Money For Nothing?

Anyone going to the old town of Muro these past few months will have been aware that they have been busy digging the centre up and re-doing it. Finally, it has all come to an end. And the result is a general beautification of this ancient pueblo. Not that they did all they had intended, which may come as a relief to all those who had to contend with the inconvenience of the work that they did do. Money. Ran out, basically. Nevertheless, the improvements have cost close on 2 million euros, the town hall coughing up a third and the government (the tourism ministry to be specific) the rest. So it was, therefore, that the government, in the form of tourism minister Nadal, pitched up to celebrate the conclusion of the project.

Muro. Now here is a town that lies some ten kilometres from its playa, as in Playa de Muro. It is to the latter that tourists flock in summer; it is to the latter that elements in the town hall would rather they also flocked at all times of the year in order to play golf on the as-yet undeveloped course; it is the former - the town of Muro - that, were you a tourist minded to go and visit the old town that gives the playa its name, does not have a direct bus service from this same playa; it is the former that the tourism bods singularly fail to make any great play of, save some brochures at the Playa de Muro tourism office; it is to the former that no-one probably would be inclined to go, save to admire its vast church or to trek around a museum.

When, therefore, Sr. Nadal says that this upgrading of the old town centre is all a facet of the de-seasonalisation of tourism and of the tourism offer by the interior towns (in this case Muro), what tourism is he actually referring to? Are there great hordes of tourists flooding into the town? No, I don't think so either. Even when there is something going on in Muro, as there will be with the fiesta later this month, will there be a big tourism promotion? I somewhat doubt it.

The point is that it is the playa of Muro that generates the town's tourism, not the town. There is absolutely nothing wrong of course in upgrading the centre, but what about upgrading the playa? Those awful eyesores that are the empty units along the main road could, should, be given some serious attention. Some money might well have been diverted towards creating something that Playa de Muro badly lacks - a focal point. But no, the old town has got nigh on two millions worth of folding notes, and for what?


Turn the music off
There has been a bit of an old rumpus cracking off in Magaluf. This relates to the application of a new law emanating from the environment ministry which states that nights start not at 24:00 but at 23:00. What this means is that bars have to stop music on their terraces at 11 o'clock at night. Moreover, the bars have had to reduce the decibel levels by a further ten points. Bar owners have protested. And how? By closing, which does seem a bit like cutting your nose off to spite your face, but they have a legitimate gripe. Bear in mind, this is a law from the government, it isn't just a local thing, though the decibel levels have been cut following a "denuncia". Magaluf is not the only place affected.

The bar owners, and this means bar owners everywhere, have been getting it in the neck for years. Twelve o'clock curfew, now an hour earlier; sound limiters and now lower decibel levels. You can add in the colossally petty way in which the size of terraces are policed and numerous other things. And now of course there is the sheer difficulty caused by recession. Yes, noise is an issue. But these are holiday resorts. This latest attack on bar owners is ridiculous.


QUIZ
Today's title - the question mark is not of course in the original title.

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