner will get his or her holiday or whatever prize is in offer.
The street scratch-cardists go under differing exotic titles. Outside Promotions Consultants, for example. Consultant, my arse. They get commissions for each couple they entice to the presentation, so long, that is, if the suckers who have gone along stay for a specific length of time. Otherwise, normally, no commission. Some of those who are approached do go for a short time, just to let the "consultant" get his or her money. Very altruistic. And potentially dangerous if you let yourself get pulled in more and more. They will be like dogs with bones once you're inside. Not the "consultants". They've done their bit. Now it's the salespeople.
So many thousands will get you a lifetime of holiday deals. This may get reduced if you refuse. There may be finance deals. There may be further reductions, just to get you to hand over your credit or debit card and start the slippery ball rolling, despite the fact that there should be "cooling-off" periods.
Timeshare, holiday clubs, call them what you will, they all amount to the same sort of thing - something that you do not want and certainly do not need. The apparent attractiveness of future holidays on the cheap has been exposed enough times as being no better than were you to book the holidays yourselves. But by now you might be in for several thousands of pounds or euros, and you might find it hard to get out of.
The consultants will often be quite pleasant, which is why you might want to go along with them in order to let them earn their commissions or why you might just be taken in - period. It's when they are less than pleasant that some problems arise. And this was the complaint a couple of years back. Abusiveness and being hassled. Pleasant or not, don't be taken in. Or you end up with something that you don't want. That you had never thought about having. And yet you might find yourself being in for a four-figure sum. If you are, well, go figure.
Of course, this year's operation may be different. The tactics have varied over the years. One that was being used last year was to approach people in the pretence of performing some sort of market research. Maybe scratch cards have been replaced with something else. Whatever, it will become known. And this knowledge will be used to tarnish the reputation not of the operators of the system but of the resort.
It is a surprise, if indeed it is the same sort of operation, that it has returned. The stories last year were that the operation closed because trading was poor (and you wouldn't think it would be any better this year) and that the fines were mounting up. The police do actually intervene if unlicensed street "selling" is being performed. But whereas the street selling of the lookies is pretty harmless and relatively inexpensive (harmless, save for when something illicit is being offered as well), the holiday club, or whatever it is, is on a wholly different scale in terms of cost. You might just find your holiday suddenly got very much more expensive than you had budgeted for.
* I would acknowledge a comment left on the Holiday Watchdog Holiday Clubs and Timeshare forum for informing some of the above. This forum is probably the best source going for information on holiday clubs.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
This said ...
Whatever it might be called, the operation is always much the same. The scratch-card system works thus: It is always a couple that is approached, verification is made as to where they are from. The UK or Ireland are spot on. But the Netherlands or Scandinavia will do nicely, too, so long as the people speak English. Why is it a couple and not someone on his or her own? Because the couple each gets a card. One is always a loser, the other is always a winner. And the winner will get his or her holiday or whatever prize is in offer.
The street scratch-cardists go under differing exotic titles. Outside Promotions Consultants, for example. Consultant, my arse. They get commissions for each couple they entice to the presentation, so long, that is, if the suckers who have gone along stay for a specific length of time. Otherwise, normally, no commission. Some of those who are approached do go for a short time, just to let the "consultant" get his or her money. Very altruistic. And potentially dangerous if you let yourself get pulled in more and more. They will be like dogs with bones once you're inside. Not the "consultants". They've done their bit. Now it's the salespeople.
So many thousands will get you a lifetime of holiday deals. This may get reduced if you refuse. There may be finance deals. There may be further reductions, just to get you to hand over your credit or debit card and start the slippery ball rolling, despite the fact that there should be "cooling-off" periods.
Timeshare, holiday clubs, call them what you will, they all amount to the same sort of thing - something that you do not want and certainly do not need. The apparent attractiveness of future holidays on the cheap has been exposed enough times as being no better than were you to book the holidays yourselves. But by now you might be in for several thousands of pounds or euros, and you might find it hard to get out of.
The consultants will often be quite pleasant, which is why you might want to go along with them in order to let them earn their commissions or why you might just be taken in - period. It's when they are less than pleasant that some problems arise. And this was the complaint a couple of years back. Abusiveness and being hassled. Pleasant or not, don't be taken in. Or you end up with something that you don't want. That you had never thought about having. And yet you might find yourself being in for a four-figure sum. If you are, well, go figure.
Of course, this year's operation may be different. The tactics have varied over the years. One that was being used last year was to approach people in the pretence of performing some sort of market research. Maybe scratch cards have been replaced with something else. Whatever, it will become known. And this knowledge will be used to tarnish the reputation not of the operators of the system but of the resort.
It is a surprise, if indeed it is the same sort of operation, that it has returned. The stories last year were that the operation closed because trading was poor (and you wouldn't think it would be any better this year) and that the fines were mounting up. The police do actually intervene if unlicensed street "selling" is being performed. But whereas the street selling of the lookies is pretty harmless and relatively inexpensive (harmless, save for when something illicit is being offered as well), the holiday club, or whatever it is, is on a wholly different scale in terms of cost. You might just find your holiday suddenly got very much more expensive than you had budgeted for.
* I would acknowledge a comment left on the Holiday Watchdog Holiday Clubs and Timeshare forum for informing some of the above. This forum is probably the best source going for information on holiday clubs.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Eyeless In Alcúdia: A cave, a ranch and some apartments
If you take the right turn by the traffic lights close to the auditorium in Alcúdia, the road heading past the cemetery and down to the horse roundabout, as you negotiate the bend there are various signs. Some of these are billboards, Wind and Friends, Bulldog Clothing, but there is also a much smaller road sign, its pink or purple or whatever colour washed out by the sun, in rather similar fashion to the way in which the sculpture of the horse on the roundabout has been beaten by the weather, turning it a salmon colour, thus adding to the debate as to whether it really is a horse or not.
This smaller sign I had never noticed. Until yesterday. It is for the "Cova de Sant Marti". The Sant Marti cave. Positioned quite some distance from the cave, a good four kilometres or so, I wondered if there were further ones to advise the driver as to the trail of the cave with its icons. There weren't. None that I could see, anyway.
Why direct people to the roundabout? Because that's about as far as you would get before giving up or winding down the window and asking a cheery local for directions, one who would - in all likelihood - have no idea what you were talking about. If there is one sign, then there should be several. Especially as the cave is meant to hold such importance in Alcúdia's heritage. But the absence is indicative of the half-hearted, impractical nature of promotion, as opposed to that which may find its way into local tourism literature, and even with this I'm not sure that the cave does actually get much of a mention.
For many, its existence is unknown, including those who live locally. This may have to do with where it is. Middle of nowhere in truth, stuck between Bellevue and the bypass by the mountain. Its unknown presence is nothing new. When I spoke with Jan at the Jolly Roger about the "good old days", she mentioned that the girls - Joy and Julie - used to go and play at the cave and that few others, at that time, seemed to know that it was there.
By coincidence, I was later at the ranch in Puerto Alcúdia - Rancho Ses Roques. A place, a bit like that road sign, I had been unaware of in terms of what lies behind the entrance building and stables. A small zoo, a magnificent white stallion, cows which look like they are advertisers-cartoon moo-moo's promoting butter and full-fat milk. Hayley said that they take riders on a horsey excursion past the Sant Marti cave, hence the coincidence. It would probably be the only way these riders ever become aware that it is there.
Unlike the cave, the ranch is well-publicised. Therefore, it's a mystery to me why it is such a mystery - to me. Not quite so much now, though. Its rural ambience, lying by the old "cami" road, and close to the karaoke and lager of The Mile, seems a peculiarity of juxtaposition. But there was something else about this short visit to the ranch. As I walked towards the entrance buildings, I happened to look across to my left. It was a stunning sight. Nothing particularly beautiful. Quite the contrary, really, but impressive nonetheless. The Siesta 1 apartments building. The sight stopped me in my tracks because I had never seen the apartments from this angle or distance. The impression, close up, is of a tower with arms off; it's an illusion. My familiarity with the apartments is such that I have always classed them as only slightly better than hideous. But this new view changed all that. The different perspective was magnificent, and reinforced the impression, when speaking with Jan, as to the dramatic changes to the landscape that had occurred almost forty years ago. From where once was nothing came the Siestas and Bellevue. And their brooding imposition, today, only serves to remind us of what once was but now seems to be being taken away.
There are things that you have never seen - in Alcúdia, Pollensa, wherever. And some of these things can still astonish. Small signs, stallions and Siestas. Just one day, once more.
(The photo shows the Siesta 1 apartments, taken from Ses Roques.)
Alwyn - Gavin's At The Port
Just a note to say that the mightily well-liked Alwyn, Gavin's dad, is doing well after his heart attack a few days ago. Gavin reports that he is "ok", which is a relief. Speedy recovery, Al.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Grim Up North: The problems of the season
It's grim up north. It's grim down south. No point beating about the bush, and there's little point in going over the reasons. We all know them. Only too well.
In this week's "Talk Of The North" will be a piece I have written. "Protest Is Futile." Protest is never futile, even if it merely satisfies a psychological need to let off steam and to appear to be doing something. Anything. However, it was written because there is a drive in Alcúdia towards organising a petition. Its target would be all-inclusives. I know who the protagonists are. I wish them well. I hope it does more than I will be suggesting in that piece. Moreover, all-inclusives are the punch-bag for other travails. They aren't the whole story. Of course they're not.
Expressions by bars and restaurants as to the problems of early season are being echoed by the hotels. Ironic perhaps that the devils of the piece seem to be on the same side of those being cast into the hell of a fiery death by all-inclusive. But the hotels' problems speak volumes for the wider issues, those we know all about.
To protest, by means of a petition, seems like kissing in the wind. Who do you petition in the first place? And what effect would it have? The sad fact is that bars, restaurants, hotels even, oh and myself are all controlled by factors that we cannot control. Petition is the attempt to gain some control.
But if matters are as critical as are being said in some quarters, then protest of a more significant nature is called for - maybe. Closing all establishments as a symbol of how things might be is one. Not that you would ever get a collective agreement to do so. Short-term self-interest will always rise to the top. Forget it.
Why not march? A great demo along the main streets of the resorts? Would tourists thank you? Would they thank you for closing for a day? Would they approve of outraged bar owners standing atop hotel blocks with banners? Some might. Some tourists are only too aware of what is going on. Some, plenty, aren't. Some, plenty, have no wish to be informed. They are on holiday. They are not on holiday to bear witness to the apparent collapse of local tourist industries. Would it be fair on them? Maybe it would be. Tourists, we are told by some, should be more ethical. What are ethics when it comes to a fortnight in the sun? As that old managing director of mine once wrote, it's a county in eastern England, a county that's roughly the same size as Mallorca.
It is, we do have to remember, only the middle of May. A middle of May that has been preceded by factors (well, one) no one could have foreseen. Come July and if matters are bad, then this would be the time to protest. But there is some justification for the anger at present. And that is that the season is being compressed into ever shorter a period. This has nothing to do with all-inclusives. It has everything to do with what the regional government would consider to not be the principal problem with the island's tourism - the summer season.
Protest. No, it's not always futile. But protest against the right targets. The idiots in government should be the first. Not really that they can do much either. However, it is they who have been and are kissing in the wind and fiddling Nero-like while they faff around, endlessly pronouncing on less important tourism issues. And kissing? Well, you know, like you know the issues, what word I really mean.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
In this week's "Talk Of The North" will be a piece I have written. "Protest Is Futile." Protest is never futile, even if it merely satisfies a psychological need to let off steam and to appear to be doing something. Anything. However, it was written because there is a drive in Alcúdia towards organising a petition. Its target would be all-inclusives. I know who the protagonists are. I wish them well. I hope it does more than I will be suggesting in that piece. Moreover, all-inclusives are the punch-bag for other travails. They aren't the whole story. Of course they're not.
Expressions by bars and restaurants as to the problems of early season are being echoed by the hotels. Ironic perhaps that the devils of the piece seem to be on the same side of those being cast into the hell of a fiery death by all-inclusive. But the hotels' problems speak volumes for the wider issues, those we know all about.
To protest, by means of a petition, seems like kissing in the wind. Who do you petition in the first place? And what effect would it have? The sad fact is that bars, restaurants, hotels even, oh and myself are all controlled by factors that we cannot control. Petition is the attempt to gain some control.
But if matters are as critical as are being said in some quarters, then protest of a more significant nature is called for - maybe. Closing all establishments as a symbol of how things might be is one. Not that you would ever get a collective agreement to do so. Short-term self-interest will always rise to the top. Forget it.
Why not march? A great demo along the main streets of the resorts? Would tourists thank you? Would they thank you for closing for a day? Would they approve of outraged bar owners standing atop hotel blocks with banners? Some might. Some tourists are only too aware of what is going on. Some, plenty, aren't. Some, plenty, have no wish to be informed. They are on holiday. They are not on holiday to bear witness to the apparent collapse of local tourist industries. Would it be fair on them? Maybe it would be. Tourists, we are told by some, should be more ethical. What are ethics when it comes to a fortnight in the sun? As that old managing director of mine once wrote, it's a county in eastern England, a county that's roughly the same size as Mallorca.
It is, we do have to remember, only the middle of May. A middle of May that has been preceded by factors (well, one) no one could have foreseen. Come July and if matters are bad, then this would be the time to protest. But there is some justification for the anger at present. And that is that the season is being compressed into ever shorter a period. This has nothing to do with all-inclusives. It has everything to do with what the regional government would consider to not be the principal problem with the island's tourism - the summer season.
Protest. No, it's not always futile. But protest against the right targets. The idiots in government should be the first. Not really that they can do much either. However, it is they who have been and are kissing in the wind and fiddling Nero-like while they faff around, endlessly pronouncing on less important tourism issues. And kissing? Well, you know, like you know the issues, what word I really mean.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Gets In Your Eyes: Not from January (the smoking ban)
In the lead up to national no-smoking week in Spain, a survey - reported on in yesterday's "Diario" - finds that 70% of Spaniards support a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and the like and that a third would be more likely to go to bars once a ban is in place.
There has been much confusion and misinformation regarding the precise implementation of the smoking ban and when it will come into effect. To reiterate ... it will cover enclosed public places, such as bars, which does, however, still raise some question as to what is or isn't enclosed. But be that as it may. Spanish law is rarely clear. There are moves already, though, for some exemptions. Hotels are likely to be able to maintain a percentage of rooms as smoking; 30% is the figure being bandied about. I guess if people want to smoke in their rooms, then this should be up to them, but the hotel exemption does smack a bit of the hoteliers exerting pressure if they are fearful of loss of revenue. And if this is the reason, then it does rather undermine the logic of the ban elsewhere. The government, and others, have been at pains to say that revenue will not be harmed; quite the contrary in fact.
The timing of the ban is becoming clearer. A week ago the health minister made a pretty unequivocal statement that it would come into effect on 1 January next year. This has long seemed to be the logical starting-point, assuming they don't change their minds. The regional health ministers are due to be consulted in June, the law would be brought before parliament in the autumn and, bingo, you have your ban. Talk of it coming in much earlier has never sounded realistic.
But when it comes in, and it will, how smoothly might it be implemented? Recently I have been into different bars and wondered how on earth they will do it. Take somewhere like Cultural in Puerto Pollensa. If you were an airplane, you would have been grounded and not allowed anywhere near its airspace; the interior is its own ash cloud. It's hardly unique. There are also some bar owners who, believing themselves to be, er, "well in" with certain authorities, which they may or may not be, are suggesting that they will ignore any ban. Let's see, shall we. Though how comprehensive the checking and how well-staffed the smoking plod might be is anyone's guess. At a time of public-sector cuts, this is unlikely to be a growth area in employment. Which will probably mean a spate of Jose Public dobbing in a bar to plod. Or, more likely, a rival bar doing the dobbing in.
The irony of the ban in bars will be that they will still be able to have cigarette machines. Or maybe it isn't so ironic. Terrace life will be unaffected, unless terraces are somehow deemed to be enclosed. Anticipate any amount of confusion about this, added to which are the legitimate worries of night bars where the noise plod wait for the stroke of midnight to go and hound anyone talking above a whisper on a terrace while having a smoke.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
There has been much confusion and misinformation regarding the precise implementation of the smoking ban and when it will come into effect. To reiterate ... it will cover enclosed public places, such as bars, which does, however, still raise some question as to what is or isn't enclosed. But be that as it may. Spanish law is rarely clear. There are moves already, though, for some exemptions. Hotels are likely to be able to maintain a percentage of rooms as smoking; 30% is the figure being bandied about. I guess if people want to smoke in their rooms, then this should be up to them, but the hotel exemption does smack a bit of the hoteliers exerting pressure if they are fearful of loss of revenue. And if this is the reason, then it does rather undermine the logic of the ban elsewhere. The government, and others, have been at pains to say that revenue will not be harmed; quite the contrary in fact.
The timing of the ban is becoming clearer. A week ago the health minister made a pretty unequivocal statement that it would come into effect on 1 January next year. This has long seemed to be the logical starting-point, assuming they don't change their minds. The regional health ministers are due to be consulted in June, the law would be brought before parliament in the autumn and, bingo, you have your ban. Talk of it coming in much earlier has never sounded realistic.
But when it comes in, and it will, how smoothly might it be implemented? Recently I have been into different bars and wondered how on earth they will do it. Take somewhere like Cultural in Puerto Pollensa. If you were an airplane, you would have been grounded and not allowed anywhere near its airspace; the interior is its own ash cloud. It's hardly unique. There are also some bar owners who, believing themselves to be, er, "well in" with certain authorities, which they may or may not be, are suggesting that they will ignore any ban. Let's see, shall we. Though how comprehensive the checking and how well-staffed the smoking plod might be is anyone's guess. At a time of public-sector cuts, this is unlikely to be a growth area in employment. Which will probably mean a spate of Jose Public dobbing in a bar to plod. Or, more likely, a rival bar doing the dobbing in.
The irony of the ban in bars will be that they will still be able to have cigarette machines. Or maybe it isn't so ironic. Terrace life will be unaffected, unless terraces are somehow deemed to be enclosed. Anticipate any amount of confusion about this, added to which are the legitimate worries of night bars where the noise plod wait for the stroke of midnight to go and hound anyone talking above a whisper on a terrace while having a smoke.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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