Spain's government has faced some difficult issues this year, none more so than one beginning with C. But things could have been very much more difficult for the government (and for most of us), had there been an attack by zombies. The possibility of such an attack and the defence against it was raised in the Senate by one Carles Mulet of the Compromís party in Valencia.
Carles wanted to know what plans there were for a zombie apocalypse. The government wasn't able to provide a swift response. It needed, among other things, to consult the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. According to the dictionary, zombies are "people who are supposed to be dead and are revived by the art of witchcraft in order to dominate their will". Given this definition, the government concluded that there was "doubtful probability of such a circumstance arising".
Carles wasn't overly impressed, but it seemed as if he hadn't really believed Spain was in imminent danger of a zombie attack. He was using it all as a metaphor. Hence: "The government has no plan of action for the zombie apocalypse. Its answer can be interpreted as meaning that the government itself is a zombie apocalypse, a human catastrophe brought about by stupefied and automaton people."
The relocation of Es Trenc
The Balearic government, meantime, was finally completing its legislation for the Es Trenc Nature Park. After many months of delay and endless arguments, the legislation was about to be published on the Official Bulletin when someone spotted an error in the nick of time.
This was just as well. Once on the Official Bulletin, things are official and it takes a lot to make them unofficial. In the case of the nature park, had the mistake not been noticed, Kenya and Ethiopia would now be able to boast having the park. The latitudes and longitudes for the park, as noted in the legislation, were wrong - by some several thousand kilometres.
Some might have in fact thought the park or at least Es Trenc beach had indeed been relocated. The promised chiringuitos, to replace the demolished ones, never appeared, while the sunloungers took an age to see the light of midsummer.
Hunt the tourist
There was a spot of anti-tourism agitation knocking around during the summer, but one of the last places that such sentiment might have been expected to have emerged was Esporles. It doesn't really have vast numbers of tourists. Still, this didn't prevent them coming up with a new game for their "jocs tradicionals" (traditional games) that are played during the summer fiestas.
This was "hunt the guiri", as in foreign tourist. It wasn't xenophobic, the organising committee insisted, just a spot of humour with an ironic touch that took "massification" and holiday rentals as its themes. No offence was meant and none was taken, probably because there weren't any tourists.
Kelvin MacKenzie
Even The Sun decided that enough was enough. Its one-time editor, Kelvin MacKenzie, was sacked because he compared footballer Ross Barkley to a gorilla. Shortly before this (it was something to do with Gibraltar) he had hoped the UK would say goodbye to all Spaniards living in the UK, that there would be a holiday boycott of Spain, that a special tax could be place on Rioja and that the state visit by King Felipe would be ruined. No sense of xenophobia there, then.
The CIA files
Declassified CIA files revealed that Joan March, Franco's banker, had been involved with the sale of Jewish assets. Michael Olian, who was a contrabandist like March, sold the assets of French Jews at reduced prices through an agreement with a Swiss bank in Madrid. Joan March was a beneficiary of this. The CIA had wanted to arrest March but was unable to as Spain was, in their words, "supposedly neutral" and because obstacles were placed in front of American intelligence by "our diplomats".
The files also pointed to Mallorca having been the focus for what in 1947 was felt might have been the imminent resurgence of the Nazi Party.
Josep Ferragut
Josep Ferragut's name crops up quite regularly nowadays, even though he died in 1968. He was the architect responsible, among other things, for the Gesa building in Palma and the Glass Church in Playa de Palma. In June there was a premiere at Bellver Castle for a documentary on his life and death.
Ferragut was a homosexual. He was bludgeoned to death by two men (supposedly rent boys) and his body left on the Bunyola road, a few kilometres from Palma. The two were arrested, held in custody and then released some eighteen months later. The case never went to court.
The truth about his murder will probably never be known. Was he murdered by two male prostitutes or had there been other motives? Ferragut was outspoken against corruption. His ethics frustrated building developments. He referred to "barbarities", such as ones in Puerto Pollensa. He had plenty of enemies.
Showing posts with label Anti-tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anti-tourism. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Saturday, September 30, 2017
British Press Anti-Tourism Falsehoods
It was the Daily Bulletin what did it. Or rather it was readers of the Bulletin website what (who) did it. The Sun, bless it, came up with a report which was headlined thus: "Adios! End of an era as Brits ABANDON Majorca after hundreds of ‘arrogant locals’ demand holidaymakers go home." (Note, by the way, the shouty capitals for abandon.)
This was The Sun picking up on last Saturday's massification demo and spinning it into one of its regular let's-have-a-pop-at-Mallorca stories. There were photos of the demo, which would have been very easily obtained from Twitter, and then there was the report itself about those Brits abandoning Mallorca. As I read it, I began to think hadn't I read much of this somewhere else. I had. The comments in the report, upon which it was mainly based, were lifted straight from reader comments on the website. They had come from three people who had left their remarks. Three people. One of whom had referred to arrogance.
It was cheap stuff on behalf of The Sun (and there was no acknowledgement as to the source; indeed The Bulletin had no idea the comments were being used). That paper, though, is in something of a war with others in the knocking-Mallorca circulation game. We have, for example, The Express with its absurd "anti-tourist riots" that it has been highlighting in recent weeks, when there have been no such thing. Indeed, The Express had virtually the same headline as The Sun regarding the demo and it also used those same limited reader comments in the Bulletin, except it threw in "hate" towards Brits, which was its own pure invention.
This "hate", though, is revealing. It takes us to Brexit and to the stances of papers in the UK. For many Brits, Mallorca is their experience of Europe, and Europe is the hated target for the manic Brexiteers, such as The Sun and The Express.
The demo last Saturday, and this will have escaped both papers, did have legitimate messages. They were about the nature of tourism: of the way in which wealth is or isn't distributed; of employment; of impacts on the environment, on society and on resources. All of which was perfectly valid. There were 3,000 people, most of them young, voicing the type of idealism that the young do.
The problem with the demo, though, was that it just played into the hands of the likes of The Sun. Or maybe this is what its organisers had wanted. The Sun's report, far more so than that in The Express (and thereby probably lies its own tale), was reproduced all over the place and spread across social media, generating a total and utter distortion of the reality of so-called anti-tourism.
This was The Sun picking up on last Saturday's massification demo and spinning it into one of its regular let's-have-a-pop-at-Mallorca stories. There were photos of the demo, which would have been very easily obtained from Twitter, and then there was the report itself about those Brits abandoning Mallorca. As I read it, I began to think hadn't I read much of this somewhere else. I had. The comments in the report, upon which it was mainly based, were lifted straight from reader comments on the website. They had come from three people who had left their remarks. Three people. One of whom had referred to arrogance.
It was cheap stuff on behalf of The Sun (and there was no acknowledgement as to the source; indeed The Bulletin had no idea the comments were being used). That paper, though, is in something of a war with others in the knocking-Mallorca circulation game. We have, for example, The Express with its absurd "anti-tourist riots" that it has been highlighting in recent weeks, when there have been no such thing. Indeed, The Express had virtually the same headline as The Sun regarding the demo and it also used those same limited reader comments in the Bulletin, except it threw in "hate" towards Brits, which was its own pure invention.
This "hate", though, is revealing. It takes us to Brexit and to the stances of papers in the UK. For many Brits, Mallorca is their experience of Europe, and Europe is the hated target for the manic Brexiteers, such as The Sun and The Express.
The demo last Saturday, and this will have escaped both papers, did have legitimate messages. They were about the nature of tourism: of the way in which wealth is or isn't distributed; of employment; of impacts on the environment, on society and on resources. All of which was perfectly valid. There were 3,000 people, most of them young, voicing the type of idealism that the young do.
The problem with the demo, though, was that it just played into the hands of the likes of The Sun. Or maybe this is what its organisers had wanted. The Sun's report, far more so than that in The Express (and thereby probably lies its own tale), was reproduced all over the place and spread across social media, generating a total and utter distortion of the reality of so-called anti-tourism.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Anti-Tourism: Is It All About Palma?
So, they held the demo against so-called tourist "massification" in Palma yesterday. You would expect a major demo - around fifty associations/organisations and perhaps some 5,000 people (in the end more like 3,000) - to be in Palma and not elsewhere. But is all this anti-tourism stuff essentially a Palma-driven thing?
Around and about in Alcudia and Pollensa there is no sense at all of any anti-tourism sentiment. This doesn't mean that people don't have misgivings, but manifestations of this sentiment are absent. There will be at least two groups from the local area taking part this evening - the Alternativa per Pollença party and Moviment Alcudienc - but then everywhere on the island has similar types of political party or local protest organisations. At least with the Alternativa one can say that it has been consistent in its views of over many years, which have been to defend quality of life and the environment, to challenge some at times daft policy and to attack corruption and lack of transparency. The Alternativa was pretty much like Podemos before Podemos was ever heard of.
Most of us can probably point to examples of "massification" or saturation. Cycling in the spring is one such. It causes a whole load of people to get aereated, it does make the roads more difficult, but on balance it is positive. The general level of traffic is another as are the resultant difficulties with parking. This is perhaps most evident in Playa de Muro - Section 2, the part from the bridge to the forest. In years gone by the numbers of parked cars used to only ever reach saturation point on Sundays. Now, there is saturation mostly every day in high summer.
So, there are examples and there will be gripes, but is all this protesting nevertheless mainly a phenomenon that has emanated and is emanating from Palma? That is where the most important politicians gather, it is where half of the island's population live, it is where they have views on things which aren't the same to those in the "part forana".
Alcudia has the odd cruise ship, but so few are they and so low are the overall passenger numbers that they have no impact at all. In Palma, of course, it's a different matter. It might be recalled that it was cruise ships which were a major factor in sparking off all the saturation discussion - saturation of Palma, nowhere else.
The strains being placed on accommodation are a potential source of anti-tourism sentiment. It was no great surprise to learn this week that Pollensa has the highest number of illegal rental places per head of population (as advertised on Airbnb) in the whole of Spain. It was more of a surprise to discover that Alcudia ranks fourth. Those adverts will now of course be fewer. Palma, as in the government, has seen to it that this should be so. By and large I agree with Palma for once. If a proper balance is restored between residential and tourist accommodation, then the government is right. The trouble is of course that the government has gone too far and seriously risks jeopardising tourism and related businesses: far less so in Alcudia because of the hotel capacity, much more so in Pollensa.
And this is the nub of the issue. Whatever Palma thinks, however Palma acts, it can seem blind to the fact that municipalities such as Alcudia and Pollensa are so dependent on tourism. One understands demands for less dependence, for greater economic diversification - and God knows, I've made enough of them myself over the years - but Palma appears to wish to deem, through rhetoric and regulation, what is good to satisfy the ideologies of its politicians but which is prejudicial to other communities.
The demo took place. There were demands for "de-growth" and what have you. But notwithstanding the presence of the Alternativa and the Moviment, it was still Palma's demo, an expression of aloof separatism which is unrecognisable with the realities of our local communities in the north of the island.
Around and about in Alcudia and Pollensa there is no sense at all of any anti-tourism sentiment. This doesn't mean that people don't have misgivings, but manifestations of this sentiment are absent. There will be at least two groups from the local area taking part this evening - the Alternativa per Pollença party and Moviment Alcudienc - but then everywhere on the island has similar types of political party or local protest organisations. At least with the Alternativa one can say that it has been consistent in its views of over many years, which have been to defend quality of life and the environment, to challenge some at times daft policy and to attack corruption and lack of transparency. The Alternativa was pretty much like Podemos before Podemos was ever heard of.
Most of us can probably point to examples of "massification" or saturation. Cycling in the spring is one such. It causes a whole load of people to get aereated, it does make the roads more difficult, but on balance it is positive. The general level of traffic is another as are the resultant difficulties with parking. This is perhaps most evident in Playa de Muro - Section 2, the part from the bridge to the forest. In years gone by the numbers of parked cars used to only ever reach saturation point on Sundays. Now, there is saturation mostly every day in high summer.
So, there are examples and there will be gripes, but is all this protesting nevertheless mainly a phenomenon that has emanated and is emanating from Palma? That is where the most important politicians gather, it is where half of the island's population live, it is where they have views on things which aren't the same to those in the "part forana".
Alcudia has the odd cruise ship, but so few are they and so low are the overall passenger numbers that they have no impact at all. In Palma, of course, it's a different matter. It might be recalled that it was cruise ships which were a major factor in sparking off all the saturation discussion - saturation of Palma, nowhere else.
The strains being placed on accommodation are a potential source of anti-tourism sentiment. It was no great surprise to learn this week that Pollensa has the highest number of illegal rental places per head of population (as advertised on Airbnb) in the whole of Spain. It was more of a surprise to discover that Alcudia ranks fourth. Those adverts will now of course be fewer. Palma, as in the government, has seen to it that this should be so. By and large I agree with Palma for once. If a proper balance is restored between residential and tourist accommodation, then the government is right. The trouble is of course that the government has gone too far and seriously risks jeopardising tourism and related businesses: far less so in Alcudia because of the hotel capacity, much more so in Pollensa.
And this is the nub of the issue. Whatever Palma thinks, however Palma acts, it can seem blind to the fact that municipalities such as Alcudia and Pollensa are so dependent on tourism. One understands demands for less dependence, for greater economic diversification - and God knows, I've made enough of them myself over the years - but Palma appears to wish to deem, through rhetoric and regulation, what is good to satisfy the ideologies of its politicians but which is prejudicial to other communities.
The demo took place. There were demands for "de-growth" and what have you. But notwithstanding the presence of the Alternativa and the Moviment, it was still Palma's demo, an expression of aloof separatism which is unrecognisable with the realities of our local communities in the north of the island.
Friday, August 18, 2017
A Red Carnation For A Tourist
As sure as night follows day, so philia follows phobia. Or should this be the other way round? Yes it should. There was a great deal of philia daylight before phobia darkness set in. And in case anyone had forgotten this, the Magic Costa Blanca hotel chain decided to remind them. On Tuesday, it staged a day of "tourismphilia".
As its name suggests, the chain concentrates on the Costa Blanca - Benidorm, for instance. This is an area of Spain, so the president of the Valencia regional government has been at pains to point out, which hasn't experienced tourismphobia. Ximo Puig, for it is he, has been singled out for praise in making noises different to certain other politicians. There is not one tourist too many in the Valencia region, Ximo has observed. Benidorm is not for phobia. In fact, bring on ever more tourists. There's a lot of all-inclusive awaiting them.
Tuesday, the public holiday for the Assumption, is an emblematic day in the Spanish tourism calendar. Thus explained Magic Costa Blanca's vice-president. It is the absolute height of summer. Around this date, the statisticians in the Balearics will have been poring over figures in preparing themselves to announce the day on which there were more people on the islands than on any other day. The Balearic politicians will hardly be able to contain themselves. How many more were there? Saturation, massification, blah, blah.
In Valencia, on the other hand, they opted - well, Magic Costa Blanca did - to focus on actions to "counteract the stupid campaign" in parts of the country. Javier García, the VP, explained that the hotel chain wanted to tell tourists that Spain wants tourists, that they will be taken care of in their pursuit of happiness. One way that they are able to is at the Middle Ages-themed Magic Robin Hood. Very Spanish, but then Spaniards know him from films.
All staff - from receptionists to waiters, cooks, cleaning staff and management - were handing out red carnations and asking for hugs. It was a way of "sealing friendship" of showing a "special feeling of respect and affection" that tourists always deserve. Friendship: a tourist, a friend as the old motto goes. The red carnation should become a symbol of tourism, García suggested, and good for him. Alcudia holds its tourism day at the end of the month. Will they be handing out red carnations?
In Ibiza, the president of the island's council who is also responsible for tourism, made reference to that old motto the other day. Messages, he said, must be positive. That campaign of friendship can't be forgotten. Vicent Torres added that there isn't tourismphobia in Ibiza. Or at least it hasn't been exhibited, thus contradicting certain elements of the media which suggest that it has been.
Torres added that in order to prevent this phobia, order needs to be created. Ibiza, it has been well reported, has a greater issue with housing than Mallorca. As an island there is only so much capacity. Mallorca is the same, just on a larger scale. The situations are somewhat different in both islands to that of Valencia. The island's president went on to explain that this order should come from a cap on the number of tourist places, and he had illegal holiday rentals firmly in mind. He made an interesting further observation, which was that way back when Gabriel Cañellas (of the Partido Popular) was president of the Balearics there was a move to limit the growth in the number of places. In the all current discussion of limits etc., the left is getting some criticism for wanting limits, when the right - the PP - first established the notion. The PP also referred to this in its 1999 tourism law. Later, when Carlos Delgado was tourism minister, he spoke about the possible need to reduce places.
Just placing limits on tourists won't make the kind of tourismphobia displayed by Arran and their chums disappear. That's because their agenda is much broader and isn't by any means focused only on tourism; they have used tourism for their own political, independence aims. But limits, to me, seem eminently logical. Can there be such a thing as too many tourists? Yes, there can be, and even tourists themselves - as shown from different surveys - think so.
In Valencia they've made a nice gesture. Torres in Ibiza is addressing the issue of tourismphobia in a sensible fashion. But much other reaction has been hysterical, and this includes Madrid. We have the secretary-of-state for tourism (for whom judgement is well and truly being reserved) confirming that the attorney-general is getting involved in pursuing anti-tourism protesters. What do they want to do? Create martyrs? Because that's exactly what the far-left, independence-agitating minor minority craves.
There's something of a summer madness. Keep calm and hand out red carnations.
As its name suggests, the chain concentrates on the Costa Blanca - Benidorm, for instance. This is an area of Spain, so the president of the Valencia regional government has been at pains to point out, which hasn't experienced tourismphobia. Ximo Puig, for it is he, has been singled out for praise in making noises different to certain other politicians. There is not one tourist too many in the Valencia region, Ximo has observed. Benidorm is not for phobia. In fact, bring on ever more tourists. There's a lot of all-inclusive awaiting them.
Tuesday, the public holiday for the Assumption, is an emblematic day in the Spanish tourism calendar. Thus explained Magic Costa Blanca's vice-president. It is the absolute height of summer. Around this date, the statisticians in the Balearics will have been poring over figures in preparing themselves to announce the day on which there were more people on the islands than on any other day. The Balearic politicians will hardly be able to contain themselves. How many more were there? Saturation, massification, blah, blah.
In Valencia, on the other hand, they opted - well, Magic Costa Blanca did - to focus on actions to "counteract the stupid campaign" in parts of the country. Javier García, the VP, explained that the hotel chain wanted to tell tourists that Spain wants tourists, that they will be taken care of in their pursuit of happiness. One way that they are able to is at the Middle Ages-themed Magic Robin Hood. Very Spanish, but then Spaniards know him from films.
All staff - from receptionists to waiters, cooks, cleaning staff and management - were handing out red carnations and asking for hugs. It was a way of "sealing friendship" of showing a "special feeling of respect and affection" that tourists always deserve. Friendship: a tourist, a friend as the old motto goes. The red carnation should become a symbol of tourism, García suggested, and good for him. Alcudia holds its tourism day at the end of the month. Will they be handing out red carnations?
In Ibiza, the president of the island's council who is also responsible for tourism, made reference to that old motto the other day. Messages, he said, must be positive. That campaign of friendship can't be forgotten. Vicent Torres added that there isn't tourismphobia in Ibiza. Or at least it hasn't been exhibited, thus contradicting certain elements of the media which suggest that it has been.
Torres added that in order to prevent this phobia, order needs to be created. Ibiza, it has been well reported, has a greater issue with housing than Mallorca. As an island there is only so much capacity. Mallorca is the same, just on a larger scale. The situations are somewhat different in both islands to that of Valencia. The island's president went on to explain that this order should come from a cap on the number of tourist places, and he had illegal holiday rentals firmly in mind. He made an interesting further observation, which was that way back when Gabriel Cañellas (of the Partido Popular) was president of the Balearics there was a move to limit the growth in the number of places. In the all current discussion of limits etc., the left is getting some criticism for wanting limits, when the right - the PP - first established the notion. The PP also referred to this in its 1999 tourism law. Later, when Carlos Delgado was tourism minister, he spoke about the possible need to reduce places.
Just placing limits on tourists won't make the kind of tourismphobia displayed by Arran and their chums disappear. That's because their agenda is much broader and isn't by any means focused only on tourism; they have used tourism for their own political, independence aims. But limits, to me, seem eminently logical. Can there be such a thing as too many tourists? Yes, there can be, and even tourists themselves - as shown from different surveys - think so.
In Valencia they've made a nice gesture. Torres in Ibiza is addressing the issue of tourismphobia in a sensible fashion. But much other reaction has been hysterical, and this includes Madrid. We have the secretary-of-state for tourism (for whom judgement is well and truly being reserved) confirming that the attorney-general is getting involved in pursuing anti-tourism protesters. What do they want to do? Create martyrs? Because that's exactly what the far-left, independence-agitating minor minority craves.
There's something of a summer madness. Keep calm and hand out red carnations.
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
The 40-Year-Old Prediction Of Anti-Tourism
George Doxey may not be well known but he is important: where tourism is concerned, that is. Doxey was responsible for devising something that came to be known as Irridex. This might sound like treatment for mosquito bites or liquid for cleaning the loo, but it was an index - the irritation index. Forty-two years ago, George Doxey modelled the rise and fall in a society's affiliation with and affection for tourism. His model is probably only now truly being put to the test.
Think what it was like in 1975. Mallorca already had mass tourism, but it wasn't anything like on the scale it now is. Figures from the time show that in the Balearics as a whole there were around 3.6 million tourists per annum. There were 223,000 hotel places. Mallorca had the lion's share of both. By 2016, the number of tourists for the Balearics was up to more than 13 million. In Mallorca alone, the number of hotel places was around the 300,000 mark. The government wants to cap the total of all places in Mallorca at something over 435,000.
The mass has therefore advanced significantly since the time that Doxey was compiling his index. Also in 1975 there were continuing concerns about a downturn. The effect of the 1973 oil crisis took a few years to reverse. Mass had, for the time being, peaked or was being lowered. It was the year that Franco died. While there had been plenty of comment about and worthy research into the harmful impact of "Balearisation", this was not comment of the streets. Two years later, awareness took to the streets for the first time. Democracy had ushered in protest against the voracity of development, and not just for tourism. The Dragonera demos were staged.
Regardless of this nascent protest, the oil crisis had exercised minds. It disrupted the progression that George Doxey had set out. His was a four-stage model of societal attitudes towards tourism development. By 1975 Mallorca was certainly no longer at stage one - euphoria created by the anticipation of tourism benefits and from meaningful contact with tourists on a grander scale than had been the case prior to the "boom" of the sixties. It was probably somewhere between stages two and three. The second step is apathy, with tourism viewed as a source of income and investment. The third is annoyance - misgivings about the tourism industry because of increasing numbers, development and high levels of foreign investment.
Attitudes were modified because of the realisation of the harmful impact of recession on what by then had become the island's principal industry. Such modified attitudes, it can be argued, have prevailed for years. They would certainly have been around during the economic crisis that took hold in 2008.
Now, however, one can witness the presence of Doxey's fourth and final stage. Antagonism is defined as irritations with tourism being expressed verbally and physically. Politeness gives way to this antagonism. Tourists are seen as the cause of the problem. How prophetic Doxey had been.
There is another model, one that is far better known than Doxey's. It deals with the economics of tourism. Richard W. Butler produced his model five years after Doxey had come up with his. It was essentially a variation on the product life cycle model that business was already familiar with. Butler's model can be combined with Doxey's. The fourth stage of antagonism coincides with Butler's fifth stage of stagnation and potential decline. Implicit to Butler's stagnation are the ideas that tourist numbers have reached their peak, that capacity has in fact been exceeded, that tourism creates problems for the environment and society (and possibly also for the economy), that tourist resorts engender a sense of divorce from their realities - residents feel alienated, therefore.
None of this is earth-shattering insofar as Butler (Doxey less so) is tourism studies 101. Anyone who has ever taken a tourism course knows about Butler. Anyone in tourism industry management knows about him. Anyone in tourism government should know about him. The caveat of "should" is key. Butler and Doxey require the strategic management of tourism. Governments have singularly failed to do this. All the theory was established decades ago. Only now are governments waking up to the practical consequences.
The economic crisis, like the oil crisis of the seventies, was a blip. As it abated and the mass of tourism grew in comparative terms like never before, Doxey's antagonism began to kick in. One can chastise the Balearic government for its handling of tourism policy, but underlying this is (or seems to be) an appreciation of both Butler and Doxey. In order to prevent decline, there needs to be rejuvenation, even if this means a downward correction in the numbers of tourists. Magalluf, it might be said, is a stuttering attempt at this. Managing antagonism, however, is a different matter altogether.
Think what it was like in 1975. Mallorca already had mass tourism, but it wasn't anything like on the scale it now is. Figures from the time show that in the Balearics as a whole there were around 3.6 million tourists per annum. There were 223,000 hotel places. Mallorca had the lion's share of both. By 2016, the number of tourists for the Balearics was up to more than 13 million. In Mallorca alone, the number of hotel places was around the 300,000 mark. The government wants to cap the total of all places in Mallorca at something over 435,000.
The mass has therefore advanced significantly since the time that Doxey was compiling his index. Also in 1975 there were continuing concerns about a downturn. The effect of the 1973 oil crisis took a few years to reverse. Mass had, for the time being, peaked or was being lowered. It was the year that Franco died. While there had been plenty of comment about and worthy research into the harmful impact of "Balearisation", this was not comment of the streets. Two years later, awareness took to the streets for the first time. Democracy had ushered in protest against the voracity of development, and not just for tourism. The Dragonera demos were staged.
Regardless of this nascent protest, the oil crisis had exercised minds. It disrupted the progression that George Doxey had set out. His was a four-stage model of societal attitudes towards tourism development. By 1975 Mallorca was certainly no longer at stage one - euphoria created by the anticipation of tourism benefits and from meaningful contact with tourists on a grander scale than had been the case prior to the "boom" of the sixties. It was probably somewhere between stages two and three. The second step is apathy, with tourism viewed as a source of income and investment. The third is annoyance - misgivings about the tourism industry because of increasing numbers, development and high levels of foreign investment.
Attitudes were modified because of the realisation of the harmful impact of recession on what by then had become the island's principal industry. Such modified attitudes, it can be argued, have prevailed for years. They would certainly have been around during the economic crisis that took hold in 2008.
Now, however, one can witness the presence of Doxey's fourth and final stage. Antagonism is defined as irritations with tourism being expressed verbally and physically. Politeness gives way to this antagonism. Tourists are seen as the cause of the problem. How prophetic Doxey had been.
There is another model, one that is far better known than Doxey's. It deals with the economics of tourism. Richard W. Butler produced his model five years after Doxey had come up with his. It was essentially a variation on the product life cycle model that business was already familiar with. Butler's model can be combined with Doxey's. The fourth stage of antagonism coincides with Butler's fifth stage of stagnation and potential decline. Implicit to Butler's stagnation are the ideas that tourist numbers have reached their peak, that capacity has in fact been exceeded, that tourism creates problems for the environment and society (and possibly also for the economy), that tourist resorts engender a sense of divorce from their realities - residents feel alienated, therefore.
None of this is earth-shattering insofar as Butler (Doxey less so) is tourism studies 101. Anyone who has ever taken a tourism course knows about Butler. Anyone in tourism industry management knows about him. Anyone in tourism government should know about him. The caveat of "should" is key. Butler and Doxey require the strategic management of tourism. Governments have singularly failed to do this. All the theory was established decades ago. Only now are governments waking up to the practical consequences.
The economic crisis, like the oil crisis of the seventies, was a blip. As it abated and the mass of tourism grew in comparative terms like never before, Doxey's antagonism began to kick in. One can chastise the Balearic government for its handling of tourism policy, but underlying this is (or seems to be) an appreciation of both Butler and Doxey. In order to prevent decline, there needs to be rejuvenation, even if this means a downward correction in the numbers of tourists. Magalluf, it might be said, is a stuttering attempt at this. Managing antagonism, however, is a different matter altogether.
Friday, August 11, 2017
What Is The Real Shock For Tourism?
Now that they've gone and done it there is almost a sense of shock. It's the immensity which can seem shocking, but do 30,000 illegal tourist rental apartments constitute immensity? This is the number that the tourism ministry reckons that there are in Mallorca.
If one assumes that these 30,000 apartments can accommodate four people, they represent 120,000 places. Another figure that the ministry has been desperate to let us know is the limit that there is to be on all (legal) tourist places on the island: 435,707 (isn't such precision a thing of wonder). The illegal apartment places therefore equate to more than a quarter of this legal figure. Or put another way, they are 25% more than there should be. Immense? I leave that to your own judgement.
More than shock, there is a sense of bewilderment. There is also, inevitably, confusion. The most bewildered are the unfortunate tourists who have booked apartments. There is no best time to introduce legislation, but the rentals' law has come in at the height of summer. People are naturally concerned that they may lose their holidays.
The Aptur holiday rentals association has issued advice to remove all illegal apartments from websites. The threat of fines will exercise many a mind. There will be owners who, to put it crudely, will be bricking it. There are of course those who argue that fines of up to forty grand won't get paid because of legal challenges and even lobbying of Brussels. Perhaps. But who is going to risk that the fines don't stick? Besides, it's not as if there weren't already fines; only that the level has been bumped up.
In isolation, the enforcement of the rentals' law wouldn't be particularly shocking. We have after all known for months that it was coming. But this enforcement isn't in isolation. The timing may be bad for poor tourists worrying about their reservations, but the law has come in against the timing of other events.
The president of the federation of travel agencies associations has described the anti-tourism protests as fascistic. The Fomento del Turismo (Mallorca Tourist Board) hasn't used the word fascist, but it has alluded to it. It has written an open letter to Arran in which it compares their protest actions (and the protests of others) to the "great tragedies of the twentieth century". The greatest of those tragedies was fascism.
The protests haven't of course gone unnoticed abroad. Abta and the European Tourism Association (the leading association for tour operators) have both commented. The foreign media have picked up on them. In Spain, they have become an issue for Congress. The Exceltur organisation is calling for an urgent meeting of the Spanish Tourism Council. And while Palma and Barcelona have been at the epicentre, San Sebastian in the Basque Country finds itself embroiled as well. Graffiti was daubed on the Basque Tourism Agency's building on Wednesday.
It could prove to be the case that this is all a flash in the pan, but the protests have an air of coordination. They aren't unique to Mallorca or Spain, but it is here where the focus is centred. It is here where the protests are becoming a matter for the state to get a grip on. The haven of safety away from terrorism in parts of the Mediterranean can appear to be less of a haven. It's terrorism without the violence, though concerns are being expressed about an escalation.
We have other issues, such as the passport-control queues, though these seem to now be being dealt with: passengers are whizzing through. Another is price. This isn't something that has suddenly emerged, given that the prices of holidays have been going up and indeed went up sharply this year. But for some tourists who are now looking ahead to 2018, there is a suddenness. Prices seem to be going through the roof.
Anecdotes on social media about giving Mallorca a miss because of the prices hardly constitute scientific research, but there are anecdotes from people who have been loyal to the island for years and years. They are looking at alternatives. At some point, the anecdotes might actually represent a critical and proven mass.
So ironically, all the fears about mass - tourism, that is - could be dealt with by the operation of the free market, the very market under attack from the protesters for having created saturation. Moreover, so it is being argued, the elimination of the illegal places could push hotel prices up even higher.
We can get wrapped up in all the agonising about a few idiots who are going around putting stickers with anti-tourism messages on hire cars, when in fact the real shock is to be seen on websites. Not adverts for holiday rentals hurriedly being deleted, but prices for holidays. Concern? Not for the government, as it will be hailing the limits on tourist numbers.
If one assumes that these 30,000 apartments can accommodate four people, they represent 120,000 places. Another figure that the ministry has been desperate to let us know is the limit that there is to be on all (legal) tourist places on the island: 435,707 (isn't such precision a thing of wonder). The illegal apartment places therefore equate to more than a quarter of this legal figure. Or put another way, they are 25% more than there should be. Immense? I leave that to your own judgement.
More than shock, there is a sense of bewilderment. There is also, inevitably, confusion. The most bewildered are the unfortunate tourists who have booked apartments. There is no best time to introduce legislation, but the rentals' law has come in at the height of summer. People are naturally concerned that they may lose their holidays.
The Aptur holiday rentals association has issued advice to remove all illegal apartments from websites. The threat of fines will exercise many a mind. There will be owners who, to put it crudely, will be bricking it. There are of course those who argue that fines of up to forty grand won't get paid because of legal challenges and even lobbying of Brussels. Perhaps. But who is going to risk that the fines don't stick? Besides, it's not as if there weren't already fines; only that the level has been bumped up.
In isolation, the enforcement of the rentals' law wouldn't be particularly shocking. We have after all known for months that it was coming. But this enforcement isn't in isolation. The timing may be bad for poor tourists worrying about their reservations, but the law has come in against the timing of other events.
The president of the federation of travel agencies associations has described the anti-tourism protests as fascistic. The Fomento del Turismo (Mallorca Tourist Board) hasn't used the word fascist, but it has alluded to it. It has written an open letter to Arran in which it compares their protest actions (and the protests of others) to the "great tragedies of the twentieth century". The greatest of those tragedies was fascism.
The protests haven't of course gone unnoticed abroad. Abta and the European Tourism Association (the leading association for tour operators) have both commented. The foreign media have picked up on them. In Spain, they have become an issue for Congress. The Exceltur organisation is calling for an urgent meeting of the Spanish Tourism Council. And while Palma and Barcelona have been at the epicentre, San Sebastian in the Basque Country finds itself embroiled as well. Graffiti was daubed on the Basque Tourism Agency's building on Wednesday.
It could prove to be the case that this is all a flash in the pan, but the protests have an air of coordination. They aren't unique to Mallorca or Spain, but it is here where the focus is centred. It is here where the protests are becoming a matter for the state to get a grip on. The haven of safety away from terrorism in parts of the Mediterranean can appear to be less of a haven. It's terrorism without the violence, though concerns are being expressed about an escalation.
We have other issues, such as the passport-control queues, though these seem to now be being dealt with: passengers are whizzing through. Another is price. This isn't something that has suddenly emerged, given that the prices of holidays have been going up and indeed went up sharply this year. But for some tourists who are now looking ahead to 2018, there is a suddenness. Prices seem to be going through the roof.
Anecdotes on social media about giving Mallorca a miss because of the prices hardly constitute scientific research, but there are anecdotes from people who have been loyal to the island for years and years. They are looking at alternatives. At some point, the anecdotes might actually represent a critical and proven mass.
So ironically, all the fears about mass - tourism, that is - could be dealt with by the operation of the free market, the very market under attack from the protesters for having created saturation. Moreover, so it is being argued, the elimination of the illegal places could push hotel prices up even higher.
We can get wrapped up in all the agonising about a few idiots who are going around putting stickers with anti-tourism messages on hire cars, when in fact the real shock is to be seen on websites. Not adverts for holiday rentals hurriedly being deleted, but prices for holidays. Concern? Not for the government, as it will be hailing the limits on tourist numbers.
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
The Independence Of Anti-Tourism
It is perhaps easy to over-exaggerate the anti-tourism actions of Arran. Elements of the UK media - there's a surprise - have done so by their traditional resort to hyperbole. The Palma "attack" provided useful images to support the headlines. Without the flares and the smoke, those images would not have had the same impact. A great deal of "terror" can be spread with the odd flare.
Arran, it is understood, have some 500 members in total. Thirteen of these are said to be in Mallorca. Thirteen. Hardly what you would call, to borrow a current buzzword, "massification". The group denies that it is some sort of youth wing of the Candidatura de Unidad Popular (CUP), the far-left Catalonian political party. It is part of a broader left-wing independence movement. This hasn't stopped the CUP paying fines that Arran members have incurred.
Small the numbers are, but size doesn't matter if you get the publicity right: it's all about the flares. What must have narked Arran was the fact that it initially didn't get any. Despite José Hila having said that the town hall was unaware of what took place on 22 July, one finds that hard to believe. Whether it was aware or unaware, there was a gap of more than a week before the images of the flares flared up. Arran made sure of that.
The delay may have been strategic. The release of the images were on the back of news about incidents in Barcelona. For Arran, for the CUP and others within this independence movement, the Palma restaurant attack was evidence of fraternal and coordinated promotion of independence for the Catalan Lands. The flares of Palma extended a hand of warm greeting across the Mediterranean Sea to the brotherhood in Catalonia.
The anti-tourism protests cannot, therefore, be divorced from the politics of the radical, independence-agitating left-wing. Hila, and how some might now wish he was still mayor, has been the only politician from the left to recognise the Palma incident for what it was: an act of opportunism, the framework for which was the theme of the moment - tourism saturation. Hila, careful not to be seen to be critical of partners at the town hall, also said that there needed to be strong condemnatory statements. One took this as meaning that it wasn't for him, having recently relinquished the post as mayor, to issue such statements. Eventually, his successor, Antoni Noguera, said that 22 July was "reprehensible".
But Noguera and also the tourism minister Biel Barceló (both from the same party, Més) couched whatever condemnation they were willing to display with modification. Barceló shares concerns about saturation and massification, even if the type of protest is not the way to demonstrate these concerns.
Herein, however, lies much of the rub. The political narrative of saturation that has existed over the past couple of years in Palma and Barcelona has proved to be fertile ground for unrest. Arran have merely further politicised the already political. The tardiness of response to events in both cities speaks to political sympathy for the views if not the actions of the radical left. Barcelona's mayor, Ada Colau, eventually issued a condemnation. It appeared as though it almost had to be coaxed out of her.
Over the past twenty-four months or so since new, left-wing administrations emerged in Barcelona, in Palma and at the regional Balearic government, the narrative has advanced significantly. So also have the legislative tools for supporting this. It needs remembering that when Més came into government in 2015, the party was intent on reforming rentals' legislation that had made legal apartment holiday rentals impossible. Like PSOE, Més had been critical of the previous Partido Popular government because of its hostility towards apartment rentals and its unwillingness to countenance more liberal regulation. Més, in "anti" terms, had the hoteliers in their sights.
In Barcelona, the saturation theme pre-dated the elections. After the elections, though, issues in Barcelona transferred themselves to Palma and to Mallorca. Airbnb was top of the list. The narrative and the consequent legislation have therefore moved to a situation where housing, employment, the environment, the whole concept of sustainability, coexistence between tourist and resident have converged. The Balearic legislation wasn't initially going to be as complex or as restrictive as it has turned out to be. Barceló and others were caught out by Airbnb and the political arguments emanating from Barcelona.
To all this are now added the demands for independence plus a smattering of anarchy. In Catalonia these demands are real ones. In Mallorca they are a pipedream of some on the left. But this independence desire has ratcheted up the narrative surrounding tourism. It is this which Arran are tapping into. One can over-exaggerate what happened because of the lack of independence sentiment, but a tourismphobia, promoted however unwittingly by some of Mallorca's politicians, is less exaggerated. "We are all tourists," Barceló says in defence. Yes, and so also, strangely enough, do Arran.
Arran, it is understood, have some 500 members in total. Thirteen of these are said to be in Mallorca. Thirteen. Hardly what you would call, to borrow a current buzzword, "massification". The group denies that it is some sort of youth wing of the Candidatura de Unidad Popular (CUP), the far-left Catalonian political party. It is part of a broader left-wing independence movement. This hasn't stopped the CUP paying fines that Arran members have incurred.
Small the numbers are, but size doesn't matter if you get the publicity right: it's all about the flares. What must have narked Arran was the fact that it initially didn't get any. Despite José Hila having said that the town hall was unaware of what took place on 22 July, one finds that hard to believe. Whether it was aware or unaware, there was a gap of more than a week before the images of the flares flared up. Arran made sure of that.
The delay may have been strategic. The release of the images were on the back of news about incidents in Barcelona. For Arran, for the CUP and others within this independence movement, the Palma restaurant attack was evidence of fraternal and coordinated promotion of independence for the Catalan Lands. The flares of Palma extended a hand of warm greeting across the Mediterranean Sea to the brotherhood in Catalonia.
The anti-tourism protests cannot, therefore, be divorced from the politics of the radical, independence-agitating left-wing. Hila, and how some might now wish he was still mayor, has been the only politician from the left to recognise the Palma incident for what it was: an act of opportunism, the framework for which was the theme of the moment - tourism saturation. Hila, careful not to be seen to be critical of partners at the town hall, also said that there needed to be strong condemnatory statements. One took this as meaning that it wasn't for him, having recently relinquished the post as mayor, to issue such statements. Eventually, his successor, Antoni Noguera, said that 22 July was "reprehensible".
But Noguera and also the tourism minister Biel Barceló (both from the same party, Més) couched whatever condemnation they were willing to display with modification. Barceló shares concerns about saturation and massification, even if the type of protest is not the way to demonstrate these concerns.
Herein, however, lies much of the rub. The political narrative of saturation that has existed over the past couple of years in Palma and Barcelona has proved to be fertile ground for unrest. Arran have merely further politicised the already political. The tardiness of response to events in both cities speaks to political sympathy for the views if not the actions of the radical left. Barcelona's mayor, Ada Colau, eventually issued a condemnation. It appeared as though it almost had to be coaxed out of her.
Over the past twenty-four months or so since new, left-wing administrations emerged in Barcelona, in Palma and at the regional Balearic government, the narrative has advanced significantly. So also have the legislative tools for supporting this. It needs remembering that when Més came into government in 2015, the party was intent on reforming rentals' legislation that had made legal apartment holiday rentals impossible. Like PSOE, Més had been critical of the previous Partido Popular government because of its hostility towards apartment rentals and its unwillingness to countenance more liberal regulation. Més, in "anti" terms, had the hoteliers in their sights.
In Barcelona, the saturation theme pre-dated the elections. After the elections, though, issues in Barcelona transferred themselves to Palma and to Mallorca. Airbnb was top of the list. The narrative and the consequent legislation have therefore moved to a situation where housing, employment, the environment, the whole concept of sustainability, coexistence between tourist and resident have converged. The Balearic legislation wasn't initially going to be as complex or as restrictive as it has turned out to be. Barceló and others were caught out by Airbnb and the political arguments emanating from Barcelona.
To all this are now added the demands for independence plus a smattering of anarchy. In Catalonia these demands are real ones. In Mallorca they are a pipedream of some on the left. But this independence desire has ratcheted up the narrative surrounding tourism. It is this which Arran are tapping into. One can over-exaggerate what happened because of the lack of independence sentiment, but a tourismphobia, promoted however unwittingly by some of Mallorca's politicians, is less exaggerated. "We are all tourists," Barceló says in defence. Yes, and so also, strangely enough, do Arran.
Friday, August 04, 2017
Condemn The Silence: Anti-Tourist Attacks
So, where exactly were certain politicians and associations on Wednesday? The news had broken on Tuesday about the Arran anti-tourist attack in Palma on 22 July, but the response was silence. During Wednesday morning I trawled through Twitter and the accounts of Biel Barceló; David Abril (one of the most prominent tourism spokespeople in Més); Més itself; Podemos; Aurora Jhardi of Podemos in Palma; Antoni Noguera, the mayor of Palma; GOB; Terraferida. Not one single mention. When the government finally put up the director-general of tourism, Pilar Carbonell, to make an utterance, she was hardly enraged. Yes, the government rejected the attack, but to then witter on about the need for social and economic balance (which the government is seeking) really didn't cut it.
Was everyone on holiday? Well, Barceló wasn't. He was in the midst of a media interview. Snatches of this appeared on his Twitter account. The holiday rentals' bill will bring guarantees for all those involved; the island councils have been given time for rentals' zoning; the number of tourist places will be controlled ... . Blah, blah, blah. How many more times does he need to say this? Meanwhile, where Arran were concerned, zilch.
Another question that needs asking is: why was this attack with confetti and flares on a restaurant in Palma not mentioned before? It only came to light because Arran made it come to light. More than a week had elapsed. Did no one know about it? The police certainly did, as also did the restaurant manager, various restaurant guests, and undoubtedly a whole host of others, including the owners of boats that were also affected. Palma's Moll Vell is hardly a quiet little backwater.
One has to assume that the town hall was aware of what happened. Was it silent because it didn't wish to draw attention, fearing harm to Palma's tourist image? That is possible, but once it was known about, there needed to be a swift and stern response. There wasn't.
Barcelona town hall had been likewise reticent with regard to the Arran attack on a sightseeing bus. Stung by critical media comment and another attack - the slashing of the tyres of bikes for tourist hire - it suddenly sprang into life, announcing "zero tolerance". Meanwhile in Palma.
Arran are a very, very minority group. Previously, they have been known for attacks against the monarchy, such as the burning of a photo of the King in Palma last December. They have now latched on, in opportunist fashion, to tourism. They are seeking publicity, quite obviously so. They can be ignored for being juvenile irritant idiots, but publicity-seeking by small minorities has the potential of assuming greater significance. Arran's interventions have meant an escalation of so-called "tourismphobia". They as an organisation may be rejected by virtually everyone, but that doesn't make them or the sentiment go away. The failure of the town hall and government (and others) to have issued a forceful condemnation on Wednesday merits as much condemnation as the attack itself.
In business, they refer to crisis management and the process of communications for dealing with PR disasters. The government and the town hall have no such process. Arran can be exaggerated and will be exaggerated, but this doesn't mean silence. It means dealing with negative PR. Questions must be asked of the lamentable lack of crisis management, and these questions become even more pressing as other regional governments - Andalusia, Madrid, Valencia - have all had their say about events. So, why not President Armengol or Vice-President (and tourism minister) Barceló?
Was everyone on holiday? Well, Barceló wasn't. He was in the midst of a media interview. Snatches of this appeared on his Twitter account. The holiday rentals' bill will bring guarantees for all those involved; the island councils have been given time for rentals' zoning; the number of tourist places will be controlled ... . Blah, blah, blah. How many more times does he need to say this? Meanwhile, where Arran were concerned, zilch.
Another question that needs asking is: why was this attack with confetti and flares on a restaurant in Palma not mentioned before? It only came to light because Arran made it come to light. More than a week had elapsed. Did no one know about it? The police certainly did, as also did the restaurant manager, various restaurant guests, and undoubtedly a whole host of others, including the owners of boats that were also affected. Palma's Moll Vell is hardly a quiet little backwater.
One has to assume that the town hall was aware of what happened. Was it silent because it didn't wish to draw attention, fearing harm to Palma's tourist image? That is possible, but once it was known about, there needed to be a swift and stern response. There wasn't.
Barcelona town hall had been likewise reticent with regard to the Arran attack on a sightseeing bus. Stung by critical media comment and another attack - the slashing of the tyres of bikes for tourist hire - it suddenly sprang into life, announcing "zero tolerance". Meanwhile in Palma.
Arran are a very, very minority group. Previously, they have been known for attacks against the monarchy, such as the burning of a photo of the King in Palma last December. They have now latched on, in opportunist fashion, to tourism. They are seeking publicity, quite obviously so. They can be ignored for being juvenile irritant idiots, but publicity-seeking by small minorities has the potential of assuming greater significance. Arran's interventions have meant an escalation of so-called "tourismphobia". They as an organisation may be rejected by virtually everyone, but that doesn't make them or the sentiment go away. The failure of the town hall and government (and others) to have issued a forceful condemnation on Wednesday merits as much condemnation as the attack itself.
In business, they refer to crisis management and the process of communications for dealing with PR disasters. The government and the town hall have no such process. Arran can be exaggerated and will be exaggerated, but this doesn't mean silence. It means dealing with negative PR. Questions must be asked of the lamentable lack of crisis management, and these questions become even more pressing as other regional governments - Andalusia, Madrid, Valencia - have all had their say about events. So, why not President Armengol or Vice-President (and tourism minister) Barceló?
Friday, May 26, 2017
Size Doesn't Matter: Protests
How much sand, do you suppose, is there in the Sahara? It's not that, following yesterday's piece, I have made sand the theme of the moment, it's just that it has become the subject of protest. Saharan sand has been imported to Mallorca, several thousand tonnes of it, and there are some people who object.
It's why one asks how much sand there actually is in the whole of the desert. Don't reply that there's lots, because I think we can all figure that out for ourselves. I have asked Mr. Google, who hasn't proved to be terribly helpful. Someone has calculated that there are eight octillion grains of sand, but I'm afraid eight octillion doesn't register - not with me anyway - and more to the point this doesn't give tonnage. If someone else can come up with an average weight for a grain of sand and multiply it by eight octillion, then I guess we have the answer. Or possibly not.
One would suppose that shifting some tonnes of sand and depositing them somewhere else wouldn't make a great deal of difference to the overall Saharan sand volume. There again, if everyone was doing this, the sand would eventually disappear. On balance, therefore, it probably isn't such a sensible idea. Moreover, the protesters, the friends of the Saharan people, say that the sand is being stolen; the desert is being plundered. There is perhaps something a tad objectionable to someone else's sand being acquired when Mallorca has a fair amount of it as it is. This said, if a crane with a scooping device rocked up on Es Trenc beach, there'd be hell to pay.
The sand, as such, isn't what concerns me here. It is the protest that does. Some fifty odd people turned out at the dockside in Palma to express their anger. Among them were some usual suspect politicians - the environment minister and Més and Podemos sorts from the town hall. The coverage and attention given to a) the shipping of the sand and b) its unloading and the protest have elevated the affair to the status of a cause célèbre; at least where some are concerned. But other than the protesters, how many people in Mallorca do you suppose are particularly bothered? The answer is as impossible or as vague as with the question about how much sand there is in the Sahara, except that it would be the opposite. Not many, one would guess, as opposed to lots.
Protests, always allowing for the permission that is given for them or not, obviously vary in terms of scale. The largest ever staged in Mallorca was the one against the Bauzá government's trilingual (TIL) teaching project. It was a subject in which the whole island had an interest and on which it had an opinion. Education, one can conclude, is of greater importance than sand. The coverage given to that particular protest was entirely proportionate. The coverage for the sand import seems disproportionate, based on the strength of feeling.
Which isn't to say that the protest was invalid. Even a small protest can raise awareness that would otherwise not exist, so I fully defend its purpose. The issue is, though, that protests, and the publicity given to them, can over-exaggerate the cause and also the amount of support that there is for a cause.
There was a different type of protest in Palma last weekend. This one involved around 200 people. Dressed as tourists, they were protesting against so-called tourist colonialism and in particular the increasing number of apartments that are used for holiday rental purposes. This attracted a fair amount of coverage as well, but was this coverage disproportionate given the numbers?
In one respect it wasn't. That's because the whole issue of holiday rentals has genuinely become a cause célèbre. But how representative of attitudes was the protest? A small number of people have the power to blow something up out of all proportion. There were plenty of reactions to the protest which suggested just that. On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence which indicates how much concern there is about the impact of holiday rentals, and it certainly isn't confined to politicians. There may have only been 200, but the groundswell of support, you can be certain, is a great deal stronger.
It was interesting to note that a similar protest last September didn't register with the established media. An anti-tourist route was followed, but there was barely a mention of it. It's not as if "saturation" wasn't a major issue last summer, but since then there has been a constant bombardment. It never lets up.
The scale of a protest doesn't in itself give an accurate reflection of how widespread (or not) attitudes are. The TIL one probably did. In reverse, the Sahara sand protest may also have been fairly accurate. The 200 in Palma? I don't think so.
It's why one asks how much sand there actually is in the whole of the desert. Don't reply that there's lots, because I think we can all figure that out for ourselves. I have asked Mr. Google, who hasn't proved to be terribly helpful. Someone has calculated that there are eight octillion grains of sand, but I'm afraid eight octillion doesn't register - not with me anyway - and more to the point this doesn't give tonnage. If someone else can come up with an average weight for a grain of sand and multiply it by eight octillion, then I guess we have the answer. Or possibly not.
One would suppose that shifting some tonnes of sand and depositing them somewhere else wouldn't make a great deal of difference to the overall Saharan sand volume. There again, if everyone was doing this, the sand would eventually disappear. On balance, therefore, it probably isn't such a sensible idea. Moreover, the protesters, the friends of the Saharan people, say that the sand is being stolen; the desert is being plundered. There is perhaps something a tad objectionable to someone else's sand being acquired when Mallorca has a fair amount of it as it is. This said, if a crane with a scooping device rocked up on Es Trenc beach, there'd be hell to pay.
The sand, as such, isn't what concerns me here. It is the protest that does. Some fifty odd people turned out at the dockside in Palma to express their anger. Among them were some usual suspect politicians - the environment minister and Més and Podemos sorts from the town hall. The coverage and attention given to a) the shipping of the sand and b) its unloading and the protest have elevated the affair to the status of a cause célèbre; at least where some are concerned. But other than the protesters, how many people in Mallorca do you suppose are particularly bothered? The answer is as impossible or as vague as with the question about how much sand there is in the Sahara, except that it would be the opposite. Not many, one would guess, as opposed to lots.
Protests, always allowing for the permission that is given for them or not, obviously vary in terms of scale. The largest ever staged in Mallorca was the one against the Bauzá government's trilingual (TIL) teaching project. It was a subject in which the whole island had an interest and on which it had an opinion. Education, one can conclude, is of greater importance than sand. The coverage given to that particular protest was entirely proportionate. The coverage for the sand import seems disproportionate, based on the strength of feeling.
Which isn't to say that the protest was invalid. Even a small protest can raise awareness that would otherwise not exist, so I fully defend its purpose. The issue is, though, that protests, and the publicity given to them, can over-exaggerate the cause and also the amount of support that there is for a cause.
There was a different type of protest in Palma last weekend. This one involved around 200 people. Dressed as tourists, they were protesting against so-called tourist colonialism and in particular the increasing number of apartments that are used for holiday rental purposes. This attracted a fair amount of coverage as well, but was this coverage disproportionate given the numbers?
In one respect it wasn't. That's because the whole issue of holiday rentals has genuinely become a cause célèbre. But how representative of attitudes was the protest? A small number of people have the power to blow something up out of all proportion. There were plenty of reactions to the protest which suggested just that. On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence which indicates how much concern there is about the impact of holiday rentals, and it certainly isn't confined to politicians. There may have only been 200, but the groundswell of support, you can be certain, is a great deal stronger.
It was interesting to note that a similar protest last September didn't register with the established media. An anti-tourist route was followed, but there was barely a mention of it. It's not as if "saturation" wasn't a major issue last summer, but since then there has been a constant bombardment. It never lets up.
The scale of a protest doesn't in itself give an accurate reflection of how widespread (or not) attitudes are. The TIL one probably did. In reverse, the Sahara sand protest may also have been fairly accurate. The 200 in Palma? I don't think so.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Anarchists Say No To Cruises
And what might these "incentives" be? Pilar couldn't say, and besides they wouldn't be available until 2018 at the earliest, as schedules have already been firmed up for next year at least. Whatever they might be, Pilar wants to avoid there being repeats of situations where eight ships arrive at the same time. But wasn't it a midweek day when there was all that fuss about the number of ships in May? And is it my imagination, or are Sundays often quite light when it comes to ships? Still, if the government can ensure there are no ships at the weekend, then no one needs worry any longer about whether the shops are open or not.
The cruise thousands who may or may not descend on the capital this coming Friday and Saturday had better take note and ensure that they avoid the Plaça del Pes de la Palla. Which is where precisely? Near to the Sant Francesc basilica, that's where, and so not far from the Cathedral. And why should they avoid this square? Anarchists, that's why.
During last week there was an announcement of two days of whatever taking place in the square. Anarchists, left-wingers and environmental organisations will be having what appear to be conferences under the theme of, more or less, the city is for those who live there, not for those who visit it.
Tourism is a scourge, suggest the anarchists, and they seem to reserve particular contempt for the "invasion" by Nordic countries, some sort of current-day Viking re-enactment that is leading to the Nordics buying up all available property.
So, cruise passengers beware, especially those from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and presumably also Finland. Don't venture to that particular square or indeed to other parts of the city that will be part of an "anti-tourist route".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
