Big Night Out

While much of the bad-season attention has been paid to bars, restaurants, shops and hotels, one other sector of the tourism economy has not escaped the downturn, and that is "excursions". According to "The Diario", there has been a fall of around 20% in take-up across the islands. One of the greatest falls has been registered with evening excursions - a decade ago these numbered a million and a half; now they are as low as 300,000. The one excursion type that is escaping the worst is that to the waterparks with only a moderate decline. From these numbers, one has to assume that the likes of Pirates and Son Amar are not enjoying the best of times. The cut in the number of excursions is despite the fact that there is a reduced number of rental cars available.

Excursions differ of course, but an evening out can work out as being quite pricey if the whole family goes - 200 euros for a family of four to Pirates, for instance. However, it is not unfamiliar to read on forums that, while they may forego other expenditure, tourists reserve something for excursions. Like the evidence as to only one meal out per day becoming the norm, as opposed to two or three, maybe just one excursion is being taken whereas two or three may have been in the past.

If not excursions, do the towns and resorts themselves offer an alternative in terms of entertainment? An obvious answer is that the hotels are now far more active in their entertainment offers, but during the summer there are also the fiestas and other events provided by the towns. During August, for example, Alcúdia has what at first sight seems like an impressive list of events. Apart from ball de bot in the port, they are all in the old town, the old town to which only relatively small numbers of tourists go in the evenings. This said, there is little that might qualify as fun for all the family. Jazz, theatre in Catalan, the Moscow Ballet performing Swan Lake; all worthy, but unlikely to drag Joe and Joan tourist and the kids up from Bellevue.

And while on fiestas, that of Can Picafort is now under way. It really starts to get going this coming weekend, the night party having been shifted from the football stadium to the town centre. On the 15th is what is one of the most spectacular of all the firework displays, and earlier on that day is the potty duck do, the one where they liberate not real ducks but rubber ones. Despite the animal welfare-correctness lobby having got its way and boosted the sales of rubber ducks, the publicity material for this year's event uses the image of a very real duck. Can they do that? What about the duck's welfare?

Information on Can Picafort and also the Alcúdia events is on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com


A reduction of a different sort. The numbers coming to Mallorca because they have cancelled as a consequence of the Palmanova bombing. Crazy, but never underestimate the power of hysteria. Or perhaps not. The number of cancellations has trebled, while there has been a fall of 15% in last-minute reservations. At least that is what the organisation of hotel chains is saying. The regional government, for its part, is insisting that there have been only 15 cancellations in Magalluf and Palmanova, while the president of the hotel association in those two resorts is saying that practically no cancellations have been made.There is to be a meeting of tourism authorities to put in place a campaign that shows security and normality and tourists enjoying beaches and hotels. It shouldn't be necessary, but the British and German press is being accused of questioning Mallorca's security, and it has been the media that has created whatever hysteria there may have been. It is reassuring that tourists see through the sensationalism, if one takes the government and the Palmanova hoteliers view of things. But everything is normal. There is no threat. Nothing. It was one unfortunate incident. I've held off saying it because it may sound disrespectful or glib, but it was no big deal. Get over it.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Elvis, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q04_ClDxRsk. Today's title - who had a big night out?

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