And lo it came to pass that Alfonso took miscreant hoteliers, bar owners and the Children of Albion to the Mount of Magalluf (sometimes referred to as the Hill). There was thunder, for Alfonso was in a thunderous mood. Although the Great God of Magalluf was otherwise detained at his majesty's pleasure, facing Lord knows how many charges, other gods (of greater virtue) gathered on the Mount and spake unto the assembled masses. While the hoteliers and bar owners were vaguely afeared (not much in truth), the Children of Albion were not in the least bit afeared. Nor did they hear the words that the gods spake unto them.
Given this lack of attention, Alfonso went into the midst of the cloud atop the Mount, which wasn't a cloud as such but more a sort of peculiar ozone created from the accumulated fumes of strong alcohol. For forty days and forty nights, he disappeared. Meanwhile the Children of Albion wreaked merry hell. They had no shame, naked in front of the gods. They fought and they fell, either through drink or because of a fist. After the full forty days, Alfonso descended from the Mount with a tablet. He was going to share all his images on the town hall's Instagram channel, but his thunderous mood had grown even more thunderous. It came to pass that he returned to witness scenes of the Children of Albion that he had thought had been expressly forbidden by the gods of municipal ordinance.
Lo, Alfonso's anger waxed hot. He cast the tablet out of his hands and did break it beneath the Mount. But before doing so, he did utter the 64 Commandments. Were the Children of Albion (and miscreant hoteliers and bar owners) paying attention? Were they to be advised that they could not covet a resident's ox and drive it along Punta Ballena?
Thou shalt not argue or fight in public places; Thou shalt not utter abusive language; Thou shalt respect others; Thou shalt not damage street furniture; Thou shalt cooperate with the police or officials; Thou shalt respect tourist facilities; Thou shalt not cause any interference to public events; Thou shalt not give false information about thy identity; Thou shalt not carry any sort of prohibited weapon; Thou shalt not disrespect police officers; Thou shalt not shine laser beams; Thou shalt respect any physical barriers put in place by the police; Thou shalt not damage litter bins, statutes, parks, gardens; Thou shalt not rip branches off trees; Thou shalt not carve names or initials into tree bark; Thou shalt not climb trees.
Thou shalt not litter the street; Thou shalt not damage flowers in parks; Thou shalt not cause discomfort to others with skateboards or balls; Thou shalt not defecate, urinate or spit in public places; Thou shalt not throw down chewing gum, cigarette ends, cans, papers or containers; Thou shalt not interfere with street lighting; Thou shalt not do any type of graffiti; Thou shalt not scratch surfaces.
Thou shalt adhere to safety rules on beaches; Thou shalt not swim when a red flag flies; Thou shalt not bathe anywhere that is prohibited; Thou shalt not wash any type of garment under beach showers; Thou shalt not place buckets under them; Thou shalt not drink from showers; Thou shalt not use soap or gel under public showers.
Thou shalt not have sexual relations in a public place or anywhere visible from public places; Thou shalt not beg; Thou shalt not drink alcoholic beverages in public places; Thou shalt respect the right of people to rest, especially between 8pm and 8am; Thou shalt not take drugs in public places; Thou shalt not go naked or semi-naked in the street; Thou shalt not commit balconing.
The remaining Commandments were ones directed at the miscreant hoteliers and bar owners. Meantime, the Children of Albion scratched their heads. Had there been any mention of an ox? Not as such. So the Children did covet oxen, not all of which were oxen, as they couldn't tell the difference to bulls. And these oxen and bulls were driven along Punta Ballena and the streets of Magalluf until the combined bovine squadron did spy females with red tops or red leggings. And they did charge at these women, scattering them and making the Jezebels flee, never to return.
Whereupon Alfonso did look favourably on this and heard the cheers of the people, who had been released from the scourge of the Jezebels. He called to the Children of Albion, who had coveted the oxen (and bulls), prophesying that they would inherit the Earth, or that bit of it that was Punta Ballena. Which is what they did.
Happy hour again, and again and again ... .
* My thanks to The Independent, which listed all the various regulations ("commandments") for behaviour in Magalluf and Calvia.
Showing posts with label Calvia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Calvia. Show all posts
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Friday, May 05, 2017
The Movement Of Andalusia
In a study of the municipality of Calvia at the turn of the millennium, it was shown that of residents with mainland Spanish origins, 42% of them were from Andalusia. The city of Granada had itself provided 17% of this Spanish group; 6.5% of the entire municipal population.
There may well be more up-to-date numbers, but I'm guessing that they won't have changed markedly. Otherwise, have social attitudes moved on over the intervening years? The question is asked because the author of the study, Miguel Ángel Miranda González, pointed towards social issues caused by immigration into Calvia. The tourism boom and the urban developments of the 1960s fostered the migration. The original Mallorcan population was and is comparatively tiny because of inward migration, and not just that from Andalusia.
Miranda observed in his study that the Mallorcan people as a whole, and so not only Calvia, have been unable to integrate waves of immigrants into their social structures. As a consequence, these groups maintain their interests distinct to those of the Mallorcan people. The observation is interesting if only because it offers a different take on the normal integration debate. Immigrants struggle to integrate because the means of doing so are unavailable.
I would suggest that this has changed to some degree. Calvia of course has institutionalised "foreigners" at town hall level. Other municipalities, if not having gone as far as Calvia, now have councillors with responsibilities for foreigners, and by foreigners, one means anyone not from Mallorca (including perhaps people from the rest of the Balearics).
The Andalusians were foreigners. Nowadays, and perhaps also as a mark of greater integration and acceptance, there are various Andalusian associations. Different town halls have welcomed their active participation in colouring the local cultural mix. The Feria de Abril* is the best example of this. Palma's is now in its 27th edition. Other municipalities also have an April fair, based - more or less - on the traditions of Seville.
They came because of tourism and construction. The association with tourism is still very evident. Many mainland seasonal workers come from Andalusia, and they've been doing so for years. They are re-engaged by employers who find in them a reliability and appetite for work that belie a long-held image: the lazy ones from the south (of Spain).
The emigration had started, though, before the great boom of the 1960s. Andalusians did not initially arrive in Mallorca in great number, although the Balearics was to become one of the main regions for Andalusian migration. They went mostly to Catalonia. In 1949, a newspaper referred to "authentic troglodytes", people from "underground settlements" in provinces such as Jaén and Granada. They were looked upon with suspicion by the authorities and by workers: employers could get away with paying them less. The authorities were to take action. Some 15,000 Andalusian immigrants were expelled from Catalonia between 1952 and 1957.
But still they came, the so-called "trains of hope" carrying them from a region which, for all the wealth of its great cities and of its own tourism, was historically poor and grindingly so. In certain respects it still is: Andalusia receives the biggest handout of state funding through the system that in the Balearics is considered to be so iniquitous (for the Balearics). In 1930 there were 70,000 Andalusians in Catalonia. The great migration, and it was enormous, increased this number to 840,000 by 1970.
Andalusia is curious because of its politics. It is the only region of Spain to have had an unbroken socialist government since the establishment of the regional democratic communities. That socialism, one has to assume, is a reflection of enduring difficulties in one of the country's poorer parts. The politics of Andalusia played a significant role in creating the regional communities and autonomous governments. The drafters of the 1978 Constitution originally intended to establish autonomy for Catalonia and the Basque Country. It was the Andalusians who led the objections. All regions were to gain this autonomy.
But what was it that made the Andalusians fight for this autonomy. Partly it was a sense of Andalusia's own unique circumstances and history, but just as important was the deep-rooted animosity that has existed and still does between Andalusia and Catalonia. The aspirations of an independent Catalonia encounter no greater opposition than in Andalusia. Catalonia, it has been suggested in Seville circles, wishes to create an apartheid for Spain.
The one-time president of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol, once wrote that the Andalusian is not consistent, he is anarchic and he is harmful. This can be taken as an indication of a xenophobia said to reside within Catalan attitudes. It is also an indication of the fact that Catalonia, more than the Balearics, objects to the financing system. And there is also that historical migration. The trains of hope which led to Barcelona and to the ports and so to Calvia.
* Palma's Feria de Abril concludes tomorrow, while Cala d'Or's runs from today until Sunday.
There may well be more up-to-date numbers, but I'm guessing that they won't have changed markedly. Otherwise, have social attitudes moved on over the intervening years? The question is asked because the author of the study, Miguel Ángel Miranda González, pointed towards social issues caused by immigration into Calvia. The tourism boom and the urban developments of the 1960s fostered the migration. The original Mallorcan population was and is comparatively tiny because of inward migration, and not just that from Andalusia.
Miranda observed in his study that the Mallorcan people as a whole, and so not only Calvia, have been unable to integrate waves of immigrants into their social structures. As a consequence, these groups maintain their interests distinct to those of the Mallorcan people. The observation is interesting if only because it offers a different take on the normal integration debate. Immigrants struggle to integrate because the means of doing so are unavailable.
I would suggest that this has changed to some degree. Calvia of course has institutionalised "foreigners" at town hall level. Other municipalities, if not having gone as far as Calvia, now have councillors with responsibilities for foreigners, and by foreigners, one means anyone not from Mallorca (including perhaps people from the rest of the Balearics).
The Andalusians were foreigners. Nowadays, and perhaps also as a mark of greater integration and acceptance, there are various Andalusian associations. Different town halls have welcomed their active participation in colouring the local cultural mix. The Feria de Abril* is the best example of this. Palma's is now in its 27th edition. Other municipalities also have an April fair, based - more or less - on the traditions of Seville.
They came because of tourism and construction. The association with tourism is still very evident. Many mainland seasonal workers come from Andalusia, and they've been doing so for years. They are re-engaged by employers who find in them a reliability and appetite for work that belie a long-held image: the lazy ones from the south (of Spain).
The emigration had started, though, before the great boom of the 1960s. Andalusians did not initially arrive in Mallorca in great number, although the Balearics was to become one of the main regions for Andalusian migration. They went mostly to Catalonia. In 1949, a newspaper referred to "authentic troglodytes", people from "underground settlements" in provinces such as Jaén and Granada. They were looked upon with suspicion by the authorities and by workers: employers could get away with paying them less. The authorities were to take action. Some 15,000 Andalusian immigrants were expelled from Catalonia between 1952 and 1957.
But still they came, the so-called "trains of hope" carrying them from a region which, for all the wealth of its great cities and of its own tourism, was historically poor and grindingly so. In certain respects it still is: Andalusia receives the biggest handout of state funding through the system that in the Balearics is considered to be so iniquitous (for the Balearics). In 1930 there were 70,000 Andalusians in Catalonia. The great migration, and it was enormous, increased this number to 840,000 by 1970.
Andalusia is curious because of its politics. It is the only region of Spain to have had an unbroken socialist government since the establishment of the regional democratic communities. That socialism, one has to assume, is a reflection of enduring difficulties in one of the country's poorer parts. The politics of Andalusia played a significant role in creating the regional communities and autonomous governments. The drafters of the 1978 Constitution originally intended to establish autonomy for Catalonia and the Basque Country. It was the Andalusians who led the objections. All regions were to gain this autonomy.
But what was it that made the Andalusians fight for this autonomy. Partly it was a sense of Andalusia's own unique circumstances and history, but just as important was the deep-rooted animosity that has existed and still does between Andalusia and Catalonia. The aspirations of an independent Catalonia encounter no greater opposition than in Andalusia. Catalonia, it has been suggested in Seville circles, wishes to create an apartheid for Spain.
The one-time president of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol, once wrote that the Andalusian is not consistent, he is anarchic and he is harmful. This can be taken as an indication of a xenophobia said to reside within Catalan attitudes. It is also an indication of the fact that Catalonia, more than the Balearics, objects to the financing system. And there is also that historical migration. The trains of hope which led to Barcelona and to the ports and so to Calvia.
* Palma's Feria de Abril concludes tomorrow, while Cala d'Or's runs from today until Sunday.
Friday, March 03, 2017
Saluting The Brave: The Cursach Affair
Over two weeks ago there was an article in El Mundo the headline for which was "Rodríguez, the brave". This was not a certain Partido Popular Rodríguez (José María), who is implicated in the Palma police corruption investigations, but a PSOE Rodríguez - Alfonso, the mayor of Calvia.
To get to the essence of that article, the reason for praising Rodríguez for his bravery was because he had shown his willingness to remove a town hall official who was obstructing an investigation by a lower-ranking official. Moreover, Rodríguez was making it clear that Calvia will be ensuring that this investigation proceeds. It is to do with alleged "irregularities", ones that supposedly have existed for years and which Rodríguez's predecessors have preferred to overlook. It was no coincidence, therefore, that on Tuesday the National Police should raid not just Megapark and other establishments but also Calvia town hall. Rodríguez wouldn't have been told of the raid, but had he been, he would have been at the doors waving the police in.
Reaction to the arrest of Tolo Cursach was entirely predictable. I shall not repeat any of it. Whatever my view or the views of others, innocence must nevertheless be presumed. Let's just say that there was a fair amount of schadenfreude being expressed.
That same article concluded that Rodríguez has the means at his disposal to see through what he has said he will do. Despite experience that suggests otherwise (politicians who have lacked bravery), things in Mallorca could now change because of honest politicians. Rodríguez would be one.
There are other honest and brave men and women. Numbered among them are Judge Manuel Penalva, anti-corruption prosecutor Miguel Ángel Subirán, and Palma's councillor for public safety, Angelica Pastor, who has been subjected to threats and been the subject of some derision, which now appears to have been carefully orchestrated. Other honest and brave people are not publicly known, but they include witnesses and local police whistleblowers, the latter who must have endured periods of Kafka-esque purgatory, not knowing who to trust. There will be others who have felt likewise, including politicians and members of the state police forces.
From the legal ranks, we are more familiar with Judge Castro and prosecutor Pedro Horrach because of their pursuit of Matas and Urdangarin. Regardless of what one might think about the outcome of the Nóos trial, the integrity of Castro and Horrach should not be questioned. They disagreed where Princess Cristina was concerned. Legal opinion is entitled to differ. But the circumstances of their investigations were far from being the same to the ones confronting Penalva and Subirán. Neither Castro nor Horrach had any need to request the carrying of a gun. Penalva and Subirán have felt the need.
What was it Pedro Horrach said about intimidation, about being followed and about insults directed at his family? His investigations, however, were not in the same league as those of Penalva and Subirán. What started out as a relatively innocuous investigation into allegations of the fixing of police exam results in Palma has acquired a life of extraordinary significance. Matas, Urdangarin, Munar and their ilk are as nothing compared to what has being unfolding and will continue to unfold. Thieving public funds seems almost amateurish when put up against a web that embraces politicians, businesspeople and police and against what that web was allegedly conspiring to do. It was a web in which trust was impossible to ascertain except for the trust between perpetrators. Until, that is, Penalva and Subirán allowed trust to breathe.
What are we witnessing? The destruction once and for all of self-interested webs of deceit, threats and criminality? That's doubtful. But we are witnessing significant steps being taken in a positive direction. Judges and others are no longer cowed and deterred from investigating and for doing so with determination.
Horrach also spoke about pressures being intensified in small regions such as the Balearics. It was an understandable observation. Small regions, small populations create small pockets of power, mutually dependent and mutually corrupt or potentially corrupt. Small regions do not take kindly to those who snoop into affairs which have been crafted over decades. What does one make of the revelation that certain establishments have not been inspected for forty years? It's easy to make something of it. That's how things are.
Increasingly, though, they are not. There are not just the investigations into Palma police and connections to politicians and business. There are also those involving Calvia, about which little has been heard recently. But one senses that there will come a moment when a tidal wave will be unleashed, the culmination of the various investigations. When it is, Mallorca won't have witnessed anything like it.
We wait for it to happen, confident in the honest and the brave.
To get to the essence of that article, the reason for praising Rodríguez for his bravery was because he had shown his willingness to remove a town hall official who was obstructing an investigation by a lower-ranking official. Moreover, Rodríguez was making it clear that Calvia will be ensuring that this investigation proceeds. It is to do with alleged "irregularities", ones that supposedly have existed for years and which Rodríguez's predecessors have preferred to overlook. It was no coincidence, therefore, that on Tuesday the National Police should raid not just Megapark and other establishments but also Calvia town hall. Rodríguez wouldn't have been told of the raid, but had he been, he would have been at the doors waving the police in.
Reaction to the arrest of Tolo Cursach was entirely predictable. I shall not repeat any of it. Whatever my view or the views of others, innocence must nevertheless be presumed. Let's just say that there was a fair amount of schadenfreude being expressed.
That same article concluded that Rodríguez has the means at his disposal to see through what he has said he will do. Despite experience that suggests otherwise (politicians who have lacked bravery), things in Mallorca could now change because of honest politicians. Rodríguez would be one.
There are other honest and brave men and women. Numbered among them are Judge Manuel Penalva, anti-corruption prosecutor Miguel Ángel Subirán, and Palma's councillor for public safety, Angelica Pastor, who has been subjected to threats and been the subject of some derision, which now appears to have been carefully orchestrated. Other honest and brave people are not publicly known, but they include witnesses and local police whistleblowers, the latter who must have endured periods of Kafka-esque purgatory, not knowing who to trust. There will be others who have felt likewise, including politicians and members of the state police forces.
From the legal ranks, we are more familiar with Judge Castro and prosecutor Pedro Horrach because of their pursuit of Matas and Urdangarin. Regardless of what one might think about the outcome of the Nóos trial, the integrity of Castro and Horrach should not be questioned. They disagreed where Princess Cristina was concerned. Legal opinion is entitled to differ. But the circumstances of their investigations were far from being the same to the ones confronting Penalva and Subirán. Neither Castro nor Horrach had any need to request the carrying of a gun. Penalva and Subirán have felt the need.
What was it Pedro Horrach said about intimidation, about being followed and about insults directed at his family? His investigations, however, were not in the same league as those of Penalva and Subirán. What started out as a relatively innocuous investigation into allegations of the fixing of police exam results in Palma has acquired a life of extraordinary significance. Matas, Urdangarin, Munar and their ilk are as nothing compared to what has being unfolding and will continue to unfold. Thieving public funds seems almost amateurish when put up against a web that embraces politicians, businesspeople and police and against what that web was allegedly conspiring to do. It was a web in which trust was impossible to ascertain except for the trust between perpetrators. Until, that is, Penalva and Subirán allowed trust to breathe.
What are we witnessing? The destruction once and for all of self-interested webs of deceit, threats and criminality? That's doubtful. But we are witnessing significant steps being taken in a positive direction. Judges and others are no longer cowed and deterred from investigating and for doing so with determination.
Horrach also spoke about pressures being intensified in small regions such as the Balearics. It was an understandable observation. Small regions, small populations create small pockets of power, mutually dependent and mutually corrupt or potentially corrupt. Small regions do not take kindly to those who snoop into affairs which have been crafted over decades. What does one make of the revelation that certain establishments have not been inspected for forty years? It's easy to make something of it. That's how things are.
Increasingly, though, they are not. There are not just the investigations into Palma police and connections to politicians and business. There are also those involving Calvia, about which little has been heard recently. But one senses that there will come a moment when a tidal wave will be unleashed, the culmination of the various investigations. When it is, Mallorca won't have witnessed anything like it.
We wait for it to happen, confident in the honest and the brave.
Monday, August 29, 2016
"Sick Note" And The Whorehouse
If you're a politician who has more or less got everything, what else might you wish for? A fine yacht with which you can serenely sail around the shores of a summertime Mallorca? Possibly, but it's unlikely that your ego (and indeed money) will stretch to the obscene ostentation to be found floating on the calm waters of Palma bay. Better to not even try to compete. How about instead having your own police force? While among the fantasy flotilla will be those capable of boasting that they have their own armies, a personal brigade of cops would still do nicely in pandering to your need for self-actualisation.
José María Rodríguez denies having conspired to create a police force within a police force, one to be allied to the Partido Popular with the aim of benefiting certain business people and friends of the party to the disadvantage of rival business people and political enemies. Never, he insists, did he organise a policing system to "monitor" anyone, including judges and prosecutors. One of these prosecutors, Miguel Ángel Subiran asked him outright if he had. "Never ever."
José María has done a great deal of denying in his time. The legal status of "imputado" is a peculiar one that stops short of actually being charged. Suspected but no more. Many a politician has found him or herself "imputado", often to then have this "archived" by a court that has not found evidence to proceed to the next stage of formally charging and trial. Generally, this happens only the once. With José María, he's been making a bit of a habit of it. Had he, for instance, once phoned the then mayor of Andratx and given a tip-off that the cops were coming (he was Balearic interior minister at the time)? No, he had not, the judge was told. There were records of phone calls in the days before the cops arrived. Could have been about anything. The weather, for example.
José María also denies ever having been to an "alternative club" (the nice way of saying a whorehouse). "It disgusts me," he says. Stories that have emerged of the investigation into police corruption which include references to "old" men at sex parties arranged by friendly business people disgust everyone else.
The judge has issued a restraining order. The reason? To prevent José María getting at witnesses or others. He cannot, for instance, go within 300 metres of local police facilities. What happens if he does? Is there a José María warning system that sounds an alarm if he is 299 metres away?
Restraining orders were the order of the week. Cops were being restrained as well. Two senior ones in Palma and that good old boy in Magalluf, the ex-chief of police from Calvia, José Antonio Navarro, of whom a great deal could be said but which is perhaps best left for the time being.
Because José Antonio was on the point of starting work again, the judge decided it was time to slap the restraining order on him. He can't go near Calvia police or the town hall. On the point of starting work again? Where had he been? On sick leave. And seemingly so ever since he was released having spent 40 days banged up when he was arrested a couple of years ago. How does that all work? If there's a compliant doctor it can work easily enough, it would appear. The judge in the police corruption investigation wants to take action the doctor who signed off several Palma cops - all under suspicion - without even having seen them: he was going on medical reports from the prison.
Had there not been a restraining order or the subsequent suspension from duty, what might "Sick Note" José Antonio have been doing on his return after the prolonged absence? A spot of community policing perhaps? Likewise, what were the two former chiefs of police in Palma, both also faced with restraining orders and now suspended, doing? Innocent until and all that, but they don't appear to have been on sick leave, unlike the one before both of them who was.
This sordid affair, a corruption investigation more damaging than any of those into mere pilfering of public funds, throws up all manner of weirdness. It was revealed last week that a year ago there had been a phone call to the 112 emergency line from the San Fernando (Sant Ferran) police HQ which was complaining about the noise from an event that was taking place some two kilometres away at a club on the Paseo Marítimo.
This was for the Ella lesbian festival. In attendance, among others, were the mayor of Palma, José Hila, and tourism minister Biel Barceló. The call, and later ones from a mobile, were suspected to have come from an inspector named Capó, one of the police officers in Palma who is "imputado" in the corruption investigation. He denied in court having made the call (calls).
Returning to José María, it might be recalled that he once took action against Pilar Costa, now the spokesperson for the Balearic government, for having called him a "capo", which has a different meaning to "capó" when there is an accent. The latter means bonnet or hood of a car. Hood, however, might also be applicable to "capo" without an accent - a mafia boss. Judge Penalva, the investigating judge, who like the prosecutor Subiran has been given permission to carry a gun, described José María last month as the "architect in the shadows" of a corrupt organisation, an organisation the judge has also referred to as a criminal organisation.
Denial is everything.
José María Rodríguez denies having conspired to create a police force within a police force, one to be allied to the Partido Popular with the aim of benefiting certain business people and friends of the party to the disadvantage of rival business people and political enemies. Never, he insists, did he organise a policing system to "monitor" anyone, including judges and prosecutors. One of these prosecutors, Miguel Ángel Subiran asked him outright if he had. "Never ever."
José María has done a great deal of denying in his time. The legal status of "imputado" is a peculiar one that stops short of actually being charged. Suspected but no more. Many a politician has found him or herself "imputado", often to then have this "archived" by a court that has not found evidence to proceed to the next stage of formally charging and trial. Generally, this happens only the once. With José María, he's been making a bit of a habit of it. Had he, for instance, once phoned the then mayor of Andratx and given a tip-off that the cops were coming (he was Balearic interior minister at the time)? No, he had not, the judge was told. There were records of phone calls in the days before the cops arrived. Could have been about anything. The weather, for example.
José María also denies ever having been to an "alternative club" (the nice way of saying a whorehouse). "It disgusts me," he says. Stories that have emerged of the investigation into police corruption which include references to "old" men at sex parties arranged by friendly business people disgust everyone else.
The judge has issued a restraining order. The reason? To prevent José María getting at witnesses or others. He cannot, for instance, go within 300 metres of local police facilities. What happens if he does? Is there a José María warning system that sounds an alarm if he is 299 metres away?
Restraining orders were the order of the week. Cops were being restrained as well. Two senior ones in Palma and that good old boy in Magalluf, the ex-chief of police from Calvia, José Antonio Navarro, of whom a great deal could be said but which is perhaps best left for the time being.
Because José Antonio was on the point of starting work again, the judge decided it was time to slap the restraining order on him. He can't go near Calvia police or the town hall. On the point of starting work again? Where had he been? On sick leave. And seemingly so ever since he was released having spent 40 days banged up when he was arrested a couple of years ago. How does that all work? If there's a compliant doctor it can work easily enough, it would appear. The judge in the police corruption investigation wants to take action the doctor who signed off several Palma cops - all under suspicion - without even having seen them: he was going on medical reports from the prison.
Had there not been a restraining order or the subsequent suspension from duty, what might "Sick Note" José Antonio have been doing on his return after the prolonged absence? A spot of community policing perhaps? Likewise, what were the two former chiefs of police in Palma, both also faced with restraining orders and now suspended, doing? Innocent until and all that, but they don't appear to have been on sick leave, unlike the one before both of them who was.
This sordid affair, a corruption investigation more damaging than any of those into mere pilfering of public funds, throws up all manner of weirdness. It was revealed last week that a year ago there had been a phone call to the 112 emergency line from the San Fernando (Sant Ferran) police HQ which was complaining about the noise from an event that was taking place some two kilometres away at a club on the Paseo Marítimo.
This was for the Ella lesbian festival. In attendance, among others, were the mayor of Palma, José Hila, and tourism minister Biel Barceló. The call, and later ones from a mobile, were suspected to have come from an inspector named Capó, one of the police officers in Palma who is "imputado" in the corruption investigation. He denied in court having made the call (calls).
Returning to José María, it might be recalled that he once took action against Pilar Costa, now the spokesperson for the Balearic government, for having called him a "capo", which has a different meaning to "capó" when there is an accent. The latter means bonnet or hood of a car. Hood, however, might also be applicable to "capo" without an accent - a mafia boss. Judge Penalva, the investigating judge, who like the prosecutor Subiran has been given permission to carry a gun, described José María last month as the "architect in the shadows" of a corrupt organisation, an organisation the judge has also referred to as a criminal organisation.
Denial is everything.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Police Failure And Failing The Police
When is a policeman not a policeman? The answer is when a judge has slapped a restraining order on him entering police facilities. This is the situation as it applies to three (former) senior police officers - Palma's Joan Mut and Antonio Morey and Calvia's José Antonio Navarro. The judge investigating police corruption allegations - Manuel Penalva - has issued orders against the three. In the case of Mut, the restraining order also prevents him going within 300 metres of the "honest" cop who blew the whistle on him. Neither Mut nor Morey, furthermore, can go near the offices of Palma's councillor for public safety.
The cases of these three officers are not necessarily linked. There have been suggestions that alleged police corruption centred on Palma's and Calvia's nightlife districts do have some links, but no evidence has been revealed to indicate collusion. Only suggestions. This is, nonetheless, all part of the investigation that has been taking months and which shows little sign of being resolved in the short term, thus continuing to damage both forces.
The circumstances differ. Where Navarro is concerned, he was arrested and held in custody for some forty days and charged with corruption. The allegations centre on favours shown to certain businesses in Magalluf and harassment of rival businesses. He was released in October 2014 and has been replaced as head of Calvia's police force.
Mut faces charges of malfeasance and coercion. He was taped by another officer, the "honest" one, Antonio Ramis. That recording included an admission of altering evidence but also one of having done so under pressure from political superiors. He was eventually dismissed by the current town hall administration for "disobedience". He was succeeded by Morey who, a few months into his post, launched an astonishing attack on the judge, the anti-corruption prosecutor and the councillor for public safety, Angelica Pastor. While he appeared to offer a defence of certain officers who had been charged, he also brought into question the investigation, implying political motivations, and indeed the competence of officials, such as Pastor. His position was obviously untenable.
The cases go beyond allegations against police officers. Politicians are involved as well. Pastor's predecessor, Guillem Navarro, has been implicated, as have the former deputy mayor, Alvaro Gijón, and the president of the Partido Popular in Palma, José María Rodríguez. The latter is scheduled to appear before Judge Penalva tomorrow. Of evidence against him that has been leaking out are statements from members of the elite GAP (preventive action) unit in Palma which allege that he was instrumental in drafting in officers from Manacor who were to form a unit dedicated to the PP.
The charges against police officers in Palma - currently in custody or at liberty - include some extremely serious ones. Against the backdrop of arrests and the Penalva/anti-corruption prosecutor investigation, the town hall is remodelling the police force, just as it is being overhauled in Calvia. The belief is that restructuring and strengthened lines of reporting will prevent the types of allegations that have occurred from being repeated. They may well do, but in terms of practical application on the ground, how well are the police forces performing? There are complaints in Magalluf and Playa de Palma about a continuation of ineffective policing. Is restructuring merely political window-dressing that doesn't help the police because of lack of resources?
The political dimension cannot be ignored, whether it is the competence of political officials or their own corrupt practices (allegedly). In the case of Joan Mut, he himself took over from Antonio Vera, who was forced to resign because of involvement in the rigging of police promotion exams. (This was what in fact started the whole police corruption ball rolling.) While Mut does face charges, what does one make of his suggestion of there having been pressure from political superiors? Should there be some sympathy, if this were proved to be the case? No, you might say, he should have resigned. But a resignation has to be approved by political superiors.
There have unquestionably been major police failures in both Palma and Calvia. That these may have involved only a relatively limited number of officers does not eradicate feelings of a lack of confidence. The time that the investigations are dragging on do not help either. Where Calvia is concerned, we only now hear of Navarro's suspension. Are the police being failed, therefore, by a slow-moving judicial process and by politicians both past and present? Calvia (and Palma) have made repeated statements about improvements to forces, and yet the complaints persist, though in Calvia's defence, it should be noted that criticisms from the PP opposition have the distinct flavour of pot calling the kettle black. Above all, though, there is the suggestion of political involvement in police corruption. If so, were the police failed by politicians? Who were the instigators? Judge Penalva, albeit slowly, is finding out.
The cases of these three officers are not necessarily linked. There have been suggestions that alleged police corruption centred on Palma's and Calvia's nightlife districts do have some links, but no evidence has been revealed to indicate collusion. Only suggestions. This is, nonetheless, all part of the investigation that has been taking months and which shows little sign of being resolved in the short term, thus continuing to damage both forces.
The circumstances differ. Where Navarro is concerned, he was arrested and held in custody for some forty days and charged with corruption. The allegations centre on favours shown to certain businesses in Magalluf and harassment of rival businesses. He was released in October 2014 and has been replaced as head of Calvia's police force.
Mut faces charges of malfeasance and coercion. He was taped by another officer, the "honest" one, Antonio Ramis. That recording included an admission of altering evidence but also one of having done so under pressure from political superiors. He was eventually dismissed by the current town hall administration for "disobedience". He was succeeded by Morey who, a few months into his post, launched an astonishing attack on the judge, the anti-corruption prosecutor and the councillor for public safety, Angelica Pastor. While he appeared to offer a defence of certain officers who had been charged, he also brought into question the investigation, implying political motivations, and indeed the competence of officials, such as Pastor. His position was obviously untenable.
The cases go beyond allegations against police officers. Politicians are involved as well. Pastor's predecessor, Guillem Navarro, has been implicated, as have the former deputy mayor, Alvaro Gijón, and the president of the Partido Popular in Palma, José María Rodríguez. The latter is scheduled to appear before Judge Penalva tomorrow. Of evidence against him that has been leaking out are statements from members of the elite GAP (preventive action) unit in Palma which allege that he was instrumental in drafting in officers from Manacor who were to form a unit dedicated to the PP.
The charges against police officers in Palma - currently in custody or at liberty - include some extremely serious ones. Against the backdrop of arrests and the Penalva/anti-corruption prosecutor investigation, the town hall is remodelling the police force, just as it is being overhauled in Calvia. The belief is that restructuring and strengthened lines of reporting will prevent the types of allegations that have occurred from being repeated. They may well do, but in terms of practical application on the ground, how well are the police forces performing? There are complaints in Magalluf and Playa de Palma about a continuation of ineffective policing. Is restructuring merely political window-dressing that doesn't help the police because of lack of resources?
The political dimension cannot be ignored, whether it is the competence of political officials or their own corrupt practices (allegedly). In the case of Joan Mut, he himself took over from Antonio Vera, who was forced to resign because of involvement in the rigging of police promotion exams. (This was what in fact started the whole police corruption ball rolling.) While Mut does face charges, what does one make of his suggestion of there having been pressure from political superiors? Should there be some sympathy, if this were proved to be the case? No, you might say, he should have resigned. But a resignation has to be approved by political superiors.
There have unquestionably been major police failures in both Palma and Calvia. That these may have involved only a relatively limited number of officers does not eradicate feelings of a lack of confidence. The time that the investigations are dragging on do not help either. Where Calvia is concerned, we only now hear of Navarro's suspension. Are the police being failed, therefore, by a slow-moving judicial process and by politicians both past and present? Calvia (and Palma) have made repeated statements about improvements to forces, and yet the complaints persist, though in Calvia's defence, it should be noted that criticisms from the PP opposition have the distinct flavour of pot calling the kettle black. Above all, though, there is the suggestion of political involvement in police corruption. If so, were the police failed by politicians? Who were the instigators? Judge Penalva, albeit slowly, is finding out.
Saturday, July 09, 2016
What's The Left's Problem With Fiestas?
Mancor de la Vall, as noted here on 2 July, is not the only village or town where issues have arisen with the organisation of fairs and fiestas because of the actions of left-wing town halls. Mancor's had to do with the lack of a licence for music concerts at the rooms used by the cultural association Arrels. Before a last-minute agreement was reached, it had looked as though last November's Esclata-sang mushroom fair would not go ahead, the Més-led administration having refused to give permission for the concerts.
There are now two further cases. In Calvia village they celebrate Sant Jaume each year (25 July). The residents' association has long organised the fiestas, the agreement dating back to the days of PSOE mayor Margarita Nájera (in office from 1991 to 2003). This agreement was subsequently ratified by the two PP mayors who succeeded her: Carlos Delgado and Manu Onieva.
Responsibility for fiestas at Calvia currently lies with one of the deputy mayors, Israel Molina. He is from Si Se Puede Calvia, a version of Podemos in the municipality, which is part of the administration headed by PSOE mayor Alfonso Rodríguez. Molina has decided to break the agreement, one by which the residents' association had been receiving 28,000 euros each year to organise the Sant Jaume fiestas and others, such as the Christmas market.
Molina's argument is that there needs to be an open tender to decide who organises the fiestas. The residents' association says it won't enter the tender contest because it fears there won't be the same level of budget as previously. It notes that other associations in Calvia have said that they won't enter the contest either because they accept that the residents' association is the organiser. The consequence - unless some other solution is reached - is that the town hall will have to assume responsibility for organisation; otherwise there won't be any Sant Jaume fiestas.
In Port Soller, the cultural association has expressed its annoyance with the town hall over arrangements for Sant Pere (now finished). It says that it won't be organising the fiestas in future, citing lack of support from the town hall: the association has identified an absence of financial assistance and failure to grant permissions. The councillor in charge of fiestas, Laura Celià of Més, says that fiesta organisation has to meet with demands under law. One of these demands may well explain the fact that the fireworks were missing this year.
This is not the first time that Celià has been at the centre of a rumpus over fiesta arrangements. It was she who insisted to changes for the May Moors and Christians (Es Firó). These entailed the closing of bars in the main square during the climax to the battle - the bars had to open stalls in another square - and limits to numbers in the square (identified by wristbands).
Do these examples all point to anti-fiesta policies by some left-wing administrations? The first thing to say is that PSOE doesn't appear to have any issues. It is the further left that does. A second point to make is that, as the Arrels association in Mancor had believed, it might be thought that a grouping like Més with its Mallorcan nationalist identity would be all in favour of fiestas and their traditions.
The fact is that they may indeed be all in favour, but the four cases - Mancor, Calvia and the two in Soller - indicate a rigorous application of rules. For Més and Podemos offshoots there can't be any even hint of flouting rules, of favouritism, of not going by the book: that's the sort of thing that the PP (and PSOE) have been doing for years. These rules relate to the fastidious insistence on tenders and to health and safety, the latter being something that has rarely been diligently observed in the past.
The Calvia case has echoes of a different reason for a tender: licences to operate a business activity. It therefore is not dissimilar to the Gelats Valls ice-cream kiosk issue in Puerto Pollensa. A left-wing administration has gone by the book in saying that permission cannot just be simply rubber-stamped and extended year by year, as has been happening. The left wants to be seen to be working to the letter of the law, even if it angers the locals.
Might there be other examples of fiestas being affected? Quite probably. There are numerous local associations who essentially run fiestas, or parts of them, for town halls. There are also the health and safety and indeed animal welfare issues. If the regional government ever gets round to definitively approving its reform of the 1992 animal protection legislation, might fiestas such as Pollensa's Sant Antoni be jeopardised? The use of the cockerel at the top of the pine is currently permitted because it is a tradition that is over one hundred years old (the definition for use of live animals during fiestas under regional law). But if it is deemed to suffer under the reform, then what?
There are now two further cases. In Calvia village they celebrate Sant Jaume each year (25 July). The residents' association has long organised the fiestas, the agreement dating back to the days of PSOE mayor Margarita Nájera (in office from 1991 to 2003). This agreement was subsequently ratified by the two PP mayors who succeeded her: Carlos Delgado and Manu Onieva.
Responsibility for fiestas at Calvia currently lies with one of the deputy mayors, Israel Molina. He is from Si Se Puede Calvia, a version of Podemos in the municipality, which is part of the administration headed by PSOE mayor Alfonso Rodríguez. Molina has decided to break the agreement, one by which the residents' association had been receiving 28,000 euros each year to organise the Sant Jaume fiestas and others, such as the Christmas market.
Molina's argument is that there needs to be an open tender to decide who organises the fiestas. The residents' association says it won't enter the tender contest because it fears there won't be the same level of budget as previously. It notes that other associations in Calvia have said that they won't enter the contest either because they accept that the residents' association is the organiser. The consequence - unless some other solution is reached - is that the town hall will have to assume responsibility for organisation; otherwise there won't be any Sant Jaume fiestas.
In Port Soller, the cultural association has expressed its annoyance with the town hall over arrangements for Sant Pere (now finished). It says that it won't be organising the fiestas in future, citing lack of support from the town hall: the association has identified an absence of financial assistance and failure to grant permissions. The councillor in charge of fiestas, Laura Celià of Més, says that fiesta organisation has to meet with demands under law. One of these demands may well explain the fact that the fireworks were missing this year.
This is not the first time that Celià has been at the centre of a rumpus over fiesta arrangements. It was she who insisted to changes for the May Moors and Christians (Es Firó). These entailed the closing of bars in the main square during the climax to the battle - the bars had to open stalls in another square - and limits to numbers in the square (identified by wristbands).
Do these examples all point to anti-fiesta policies by some left-wing administrations? The first thing to say is that PSOE doesn't appear to have any issues. It is the further left that does. A second point to make is that, as the Arrels association in Mancor had believed, it might be thought that a grouping like Més with its Mallorcan nationalist identity would be all in favour of fiestas and their traditions.
The fact is that they may indeed be all in favour, but the four cases - Mancor, Calvia and the two in Soller - indicate a rigorous application of rules. For Més and Podemos offshoots there can't be any even hint of flouting rules, of favouritism, of not going by the book: that's the sort of thing that the PP (and PSOE) have been doing for years. These rules relate to the fastidious insistence on tenders and to health and safety, the latter being something that has rarely been diligently observed in the past.
The Calvia case has echoes of a different reason for a tender: licences to operate a business activity. It therefore is not dissimilar to the Gelats Valls ice-cream kiosk issue in Puerto Pollensa. A left-wing administration has gone by the book in saying that permission cannot just be simply rubber-stamped and extended year by year, as has been happening. The left wants to be seen to be working to the letter of the law, even if it angers the locals.
Might there be other examples of fiestas being affected? Quite probably. There are numerous local associations who essentially run fiestas, or parts of them, for town halls. There are also the health and safety and indeed animal welfare issues. If the regional government ever gets round to definitively approving its reform of the 1992 animal protection legislation, might fiestas such as Pollensa's Sant Antoni be jeopardised? The use of the cockerel at the top of the pine is currently permitted because it is a tradition that is over one hundred years old (the definition for use of live animals during fiestas under regional law). But if it is deemed to suffer under the reform, then what?
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Privatisation Of The Sea: Waterparks
Beaches are suddenly very much in political vogue. To the question of chiringuitos and items of beach furniture on rustic beaches can be added things that lie off beaches. One thing in particular: a floating waterpark. Calvia has, in effect, banned these waterparks. Good for Calvia.
In fact, banning is too strong a word, even if this would be the outcome. The waterparks off Calvia beaches, of which there have been several, are not illegal. The town hall, in addressing the issue, is to consider their suitability and to make void contracts that do not meet requirements; however "requirements" might be defined. The wording seems rather loose. Deliberately so perhaps, as it leaves room for manoeuvre in removing the waterparks on grounds that might seem more subjective than objective. A legal challenge may be raised, one fancies.
In principle, however, Calvia is adopting the right line. The waterparks off municipal beaches were the consequence of a 2014 decision to put out to tender the so-called occupation of public domain marine space close to shore. Calvia was not alone. There have been floating waterparks dotted around Mallorca's coastline.
When they were first being mentioned - and the first one I was aware of was off Playa de Muro - they didn't sound such a bad idea. They would be environmentally neutral in that they would not be permanent, would not be anchored in a way that might harm seabed flora, e.g. posidonia, while access (other than by wading or swimming) would be with rowing boats and nothing that was using fuel or was noisy. They sounded reasonable insofar as they would be an additional attraction, something that might have been thought good for a family tourism market.
It was when they became visible that the idea seemed less good. Did the beaches of Mallorca really want a load of floating giant pieces of plastic bobbing on the gentle waves in the full glare of the beachgoing public? General reaction was less than positive.
In Colonia Sant Jordi, as an example, a local pressure group - Salvem Sa Colonia - staged a protest on the beach against the plan to install a waterpark. There were a variety of reasons for objecting: ecological, the use of the sea by the public and navigation by boats. There was an additional element to the protest, the establishment of platforms for jet skis as well.
The regional government, via the natural spaces and biodiversity department of its environment ministry, might now be said to have such installations firmly in its sights. Its desire to ensure there are no chiringuitos on rustic beaches is just one aspect of a far wider consideration of protected areas included under the Natura Network, a European Union device that was adopted for environmental conservation purposes. Under this, most of the Mallorcan coastline is defined as protected. But not all of it. Much of the Calvia coast isn't, for instance. Where the provisions are more evident are, for instance, in the whole of the bays of Alcudia and Pollensa and along the coast that stretches from Santanyi through Es Trenc towards Arenal. This is coast which therefore embraces Colonia Sant Jordi and, in the north, the beaches of Puerto Pollensa, Puerto Alcudia, Playa de Muro and Can Picafort, all of which have had floating waterparks off them.
Does this sound as if the environment ministry, controlled by the eco-nationalists of Més, is getting into a zealous fervour, as was the case when the PSM socialists (part of Més) took control of the ministry in the latter half of the previous PSOE-led administration of 2007 to 2011? Perhaps it does. The minister, Vicenç Vidal, appears to be even more of an eco-warrior than the PSM minister, Gabriel Vicens, was.
But there is much to potentially praise in the ministry getting to grips with the Mallorcan coast. Fundamentally, the beaches are public domain. It is a Spanish birthright to have free and unfettered access to and use of the country's beaches. It is a birthright enshrined in law. It has not prevented the exploitation of beaches, of course it hasn't, and it surely isn't the case that any minister would propose getting rid of sunbeds and what have you from the main, urban beaches. But there is and can be excessiveness, and when this "privatisation" involves the sea as well, one can argue that things have gone too far. Yes, there is privatisation, as with charging for anchoring and so on, but boats are a rather different matter to the likes of floating waterparks. They may cause environmental damage but they are not in themselves unappealing. A waterpark on the other hand ... .
Calvia's initiative is, therefore, to be applauded, even if the beaches involved are not deemed to form part of the protected coast. As such, specific intervention is required. More general intervention, on behalf of the ministry, may well be looming on the horizon.
In fact, banning is too strong a word, even if this would be the outcome. The waterparks off Calvia beaches, of which there have been several, are not illegal. The town hall, in addressing the issue, is to consider their suitability and to make void contracts that do not meet requirements; however "requirements" might be defined. The wording seems rather loose. Deliberately so perhaps, as it leaves room for manoeuvre in removing the waterparks on grounds that might seem more subjective than objective. A legal challenge may be raised, one fancies.
In principle, however, Calvia is adopting the right line. The waterparks off municipal beaches were the consequence of a 2014 decision to put out to tender the so-called occupation of public domain marine space close to shore. Calvia was not alone. There have been floating waterparks dotted around Mallorca's coastline.
When they were first being mentioned - and the first one I was aware of was off Playa de Muro - they didn't sound such a bad idea. They would be environmentally neutral in that they would not be permanent, would not be anchored in a way that might harm seabed flora, e.g. posidonia, while access (other than by wading or swimming) would be with rowing boats and nothing that was using fuel or was noisy. They sounded reasonable insofar as they would be an additional attraction, something that might have been thought good for a family tourism market.
It was when they became visible that the idea seemed less good. Did the beaches of Mallorca really want a load of floating giant pieces of plastic bobbing on the gentle waves in the full glare of the beachgoing public? General reaction was less than positive.
In Colonia Sant Jordi, as an example, a local pressure group - Salvem Sa Colonia - staged a protest on the beach against the plan to install a waterpark. There were a variety of reasons for objecting: ecological, the use of the sea by the public and navigation by boats. There was an additional element to the protest, the establishment of platforms for jet skis as well.
The regional government, via the natural spaces and biodiversity department of its environment ministry, might now be said to have such installations firmly in its sights. Its desire to ensure there are no chiringuitos on rustic beaches is just one aspect of a far wider consideration of protected areas included under the Natura Network, a European Union device that was adopted for environmental conservation purposes. Under this, most of the Mallorcan coastline is defined as protected. But not all of it. Much of the Calvia coast isn't, for instance. Where the provisions are more evident are, for instance, in the whole of the bays of Alcudia and Pollensa and along the coast that stretches from Santanyi through Es Trenc towards Arenal. This is coast which therefore embraces Colonia Sant Jordi and, in the north, the beaches of Puerto Pollensa, Puerto Alcudia, Playa de Muro and Can Picafort, all of which have had floating waterparks off them.
Does this sound as if the environment ministry, controlled by the eco-nationalists of Més, is getting into a zealous fervour, as was the case when the PSM socialists (part of Més) took control of the ministry in the latter half of the previous PSOE-led administration of 2007 to 2011? Perhaps it does. The minister, Vicenç Vidal, appears to be even more of an eco-warrior than the PSM minister, Gabriel Vicens, was.
But there is much to potentially praise in the ministry getting to grips with the Mallorcan coast. Fundamentally, the beaches are public domain. It is a Spanish birthright to have free and unfettered access to and use of the country's beaches. It is a birthright enshrined in law. It has not prevented the exploitation of beaches, of course it hasn't, and it surely isn't the case that any minister would propose getting rid of sunbeds and what have you from the main, urban beaches. But there is and can be excessiveness, and when this "privatisation" involves the sea as well, one can argue that things have gone too far. Yes, there is privatisation, as with charging for anchoring and so on, but boats are a rather different matter to the likes of floating waterparks. They may cause environmental damage but they are not in themselves unappealing. A waterpark on the other hand ... .
Calvia's initiative is, therefore, to be applauded, even if the beaches involved are not deemed to form part of the protected coast. As such, specific intervention is required. More general intervention, on behalf of the ministry, may well be looming on the horizon.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Hey! Remember Us?: Other resorts
Manacor town hall was proud to have announced that it had presented "relevant information" to the World Travel Market last week. Prior to the fair, it was able to say that the "capital of the Llevant" had "very important" projects in hand, such as for cycling and sports tourism, one of the big Balearic themes at the fair. No one from Manacor actually attended, partly one suspects because the town hall was in the process of change: the vote of no confidence had ushered in a totally different ruling administration. But the town hall had probably, in any event, not planned on sending anyone. Unless I'm mistaken, there were only four town halls with official representation at the fair, two of which needed no introduction: Calvia and Palma. The other two were Alcudia and Pollensa.
In Manacor there is a resort that has been badly neglected for years. Calas de Mallorca has, however, been attempting to up its image, and an innovative website has been part of the process. It isn't the only resort to have been active web-wise, so have Cala Millor and Pollensa, for example.
Pollensa is very British, but it's not as though Cala Millor and Calas de Mallorca don't get British tourists. So should these resorts, and others, have been in attendance? Ultimately, it's a financial consideration. If the regional government is tight when it comes to spending money on tourism promotion, then the town halls are decidedly Scrooge-like. It's hoped that others assist them with promotion at events like London's travel fair - the Balearic Tourism Agency and the hoteliers - but what hope did most of Mallorca's resorts have last week? Alcudia and Pollensa were doing their best, but the only games in old London town were Calvia's and Palma's.
In Palma's case, this was principally to promote the city as a weekend-break destination. Where Calvia was concerned, it was clear why the town hall was keen to be in London. This was a fair which, from a Mallorcan perspective, had one message and one message alone: Magalluf.
This was clearly a message that needed getting across, but one does have to wonder what the rest of Mallorca makes of the apparent monopoly (or duopoly, if Palma is included) of the island's marketing. Fair play to Calvia (and Meliá) for the public relations exercise, but where do other resorts fit in? And among them are others only a short distance from Magalluf. Like Santa Ponsa. It's not just resorts to the north, west or east which are overlooked, it's others in Calvia as well.
The hoo-ha over the missing 63 million euros investment for Playa de Palma was a useful ploy by the regional government. They did, after all, know about this the week before the fair but only revealed the news once they were there. Diversionary tactic for dealing with the tourist tax? Possibly it was, but the argument over this investment merely went to reinforce what has been recognised for too long: the obsession of governmental bodies and of the media with two resorts and only two resorts. Everywhere else appears inconsequential.
And a consequence of this is that you never hear about investments in other resorts, if indeed there are any. Nigh on 200 million of Meliá investors' cash in Magalluf, plus that of others. 63 million that the government is desperate to retrieve from Madrid for Playa de Palma. Vast sums of money that are constantly mentioned, held up as achievements or as examples of central government "aggression" towards Mallorca and the Balearics. Yes, there is investment elsewhere, but it is not of a fundamental character as it is in Magalluf and Playa de Palma: a re-invention of old and tired resorts.
Perhaps the government hopes that it can convince tourists and tour operators that the tourist tax is the means for making Mallorca less of a two-resort island, that the revenue will go to other parts destined to also become like Miami Beach. It's unlikely to convince anyone, and the case for the tax was arguably made less convincing by all the Calvia-Palma puffery in London. If there is investment of the levels spoken about for Magalluf and Playa de Palma - investment without the aid of a tourist tax - why should a tax be necessary?
The point is though that very little of the Magalluf investment has thus far been public money. Meliá, because of its strong interests in the resort and its access to investment, was able to circumvent the type of delays that have dogged the more publicly funded Playa de Palma. Other resorts don't have a sugar daddy hotel chain. They thus rely far more on public funds to bring about change. In a couple of years time, will the World Travel Market be learning about the changing faces of Cala Millor, Alcudia and Calas de Mallorca?
In Manacor there is a resort that has been badly neglected for years. Calas de Mallorca has, however, been attempting to up its image, and an innovative website has been part of the process. It isn't the only resort to have been active web-wise, so have Cala Millor and Pollensa, for example.
Pollensa is very British, but it's not as though Cala Millor and Calas de Mallorca don't get British tourists. So should these resorts, and others, have been in attendance? Ultimately, it's a financial consideration. If the regional government is tight when it comes to spending money on tourism promotion, then the town halls are decidedly Scrooge-like. It's hoped that others assist them with promotion at events like London's travel fair - the Balearic Tourism Agency and the hoteliers - but what hope did most of Mallorca's resorts have last week? Alcudia and Pollensa were doing their best, but the only games in old London town were Calvia's and Palma's.
In Palma's case, this was principally to promote the city as a weekend-break destination. Where Calvia was concerned, it was clear why the town hall was keen to be in London. This was a fair which, from a Mallorcan perspective, had one message and one message alone: Magalluf.
This was clearly a message that needed getting across, but one does have to wonder what the rest of Mallorca makes of the apparent monopoly (or duopoly, if Palma is included) of the island's marketing. Fair play to Calvia (and Meliá) for the public relations exercise, but where do other resorts fit in? And among them are others only a short distance from Magalluf. Like Santa Ponsa. It's not just resorts to the north, west or east which are overlooked, it's others in Calvia as well.
The hoo-ha over the missing 63 million euros investment for Playa de Palma was a useful ploy by the regional government. They did, after all, know about this the week before the fair but only revealed the news once they were there. Diversionary tactic for dealing with the tourist tax? Possibly it was, but the argument over this investment merely went to reinforce what has been recognised for too long: the obsession of governmental bodies and of the media with two resorts and only two resorts. Everywhere else appears inconsequential.
And a consequence of this is that you never hear about investments in other resorts, if indeed there are any. Nigh on 200 million of Meliá investors' cash in Magalluf, plus that of others. 63 million that the government is desperate to retrieve from Madrid for Playa de Palma. Vast sums of money that are constantly mentioned, held up as achievements or as examples of central government "aggression" towards Mallorca and the Balearics. Yes, there is investment elsewhere, but it is not of a fundamental character as it is in Magalluf and Playa de Palma: a re-invention of old and tired resorts.
Perhaps the government hopes that it can convince tourists and tour operators that the tourist tax is the means for making Mallorca less of a two-resort island, that the revenue will go to other parts destined to also become like Miami Beach. It's unlikely to convince anyone, and the case for the tax was arguably made less convincing by all the Calvia-Palma puffery in London. If there is investment of the levels spoken about for Magalluf and Playa de Palma - investment without the aid of a tourist tax - why should a tax be necessary?
The point is though that very little of the Magalluf investment has thus far been public money. Meliá, because of its strong interests in the resort and its access to investment, was able to circumvent the type of delays that have dogged the more publicly funded Playa de Palma. Other resorts don't have a sugar daddy hotel chain. They thus rely far more on public funds to bring about change. In a couple of years time, will the World Travel Market be learning about the changing faces of Cala Millor, Alcudia and Calas de Mallorca?
Monday, October 26, 2015
Heavy Metal And Xe-Lo's Wardrobe
It was startling news indeed. Som Palma were having their wishes fulfilled. They had wanted a city of heavy metal and they were to get one. Lemmy and Motörhead were on their way in order to make a video. Will it end at this or might Lemmy be drafted onto Palma's governing administration? He surely couldn't be any dafter than the current lot. Not that we know for certain that the video will be filmed in Palma. If there is any justice, then Motörhead will head to Montuïri and display two-dotted umlaut solidarity.
They asked for extras to apply, but why bother when the ranks of Podemos, the Assemblea teachers' lot and the odd Més-ite contribute sufficient numbers of rocker hairies. Podemos leader, Dave Spart, might fit the bill, roaring across the Majorcan countryside on a Harley, if only to the rear of The Boot Girl, who firmly has her hands on the controls. There again, The Boot Girl's more punk: "Laura is a punk rocker, Laura is ...", as Joey Ramone Bauzá might have sung.
One thing can be certain, though. There would not be a great deal by way of harmonies were Podemistas let anywhere near Lemmy. These have been days of disharmony within the Majorcan branch of the Church of Pablo Iglesias, and it was one that began with a slight problem with clothes. In the end, Dave had to come out and defend the monthly 400 euros that were finding their way to the Mother of Parliament. Podemista speaker of the house, Xe-Lo Huertas, needed the dosh in order to kit herself out for those times when official duties require that she puts on a show - like demanding of the King that he spends money for official receptions on soup kitchens instead.
One trusts that Xe-Lo spends the money with economy in mind. When Primark opens next year, she should be first in the queue, though it's more likely that she'll be found at the local market, acting in solidarity with artisan clothing designers, and so spending a small fortune in the process. But why not engage in a spot of her own artisaning? The Xe-Lo J-Lo range of official-duty kaftans for the fuller and more mature woman.
But worse was to come with the news that Podemistas in Calvia were abandoning the political party they had set up in their droves (well, handfuls, as in around twenty of them), as in they were turning their back on the Sí Se Puede Calvia. It was something about Podemista sorts who had been allowed to enter the council administration but who were now mere "spectators" to the town's politics and not acting in accordance with ethical commitments to the electoral programme. Or maybe it was something else. It's hard to tell.
Meantime in Palma, there were more signs of disharmony. Aurora Jhardi of Som Palma was predicting the death of Podemos. There was a terminal illness, she suggested. Though, as in Calvia, it was difficult to understand what she was going on about, which is a consequence of there being political parties - Som Palma or Sí Se Puede Calvia - which aren't Podemos as such, merely affiliates, and Podemistas who remain faithful to the preachings from the Iglesias Church. It does all rather sum up Podemos. Onlookers haven't a clue where they're at, while of those within their ranks there are some who are similarly clueless and others who spend their time at each other's throats. Aurora then said that by terminal illness she had only been using a figure of speech and that it was all part of the self-analysis and self-criticism that goes on within Podemos or parts of Podemos which aren't Podemos as such. By self-criticism, one might take this to mean that they can't stand each other.
Sorry, I'm totally baffled, and I'm sure you are as well.
They asked for extras to apply, but why bother when the ranks of Podemos, the Assemblea teachers' lot and the odd Més-ite contribute sufficient numbers of rocker hairies. Podemos leader, Dave Spart, might fit the bill, roaring across the Majorcan countryside on a Harley, if only to the rear of The Boot Girl, who firmly has her hands on the controls. There again, The Boot Girl's more punk: "Laura is a punk rocker, Laura is ...", as Joey Ramone Bauzá might have sung.
One thing can be certain, though. There would not be a great deal by way of harmonies were Podemistas let anywhere near Lemmy. These have been days of disharmony within the Majorcan branch of the Church of Pablo Iglesias, and it was one that began with a slight problem with clothes. In the end, Dave had to come out and defend the monthly 400 euros that were finding their way to the Mother of Parliament. Podemista speaker of the house, Xe-Lo Huertas, needed the dosh in order to kit herself out for those times when official duties require that she puts on a show - like demanding of the King that he spends money for official receptions on soup kitchens instead.
One trusts that Xe-Lo spends the money with economy in mind. When Primark opens next year, she should be first in the queue, though it's more likely that she'll be found at the local market, acting in solidarity with artisan clothing designers, and so spending a small fortune in the process. But why not engage in a spot of her own artisaning? The Xe-Lo J-Lo range of official-duty kaftans for the fuller and more mature woman.
But worse was to come with the news that Podemistas in Calvia were abandoning the political party they had set up in their droves (well, handfuls, as in around twenty of them), as in they were turning their back on the Sí Se Puede Calvia. It was something about Podemista sorts who had been allowed to enter the council administration but who were now mere "spectators" to the town's politics and not acting in accordance with ethical commitments to the electoral programme. Or maybe it was something else. It's hard to tell.
Meantime in Palma, there were more signs of disharmony. Aurora Jhardi of Som Palma was predicting the death of Podemos. There was a terminal illness, she suggested. Though, as in Calvia, it was difficult to understand what she was going on about, which is a consequence of there being political parties - Som Palma or Sí Se Puede Calvia - which aren't Podemos as such, merely affiliates, and Podemistas who remain faithful to the preachings from the Iglesias Church. It does all rather sum up Podemos. Onlookers haven't a clue where they're at, while of those within their ranks there are some who are similarly clueless and others who spend their time at each other's throats. Aurora then said that by terminal illness she had only been using a figure of speech and that it was all part of the self-analysis and self-criticism that goes on within Podemos or parts of Podemos which aren't Podemos as such. By self-criticism, one might take this to mean that they can't stand each other.
Sorry, I'm totally baffled, and I'm sure you are as well.
Saturday, August 01, 2015
The Neglect Of Calas de Mallorca
Calas de Mallorca is a resort that has for years suffered from neglect. Partly this has been because of its origins as an essentially private development which still creates issues for the town hall in Manacor in terms of services. Nevertheless, last year the town hall was stung into taking action when examples of neglect began to appear in the media. So, it showed some initiative, the lack of which has been the focus of criticism of regimes at the town hall over several years when it has come to tourism infrastructure (and not just Calas de Mallorca). It is a resort which has also become a dumping ground for all-inclusive. In this regard it is not unique, but the almost total economy nature of its some 6,000 or so hotel places has bred a form of all-inclusive that reflects the hotel stock and a level of all-inclusive which is said to represent anywhere between 80% and 90% of those places.
The quoting of such figures is always something in which holes can be picked. Data from the Balearic tourism ministry (such as they are) and information from studies give varying percentages as to the level of all-inclusive. A typical figure has been around 33% for the whole of Mallorca, which might just be believable when one takes account of the island's entire hotel stock but is most definitely not believable at the micro level of individual resorts, of which Calas de Mallorca is a good example.
With a new regime at the town hall, the issue of all-inclusive, as it is in other municipalities, has come to the top of the agenda. But like other municipalities, Calvia for example where the mayor has spoken of regulation, Manacor cannot effect any municipal legislation that limits or bars all-inclusive. It can introduce bylaws that might influence aspects of the all-inclusive offer but it can do no more: it is otherwise a matter for regional government.
If the volume of all-inclusive is as it is quoted, there should be a fundamental question being asked: what is the point of Calas de Mallorca as a resort? If general economic welfare is so limited as a consequence of one particular type of accommodation board, then its purpose as a resort is diminished. It is not sustainable, and in the mantra of the current day, it therefore runs counter to the notions of sustainable (aka responsible) tourism that tour operators and some hoteliers make a big issue of, yet singularly fail to practise.
The new regional administration, with its twin policy items of the eco-tax and all-inclusive regulation (yet to be defined), may well have an underlying strategy aimed at reducing tourist numbers. It is a strategy littered with risks, but if these policies, allied to tactics such as the declaration of far more "mature zones" in tourist resorts, were to result in a decline in the number of places in a resort like Calas de Mallorca but the removal of a great deal of that 80 or 90%, then the cost-benefit equation would in all likelihood weigh heavily in favour of general economic benefit for the local economy.
The mature zones, a mechanism for liberalising and incentivising redevelopment but also forcing it, should be applied widely across Mallorca, but it is a tactic which might itself run up against government antagonism towards in-resort investment. What we are not seeing at present is a clear vision of what Biel Barceló, the tourism minister, wants. When he speaks of tourism re-investment facilitated by the eco-tax, how much of this would be directed at the resorts? Even if it were to be, mature zones rely massively on private investment for the tactic to succeed or be given the chance to succeed, and neither Més (certain members of the party at any rate) nor Podemos are currently endearing themselves to the principal sources of such investment - the hoteliers and their backers.
There is a great deal of muddled thinking at present. While reducing tourist numbers, limiting all-inclusive but raising general standards in terms of the type of tourism that Mallorca has are not in themselves bad policies, another side of the coin is that of employment. And into this equation comes the issue of wages, employment conditions and contracts. A report this week that reveals that increased employment levels in the Balearics are predominantly due to short-term, seasonal tourism contracts will come as absolutely no surprise. Podemos, in attacking the hoteliers for a lack of job security, has to accept certain realities of the tourism industry. Firstly, it is seasonal and secondly, there is a very good reason why wages are as they are - low. Podemos (and the government) wants there to be higher quality employment in the industry, implying higher wages, full contracts and so on. But then what is this employment? For the most part, it is unskilled or low-skilled. This shouldn't be an excuse for worker exploitation, but tourism jobs are like they are in Mallorca the world over: that's the reality.
To return to the theme of all-inclusive regulation, it is not one that is only exercising the minds of councillors in Manacor and Calvia and Balearic government ministers. In Benidorm, a commission is being set up to analyse the impact of all-inclusive. The conclusions of its findings will be sent to the regional government (Valencia in this instance). What is significant about this commission is the fact that it involves all interested parties, including the Benidorm hoteliers. Absent from its membership, however, are any tour operators, and as we all know it is they who hold the key, not the hoteliers, many of whom would rather not have to offer all-inclusive (a sentiment which exists in Mallorca as well).
But with the Canaries also setting all-inclusives in their sights, there is a discernible shift in political and business perspective. Finally, after a good couple of decades of all-inclusive there is some momentum and desire to address its impact, and it is a momentum being felt in different parts of Spain. Ultimately, however, the tour operators need to be included, as it is they who wield much of the power. But might they finally wake up to the responsibilities they claim in the marketing-speak of their responsible/sustainable tourism mission statements? Don't hold your breath.
The quoting of such figures is always something in which holes can be picked. Data from the Balearic tourism ministry (such as they are) and information from studies give varying percentages as to the level of all-inclusive. A typical figure has been around 33% for the whole of Mallorca, which might just be believable when one takes account of the island's entire hotel stock but is most definitely not believable at the micro level of individual resorts, of which Calas de Mallorca is a good example.
With a new regime at the town hall, the issue of all-inclusive, as it is in other municipalities, has come to the top of the agenda. But like other municipalities, Calvia for example where the mayor has spoken of regulation, Manacor cannot effect any municipal legislation that limits or bars all-inclusive. It can introduce bylaws that might influence aspects of the all-inclusive offer but it can do no more: it is otherwise a matter for regional government.
If the volume of all-inclusive is as it is quoted, there should be a fundamental question being asked: what is the point of Calas de Mallorca as a resort? If general economic welfare is so limited as a consequence of one particular type of accommodation board, then its purpose as a resort is diminished. It is not sustainable, and in the mantra of the current day, it therefore runs counter to the notions of sustainable (aka responsible) tourism that tour operators and some hoteliers make a big issue of, yet singularly fail to practise.
The new regional administration, with its twin policy items of the eco-tax and all-inclusive regulation (yet to be defined), may well have an underlying strategy aimed at reducing tourist numbers. It is a strategy littered with risks, but if these policies, allied to tactics such as the declaration of far more "mature zones" in tourist resorts, were to result in a decline in the number of places in a resort like Calas de Mallorca but the removal of a great deal of that 80 or 90%, then the cost-benefit equation would in all likelihood weigh heavily in favour of general economic benefit for the local economy.
The mature zones, a mechanism for liberalising and incentivising redevelopment but also forcing it, should be applied widely across Mallorca, but it is a tactic which might itself run up against government antagonism towards in-resort investment. What we are not seeing at present is a clear vision of what Biel Barceló, the tourism minister, wants. When he speaks of tourism re-investment facilitated by the eco-tax, how much of this would be directed at the resorts? Even if it were to be, mature zones rely massively on private investment for the tactic to succeed or be given the chance to succeed, and neither Més (certain members of the party at any rate) nor Podemos are currently endearing themselves to the principal sources of such investment - the hoteliers and their backers.
There is a great deal of muddled thinking at present. While reducing tourist numbers, limiting all-inclusive but raising general standards in terms of the type of tourism that Mallorca has are not in themselves bad policies, another side of the coin is that of employment. And into this equation comes the issue of wages, employment conditions and contracts. A report this week that reveals that increased employment levels in the Balearics are predominantly due to short-term, seasonal tourism contracts will come as absolutely no surprise. Podemos, in attacking the hoteliers for a lack of job security, has to accept certain realities of the tourism industry. Firstly, it is seasonal and secondly, there is a very good reason why wages are as they are - low. Podemos (and the government) wants there to be higher quality employment in the industry, implying higher wages, full contracts and so on. But then what is this employment? For the most part, it is unskilled or low-skilled. This shouldn't be an excuse for worker exploitation, but tourism jobs are like they are in Mallorca the world over: that's the reality.
To return to the theme of all-inclusive regulation, it is not one that is only exercising the minds of councillors in Manacor and Calvia and Balearic government ministers. In Benidorm, a commission is being set up to analyse the impact of all-inclusive. The conclusions of its findings will be sent to the regional government (Valencia in this instance). What is significant about this commission is the fact that it involves all interested parties, including the Benidorm hoteliers. Absent from its membership, however, are any tour operators, and as we all know it is they who hold the key, not the hoteliers, many of whom would rather not have to offer all-inclusive (a sentiment which exists in Mallorca as well).
But with the Canaries also setting all-inclusives in their sights, there is a discernible shift in political and business perspective. Finally, after a good couple of decades of all-inclusive there is some momentum and desire to address its impact, and it is a momentum being felt in different parts of Spain. Ultimately, however, the tour operators need to be included, as it is they who wield much of the power. But might they finally wake up to the responsibilities they claim in the marketing-speak of their responsible/sustainable tourism mission statements? Don't hold your breath.
Monday, July 06, 2015
Lessons Of The Magus: Cinema tourism
Now, before you start thinking this is something dreamt up by the new lot, the idea goes back to the time of the previous lot, though it doesn't seem to have a great deal to do with either lot as such, as the culture department appears to exist in a vacuum of splendidly non-political isolation. So, no need for the department to run the cinema routes concept up the flagpole with the new lot and create an old-lot, new-lot polemic of flagpole proportions: oddly enough, Calvia would appear not to have a councillor with responsibility for culture as such.
"Calvia es Cine" is a concept that has been knocking around for a few months now and would seem to have been inspired, at least in part, by this year being the fiftieth anniversary of the film "Trampa bajo el sol". No, I confess I hadn't either: or its French title "Train d'Enfer". Calvia can, though, boast some better-known films, one of which had a location not so far from the flagpole of Palmanova. The beach featured in "The Damned United"; well it did, according to one source. But wasn't it Santa Ponsa? "Calvia es Cine" would doubtless know.
If the link with the Cloughie film isn't that strong - filming only took a couple of days - it is much stronger with the cove that was declared the first nudist beach in Calvia. Yes, the route would take tourists to the Playa del Mago, aka Playa Portals Vells II, where some might need to avert their eyes. The cinema's association with this cove is so strong that it was renamed after a film that was partly shot there in 1967 - "The Magus". Starring Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn and Candice Bergen, it was a box-office and critical disaster. Caine said of it that it was one of the worst films he was ever involved with as no one had a clue what it was all about. Still, even rotten tomatoes can carry some cachet and have a beach named after them.
More successful was "Evil Under The Sun", a Peter Ustinov as Poirot, Agatha Christie romp. And Calvia's claim to fame here is? Cala d'en Monjo near to Paguera. But then there are several locations which can claim some fame, none of which are in Calvia - Cala Deya, Cala en Feliu in Formentor, Cala Blanca and Sant Elm in Andratx, the Raixa estate in Bunyola and, above all, the island of Sa Dragonera. And joining "The Damned United" in more recent years, there was "The Inbetweeners Movie", which had some location scenes shot during - if I recall rightly - a fairly miserable March in Magalluf a few years ago. The film wasn't of course set in Mallorca but in Crete.
To these silver-screen triumphs and bombs need to be added the name of Errol Flynn, who never made a film in Mallorca, merely drank it. But then Illetes wasn't and isn't Magalluf. Hence, a plaque to his heroic alcohol consumption would be something of a high point of the touristic cinema route.
In theory, it's not a bad idea. Cinema can bestow great benefits on tourism, but only so long as films are clearly identifiable with locations, which typically means more than a few minutes' footage here or there. When Calvia's head of culture, Catalina Caldentey, refers to the tourism advantages that have come New Zealand's way because of "Lord of the Rings", she isn't wrong, but here we are talking something of a totally different nature and magnitude to Timothy Spall and Michael Sheen arguing for a short while off the Calvia coastline.
Mallorca, and not only Calvia, has a habit of periodically being in thrall to the cinema industry. Its celebrity-obsessed heritage allows it to fall at the feet of Hollywood, even if it doesn't cough up the 150 grand it should have to the producers of "Cloud Atlas". Mallorca can't be held responsible for total turkeys, though "The Magus" should have provided ample warning, but it can be responsible for thinking that there is some advantage to be gained from glimpses of Sa Calobra or wherever amid movie mayhem that many would rather forget. There is no advantage, unless the world can readily identify locations. Otherwise, they are just locations, lost in the swirl of post-production and lost forever because the movie turns out to be a stinker.
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
The Structure Of Tourism
Joan Mesquida is a name with which some of you will be familiar. He was national secretary-of-state for tourism from 2008 to 2011. Prior to this he was the director-general for the National Police and the Guardia Civil. He has a new task: director-general of "strategic projects" at Calvia town hall. Chief among these projects will be cleaning up the image of Magalluf.
If anyone is qualified for this mission nigh on impossible, Mesquida might well be the person. His ambitions to promote policies to improve the resort's image are ones for which he should receive the support of all. And if his one-time association with the two police bodies might assist in solving problems with the so-called prostitutes, then all the better.
He may not get wholehearted and unanimous support though. Not politically anyway. Hopes that he might trip up will be gleefully gloated over if he does. Mesquida is entering the danger zone of local tourism politics - one filled with traps and point-scoring. It has happened already. The new PSOE-led administration has already fallen foul of the sniping of the vanquished. Why hadn't it enforced new policies immediately? How long is immediate? Even the best intention for hitting the ground running takes time to effect, and it has been a bit rich for the PP, which hit the ground several times in falling flat on its face, to indulge in bitching. Sore losers? You bet.
Mesquida, the new mayor Alfonso Rodríguez and his partners in the coalition, do, despite the troubles that continue to afflict Magalluf, inherit a situation better than that which Manu Onieva took on in 2011. The improvements, though, owe precious little to the town hall, other than there being a template of ordinance. Rodríguez and his administration will be judged on how effectively this is enforced. Truly strategic elements of projects that Mesquida will undertake are still more likely to come from the vision of the private sector and not the council chamber.
But, and taking a broader view than simply dwelling - once again - on Magalluf, "strategic" should feature far more strongly than it does in the policies of local governments. Politicians might claim that this is the case but it rarely is and even where there is some evidence of joined-up strategy, it can be undermined because of political changes to administrations, just it can also be given insufficient importance in structures of these administrations. Calvia now has an assistant mayor with responsibilities for tourism, commerce and industry. Combining the three might make some sense, but even more sensible would be to have just one responsibility - tourism.
In Palma there is now the curious situation whereby tourism has in effect been relegated in the structure. From having had the council's number two, Alvaro Gijón, with the tourism portfolio, it is now wrapped up with commerce and employment and with a councillor who will not actually sit on the council's governing board. Mayor José Hila says that this will make no difference, but as Palma seeks to build on tourism gains that Gijón helped to bring about, one can only hope that he is right. Putting limits on boutique hotels is not an encouraging start.
The regional government, by contrast, looks as if it will be placing tourism where it should be: at the top of the structure. The fear of God may be put into some if indeed Biel Barceló combines the vice-presidency with tourism, but organisationally the move is a sensible one. But there is or should be more to it than drawing the organisation chart. Tourism isn't the be all and end all, but its importance is such - a contention I have made for some years - that it should be perceived in such a way that all other government activities support it. If decisions are to be made regarding health, environment, education, whatever, they should be made with an appreciation of how they impact tourism.
Not every municipality in Mallorca is dominated by tourism but all of them share a responsibility for it. In those municipalities where tourism does dominate - Calvia for example - then the town hall structure should reflect this. And had such a structure been established and engrained, there would now be far less need for Joan Mesquida and his "strategic projects". In business there is a maxim that structure should follow strategy and not the other way round. For too long, the structure has been allowed to rule and so strategically tourism has not been given the prominence it should have. And who knows, if this greater prominence had applied over the many years in Magalluf, there might be even less need for Mesquida to clean up the image. There would still be bitching between parties, but it would be strategic bitching and not tactical bitching, such as with the need for the tactical deployment of more police.
If anyone is qualified for this mission nigh on impossible, Mesquida might well be the person. His ambitions to promote policies to improve the resort's image are ones for which he should receive the support of all. And if his one-time association with the two police bodies might assist in solving problems with the so-called prostitutes, then all the better.
He may not get wholehearted and unanimous support though. Not politically anyway. Hopes that he might trip up will be gleefully gloated over if he does. Mesquida is entering the danger zone of local tourism politics - one filled with traps and point-scoring. It has happened already. The new PSOE-led administration has already fallen foul of the sniping of the vanquished. Why hadn't it enforced new policies immediately? How long is immediate? Even the best intention for hitting the ground running takes time to effect, and it has been a bit rich for the PP, which hit the ground several times in falling flat on its face, to indulge in bitching. Sore losers? You bet.
Mesquida, the new mayor Alfonso Rodríguez and his partners in the coalition, do, despite the troubles that continue to afflict Magalluf, inherit a situation better than that which Manu Onieva took on in 2011. The improvements, though, owe precious little to the town hall, other than there being a template of ordinance. Rodríguez and his administration will be judged on how effectively this is enforced. Truly strategic elements of projects that Mesquida will undertake are still more likely to come from the vision of the private sector and not the council chamber.
But, and taking a broader view than simply dwelling - once again - on Magalluf, "strategic" should feature far more strongly than it does in the policies of local governments. Politicians might claim that this is the case but it rarely is and even where there is some evidence of joined-up strategy, it can be undermined because of political changes to administrations, just it can also be given insufficient importance in structures of these administrations. Calvia now has an assistant mayor with responsibilities for tourism, commerce and industry. Combining the three might make some sense, but even more sensible would be to have just one responsibility - tourism.
In Palma there is now the curious situation whereby tourism has in effect been relegated in the structure. From having had the council's number two, Alvaro Gijón, with the tourism portfolio, it is now wrapped up with commerce and employment and with a councillor who will not actually sit on the council's governing board. Mayor José Hila says that this will make no difference, but as Palma seeks to build on tourism gains that Gijón helped to bring about, one can only hope that he is right. Putting limits on boutique hotels is not an encouraging start.
The regional government, by contrast, looks as if it will be placing tourism where it should be: at the top of the structure. The fear of God may be put into some if indeed Biel Barceló combines the vice-presidency with tourism, but organisationally the move is a sensible one. But there is or should be more to it than drawing the organisation chart. Tourism isn't the be all and end all, but its importance is such - a contention I have made for some years - that it should be perceived in such a way that all other government activities support it. If decisions are to be made regarding health, environment, education, whatever, they should be made with an appreciation of how they impact tourism.
Not every municipality in Mallorca is dominated by tourism but all of them share a responsibility for it. In those municipalities where tourism does dominate - Calvia for example - then the town hall structure should reflect this. And had such a structure been established and engrained, there would now be far less need for Joan Mesquida and his "strategic projects". In business there is a maxim that structure should follow strategy and not the other way round. For too long, the structure has been allowed to rule and so strategically tourism has not been given the prominence it should have. And who knows, if this greater prominence had applied over the many years in Magalluf, there might be even less need for Mesquida to clean up the image. There would still be bitching between parties, but it would be strategic bitching and not tactical bitching, such as with the need for the tactical deployment of more police.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
The Dwindling Fortunes Of The Goat
4,500 years ago the first goats turned up on Mallorca, and of the two varieties of goat on the island, one of them is the same as those very first goats - the "boc balear" otherwise known as the Mallorcan wild goat. The other variety is more recent - the feral goat, a one-time domestic animal that went AWOL. The two of them live in relative peace and harmony in the wild, the boc a supposedly more eco-friendly goat than its feral cousin on account of having a more varied vegetation diet. This supposition, long held it would seem, turns out not to be the case. Scientists, who enjoy studying things like the feeding behaviours of wild goats in Mallorca, have discovered that there is no discernible difference between the two when it comes to any negative influence on the island's natural vegetation. So, we can all be thankful for this, one supposes.
This research has only recently been published - this year in fact. By its very nature, it is a study that will only set the pulses racing of fellow animal behaviour scholars. For the rest of us, it will not. But nonetheless, it indicates the importance of goats to Mallorca; something which should be obvious. If they've been around for four and a half millennia, then they have every reason to be considered to be important.
Of course, not all goats are wild. The domestic and farm goat, one that has avoided going feral, has its own, centuries-long importance to Mallorca, but how important has it ranked alongside the three other main farm animals - cattle, sheep and pigs?
Of the four, it is fair to say that sheep have long been the most prized. When King Jaume I conquered Mallorca in the thirteenth century, he received as part of the spoils of war some 90,000 sheep in Arta alone. There were also 10,000 head of cattle in this part of the island's north-east, but the latter's population has fluctuated enormously over the centuries. By the end of the eighteenth century, while over 150,000 sheep were being raised on Mallorca, there were only 7,500 cattle.
Two centuries earlier, a very detailed census of livestock had been undertaken so that the Viceroy of Mallorca, Luis Vich y Manrique de Lara, could know exactly what there were by way of farm animals on his patch. Of 257,917 animals in all, 70% of them were sheep. Trailing a fair distance behind were the goats - 18%. But they were well ahead of both pigs (4.5%) and cattle (2%).
These percentages remained fairly stable until the nineteenth century. Pigs, which had never been considered to have great farming value, acquired a value when agricultural land usage diversified away from being predominantly cereal-based. The cultivation of fig trees was the making of the pig. It could be fattened in double-quick time and to a larger size thanks to the fig.
Coming up to the present day, the livestock breakdown has changed significantly. For the Balearics as a whole, a census has registered 479,000 animals. Sheep remain way ahead of the pack with 364,000. Pigs, though, are now firmly in second place, having attained a position not that much short of that which the goats of the sixteenth century had. Cattle amount to just over 5%, but goats are back in last place with only 4%.
The decline of the goat isn't difficult to explain. Of the cattle, these divide fairly evenly between beef herd and milk cows. Their yields in terms of meat and milk are far greater than those of goats. Of the 19,000 or so goats which are now reared, only a quarter are used for milk, which still leaves a fair number that make their way on to a restaurant's table. But the popularity of goat as a meat is nothing like it was, unlike lamb, and the consequence has been that goat herds have become something of a rarity on Mallorca.
Nevertheless, the goat retains its importance as much because of its ancient association with Mallorca as its current-day production. Way back when, in pre-Roman times, the island's economy, where livestock was concerned, was a sheep and goat one, and it is this combination that provides the theme for this weekend's fair in Calvia village. There is a gastronomy element to the fair, dedicated to the traditions of cuisine that sheep and goats offer. "Cabrito" will be on offer, and so does the fair hint at a revival in the popularity of goat meat? Probably not. The decline in the farming of goats is unlikely to be reversed.
This research has only recently been published - this year in fact. By its very nature, it is a study that will only set the pulses racing of fellow animal behaviour scholars. For the rest of us, it will not. But nonetheless, it indicates the importance of goats to Mallorca; something which should be obvious. If they've been around for four and a half millennia, then they have every reason to be considered to be important.
Of course, not all goats are wild. The domestic and farm goat, one that has avoided going feral, has its own, centuries-long importance to Mallorca, but how important has it ranked alongside the three other main farm animals - cattle, sheep and pigs?
Of the four, it is fair to say that sheep have long been the most prized. When King Jaume I conquered Mallorca in the thirteenth century, he received as part of the spoils of war some 90,000 sheep in Arta alone. There were also 10,000 head of cattle in this part of the island's north-east, but the latter's population has fluctuated enormously over the centuries. By the end of the eighteenth century, while over 150,000 sheep were being raised on Mallorca, there were only 7,500 cattle.
Two centuries earlier, a very detailed census of livestock had been undertaken so that the Viceroy of Mallorca, Luis Vich y Manrique de Lara, could know exactly what there were by way of farm animals on his patch. Of 257,917 animals in all, 70% of them were sheep. Trailing a fair distance behind were the goats - 18%. But they were well ahead of both pigs (4.5%) and cattle (2%).
These percentages remained fairly stable until the nineteenth century. Pigs, which had never been considered to have great farming value, acquired a value when agricultural land usage diversified away from being predominantly cereal-based. The cultivation of fig trees was the making of the pig. It could be fattened in double-quick time and to a larger size thanks to the fig.
Coming up to the present day, the livestock breakdown has changed significantly. For the Balearics as a whole, a census has registered 479,000 animals. Sheep remain way ahead of the pack with 364,000. Pigs, though, are now firmly in second place, having attained a position not that much short of that which the goats of the sixteenth century had. Cattle amount to just over 5%, but goats are back in last place with only 4%.
The decline of the goat isn't difficult to explain. Of the cattle, these divide fairly evenly between beef herd and milk cows. Their yields in terms of meat and milk are far greater than those of goats. Of the 19,000 or so goats which are now reared, only a quarter are used for milk, which still leaves a fair number that make their way on to a restaurant's table. But the popularity of goat as a meat is nothing like it was, unlike lamb, and the consequence has been that goat herds have become something of a rarity on Mallorca.
Nevertheless, the goat retains its importance as much because of its ancient association with Mallorca as its current-day production. Way back when, in pre-Roman times, the island's economy, where livestock was concerned, was a sheep and goat one, and it is this combination that provides the theme for this weekend's fair in Calvia village. There is a gastronomy element to the fair, dedicated to the traditions of cuisine that sheep and goats offer. "Cabrito" will be on offer, and so does the fair hint at a revival in the popularity of goat meat? Probably not. The decline in the farming of goats is unlikely to be reversed.
Friday, March 06, 2015
Then They Took Berlin
And then, as Leonard Cohen very nearly sang, they took Berlin; they being the global tourism industry, one part of which is Mallorca. They have all descended on the German capital for the ITB fair, the third and final of the big-three tourism trade fairs where Mallorca is concerned. Naturally enough, because it wouldn't be a fair without them, forecasts for the coming season were being made and, depending on who you bothered to listen to (if anyone), the German market for Mallorca was at present either slow or buoyant.
Jaime Martínez, the regional government's minister for tourism statistical data (sometimes also referred to as the minister for tourism and sport), arrived early, tucking in to the 255,000 euros budget for the fair, which makes it the second most expensive promotional "action" that the ministry will indulge in this year. Strangely perhaps, the Madrid Fitur fair, the number one "action", cost considerably more - 124,000 euros more. But be this as it may, the German market is only the largest tourism market that Mallorca can call upon: a third of all tourists in 2014.
Jaime, data readily to hand, announced that following last year's "historic" tourist performance the German market in 2015 will be one of improvement and consolidation (is this not a contradiction?). Bookings figures are already up on this time last year, he said, and moreover there won't be any World Cup for the Germans to celebrate and so get in the way of what will doubtless be a new historic year. However, not everyone is quite so optimistic. There again, not everyone is a Partido Popular politician desperately hoping against hope that his party will be re-elected in May. There will be some growth but it will probably only be small, and the data, were Jaime to acknowledge them, showed a tendency in 2014 for the German tourist to spend less and to stay for fewer nights.
It was reassuring to note that individuals towns weren't relying on Jaime and the tourism agency to go into promotional bat for them. Hence, the likes of Palma, Calvia, Felanitx, Pollensa, Manacor and Cala Millor (not a town as such, I realise) were all in attendance. Interesting that Calvia had pitched up. Are they trying to entice the Germans to Calvia Beach Resort and so de-Anglicise Magalluf and make it a resort of peace and harmony? Not that the Germans should be needed in order to do this, Calvia having declared the streets of old Magalluf (and Santa Ponsa) alcohol-free zones from ten in the evening. Nary a word about prostitutes who happily divest passing tourists of their smartphones and give them a sound slapping in the process, but as Calvia has, at a stroke, eliminated drunken tourism, the lads on tour will now be more aware of a mugger lurking in the shadows. Somehow, one doesn't imagine that this will be how it is.
Jaime Martínez, the regional government's minister for tourism statistical data (sometimes also referred to as the minister for tourism and sport), arrived early, tucking in to the 255,000 euros budget for the fair, which makes it the second most expensive promotional "action" that the ministry will indulge in this year. Strangely perhaps, the Madrid Fitur fair, the number one "action", cost considerably more - 124,000 euros more. But be this as it may, the German market is only the largest tourism market that Mallorca can call upon: a third of all tourists in 2014.
Jaime, data readily to hand, announced that following last year's "historic" tourist performance the German market in 2015 will be one of improvement and consolidation (is this not a contradiction?). Bookings figures are already up on this time last year, he said, and moreover there won't be any World Cup for the Germans to celebrate and so get in the way of what will doubtless be a new historic year. However, not everyone is quite so optimistic. There again, not everyone is a Partido Popular politician desperately hoping against hope that his party will be re-elected in May. There will be some growth but it will probably only be small, and the data, were Jaime to acknowledge them, showed a tendency in 2014 for the German tourist to spend less and to stay for fewer nights.
It was reassuring to note that individuals towns weren't relying on Jaime and the tourism agency to go into promotional bat for them. Hence, the likes of Palma, Calvia, Felanitx, Pollensa, Manacor and Cala Millor (not a town as such, I realise) were all in attendance. Interesting that Calvia had pitched up. Are they trying to entice the Germans to Calvia Beach Resort and so de-Anglicise Magalluf and make it a resort of peace and harmony? Not that the Germans should be needed in order to do this, Calvia having declared the streets of old Magalluf (and Santa Ponsa) alcohol-free zones from ten in the evening. Nary a word about prostitutes who happily divest passing tourists of their smartphones and give them a sound slapping in the process, but as Calvia has, at a stroke, eliminated drunken tourism, the lads on tour will now be more aware of a mugger lurking in the shadows. Somehow, one doesn't imagine that this will be how it is.
Sunday, February 08, 2015
Have You Got A Moment?
I recall that when Francina Armengol was given the keys to the presidential suite at the Council of Mallorca in 2007, she was going to usher in a new way of doing things. Her door, she said, would always be open, by which she didn't mean that the general public could just wander in off the street and have a good old nosey around. Rather, Francina was all for doing things differently; she was an open and communicative president and not the one from whom she had taken over (now residing at his majesty's pleasure). Eight years later, we find Francina in pole position (if not actually first in the polls) to become Bauzá's successor, and so she has been reflecting on ... the need for a new way of doing things. These new ways come in eight-year cycles, it would appear. "Another way of doing politics is possible," she informed a gathering of PSOE-ites in Valencia. "Through dialogue rather than imposition." "Through participation and ..." At this point, lights will have gone on in the minds of the fellow PSOE-ites. Participation. Now, where have we been hearing about this?
Suddenly, everyone's talking about participation, and they have to thank (and/or fear) Pablo Iglesias for doing so. Yes, there is a new and participative way of doing things, and someone had beaten Francina to the idea by several months. Her version, whatever it might in fact be, is political catch-up blended with ample dollops of opportunism. What are Podemos good at? Participation. Right, we'll have some of that for ourselves. And, blow me, only a few days later, PSOE in Calvia were unveiling their own participative re-invention. Under the slogan - "have you got a moment" - they've come up with a mobile app through which residents can answer three questions, such as "what is it that most concerns you about Calvia?" A multiple choice gives various options for answering - corruption, safety, taxes, tourism, etc. More than this, they are planning on having "participative budgets", so that the folk of Calvia can decide where money goes for certain things.
This isn't as revolutionary as it might sound, as they already do this in little old Algaida, where the council is PSOE-controlled and which is the home town of Francina's predecessor as leader of PSOE, her good chum and former president of the Balearics, Francesc Antich. So, it's been Algaida which has been the source of inspiration for Francina; has it? Possibly, but new ways of doing things haven't simply shifted towards citizen decisions as to how 300 grand are spent; new ways have emerged because things have been turned on their head. And Francina knows full well by whom and why she has to get the participation craze as well. As Little Eva might have sung (but didn't): "Everybody's doing a brand new political dance now. Come on, baby, do The Participation".
Suddenly, everyone's talking about participation, and they have to thank (and/or fear) Pablo Iglesias for doing so. Yes, there is a new and participative way of doing things, and someone had beaten Francina to the idea by several months. Her version, whatever it might in fact be, is political catch-up blended with ample dollops of opportunism. What are Podemos good at? Participation. Right, we'll have some of that for ourselves. And, blow me, only a few days later, PSOE in Calvia were unveiling their own participative re-invention. Under the slogan - "have you got a moment" - they've come up with a mobile app through which residents can answer three questions, such as "what is it that most concerns you about Calvia?" A multiple choice gives various options for answering - corruption, safety, taxes, tourism, etc. More than this, they are planning on having "participative budgets", so that the folk of Calvia can decide where money goes for certain things.
This isn't as revolutionary as it might sound, as they already do this in little old Algaida, where the council is PSOE-controlled and which is the home town of Francina's predecessor as leader of PSOE, her good chum and former president of the Balearics, Francesc Antich. So, it's been Algaida which has been the source of inspiration for Francina; has it? Possibly, but new ways of doing things haven't simply shifted towards citizen decisions as to how 300 grand are spent; new ways have emerged because things have been turned on their head. And Francina knows full well by whom and why she has to get the participation craze as well. As Little Eva might have sung (but didn't): "Everybody's doing a brand new political dance now. Come on, baby, do The Participation".
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Everything Is Upside Down
"Todo patas arriba". Everything's upside down. Or everything's in a mess. It is a legend that is splattered across the front cover of a magazine and over two photos of building work which is taking place on the streets of a resort in summer. This is a very interesting magazine. So interesting is it, that I am devoting much of this article to translating parts of articles from it. Let's start with the editorial leader.
"Never again. The situation, which is unfortunately shown on our cover, should not be repeated: the main streets, the most touristic, with work being done in July and August! Unbelievable. Unheard of. Our visitors cannot hide their amazement. How can this type of work be done during these months? Ah, Spain is different, my friends; you know that. We don't believe that this would happen in any other tourist country, least of all in Europe.
"We know the town hall's explanation. In winter, building companies are too busy to deal with our needs. You have to catch them when you can... But that's not our problem. It is one for the representatives we elected for four years, to make our lives better and to not mess up and cause significant damage to businesses."
On another page, there is an article with a headline which says that 1,300 million (pesetas) are to be spent on changing an image.
"(The deputy mayor) has explained to us that the town hall wishes to beautify the resort. 'We are aware of the need for an urgent change of image. We want to literally upholster the resort in green. Pavements with trees, benches, new lighting in an area where the "hooligan" currently sits. (One avenue) will be transformed into a true boulevard with fountains, benches, trees and plants.' "
The article's author is sceptical. All this is to be done within three years. "We'll see," he concludes questioningly. There will be municipal elections well before the three years are up.
There is also an interview with the local police officer who is responsible for the organisation of police resources. It is under the headline "Restructuring of the municipal police". The restructuring has come about, says the officer, in order to take account of specific needs in the municipality. There are four main priorities. These are the "venta ambulante" (looky-lookies), "tiqueteros" (PRs), night-time noise and public order at night as well as security on the beaches. The police on the beaches will be plainclothes cops. They will mingle with the holidaymakers and their mission will be to prevent the venta ambulante and any type of (unlicensed) service on the beach. The police hope that their presence will act in deterring these illegal activities. "Rather than a repressive action, it will be a preventative action."
Elsewhere, there is a short letter to the magazine which reads: "Friends and neighbours, as the new spokesperson for the neighbourhood association, I hope for the collaboration of all residents, working together as an association of friends in this time of crisis in order to cure all the ills in the area, to beautify and enrich it and enhance our local heritage".
Moving on from the contents of this magazine, it might be noted that on 8 May this year there was an item from a website in which the PSOE opposition criticised the start of building works in resorts during the tourist season. The opposition said that there was indignation among businesses and neighbours and concluded that the lack of planning by the Partido Popular was inconceivable when such work should be done in winter.
It might also be noted that a plan for resort beautification has now been drawn up and will include a true boulevard as part of a change of image. It might further be noted that beach security is such that there now has to be illumination of the beach, while it might also be noted that a newspaper recently ran a report into a territorial battle between tiqueteros. Total war, said the report.
By way of explanation of these notes, the PSOE opposition was criticising building work that had started in Magalluf, the true boulevard (finally) is included in the Meliá plan to make Magalluf up-market, the illuminated beach is that of Magalluf, the PRs' battle is around BCM Square.
Nothing really changes, does it. Nothing has really changed, has it. Even the odd name is the same. The name of the letter-writer from the neighbourhood association is José Tirado. I am guessing he is the same Pepe Tirado of the Acotur tourist businesses association. It is a guess as I can't be one hundred per cent certain. There again, it was all a very long time ago. The magazine I have quoted from was "Entre Tots". Its date? July-August 1989.
"Never again. The situation, which is unfortunately shown on our cover, should not be repeated: the main streets, the most touristic, with work being done in July and August! Unbelievable. Unheard of. Our visitors cannot hide their amazement. How can this type of work be done during these months? Ah, Spain is different, my friends; you know that. We don't believe that this would happen in any other tourist country, least of all in Europe.
"We know the town hall's explanation. In winter, building companies are too busy to deal with our needs. You have to catch them when you can... But that's not our problem. It is one for the representatives we elected for four years, to make our lives better and to not mess up and cause significant damage to businesses."
On another page, there is an article with a headline which says that 1,300 million (pesetas) are to be spent on changing an image.
"(The deputy mayor) has explained to us that the town hall wishes to beautify the resort. 'We are aware of the need for an urgent change of image. We want to literally upholster the resort in green. Pavements with trees, benches, new lighting in an area where the "hooligan" currently sits. (One avenue) will be transformed into a true boulevard with fountains, benches, trees and plants.' "
The article's author is sceptical. All this is to be done within three years. "We'll see," he concludes questioningly. There will be municipal elections well before the three years are up.
There is also an interview with the local police officer who is responsible for the organisation of police resources. It is under the headline "Restructuring of the municipal police". The restructuring has come about, says the officer, in order to take account of specific needs in the municipality. There are four main priorities. These are the "venta ambulante" (looky-lookies), "tiqueteros" (PRs), night-time noise and public order at night as well as security on the beaches. The police on the beaches will be plainclothes cops. They will mingle with the holidaymakers and their mission will be to prevent the venta ambulante and any type of (unlicensed) service on the beach. The police hope that their presence will act in deterring these illegal activities. "Rather than a repressive action, it will be a preventative action."
Elsewhere, there is a short letter to the magazine which reads: "Friends and neighbours, as the new spokesperson for the neighbourhood association, I hope for the collaboration of all residents, working together as an association of friends in this time of crisis in order to cure all the ills in the area, to beautify and enrich it and enhance our local heritage".
Moving on from the contents of this magazine, it might be noted that on 8 May this year there was an item from a website in which the PSOE opposition criticised the start of building works in resorts during the tourist season. The opposition said that there was indignation among businesses and neighbours and concluded that the lack of planning by the Partido Popular was inconceivable when such work should be done in winter.
It might also be noted that a plan for resort beautification has now been drawn up and will include a true boulevard as part of a change of image. It might further be noted that beach security is such that there now has to be illumination of the beach, while it might also be noted that a newspaper recently ran a report into a territorial battle between tiqueteros. Total war, said the report.
By way of explanation of these notes, the PSOE opposition was criticising building work that had started in Magalluf, the true boulevard (finally) is included in the Meliá plan to make Magalluf up-market, the illuminated beach is that of Magalluf, the PRs' battle is around BCM Square.
Nothing really changes, does it. Nothing has really changed, has it. Even the odd name is the same. The name of the letter-writer from the neighbourhood association is José Tirado. I am guessing he is the same Pepe Tirado of the Acotur tourist businesses association. It is a guess as I can't be one hundred per cent certain. There again, it was all a very long time ago. The magazine I have quoted from was "Entre Tots". Its date? July-August 1989.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Calvia v. Sóller: Two different bests
At the height of summer the three destinations in Spain with the highest volumes of tourists are Barcelona, Madrid and Calvia. It is a reflection of just how important Calvia is to Mallorca's tourism that it should appear alongside the El Clásico cities. It is also astonishing that it does appear alongside them. In terms of pure recognition, "Calvia" ranks a long way behind other Spanish destinations - Granada, Seville and such like.
All of these destinations - Barcelona, Madrid, Calvia, Granada and Seville - feature in the top ten best Spanish destinations, according to Trip Advisor. Calvia in fact comes eighth, and its ranking has been something to celebrate, as has been the tenth spot for Sóller. Mayors Onieva and Simarro, respectively of Calvia and Sóller, were on an away day in Madrid on Tuesday to pick up the Trip Advisor gongs for these merits (the gongs are a plaque).
In a recent article in which I wrote about land designated as touristic land in the different Mallorcan municipalities, I drew attention to the vastly greater amount of such land which exists in Calvia when compared with other towns. It is small wonder therefore that Calvia leaps into the top three of Spanish tourist density in high summer. There is a lot of touristic provision. There is a lot of quantity.
The success of Trip Advisor is such that it has elevated itself to a position of self-appointed arbiter of tourist taste. It is, to apply a greatly over-used word, a "phenomenon". Phenomenally successful but not, despite its claims otherwise, always phenomenally reliable. Occasionally, it throws up a genuine and pleasing surprise, such as that regarding the Tramuntana mountains, which I also wrote about recently: the number one attraction in Mallorca. But just one problem with it is knowing precisely how things are measured, and the best destinations classification is one of these.
Trip Advisor refers to the use of a "proprietary algorithm" that determines its popularity index. This takes into account quality, recency and quantity, but because it is proprietary, it is exclusive to Trip Advisor and the precise methodology is disclosed only in general and rather vague terms.
Because Calvia attracts the number of tourists that it does, it would be surprising if it weren't in the top ten. Indeed, one might suggest that it should be higher than eighth on quantity alone. As the algorithm takes account of quality as well, what conclusion might one draw from this? I'll leave you to work that out.
Methodology and sheer weight of tourists aside, Calvia's place in the rankings is curious because of its recognition factor. Which tourists actually go to Calvia? Lots of them of course, but Calvia is incidental. They are going to Magalluf or Santa Ponsa or Portals or Illetes or, or ... . Calvia is a Mallorca in microcosm. Much of what you would associate with the island is to be found within its municipal boundaries: high-density tourism; smaller, more intimate resorts; marinas; culture; mountains. Its very diversity makes you wonder what it is that gets it into the top ten. Go to reviews, and you get an answer. Magalluf, Magalluf, Magalluf; Palmanova, Palmanova, Palmanova.
Calvia town hall once made available an outstanding document detailing the natural environment in the municipality (it may still be available but I can't immediately locate it). For many visitors, used only to the densely populated resorts, it would have been a surprising document. I doubt that many of them saw it, though. But what it showed was that Calvia has every right to be among the best destinations because of its diversity. Yet one would have to guess that this diversity is not the basis for Trip Advisor's award. The award is primarily because of quantity.
Sóller being in tenth spot does rather emphasise this point. It has nothing like the quantity of Calvia's tourists. Sóller creeping into the top ten is surprising, whereas Calvia's eighth isn't surprising. Without fully knowing how the algorithm works, one would have to guess that the quality-quantity equation is quite different for Sóller, as on quantity alone it wouldn't have a cat in hell's chance of getting anywhere near the top ten let alone making the top ten.
Both towns will make much of their awards, and good luck to them. If there is an award, why not brag about it; there is nothing wrong in doing so. But Sóller's ranking seems more meritorious than Calvia's and very much more unexpected. The two towns are "bests" from different parts of the tourism spectrum, and where Sóller is concerned, and unlike Calvia, it has the virtue of being pretty much a single entity of town and port, linked by a quaint old tram. Sóller is singular; Calvia is all but countless.
All of these destinations - Barcelona, Madrid, Calvia, Granada and Seville - feature in the top ten best Spanish destinations, according to Trip Advisor. Calvia in fact comes eighth, and its ranking has been something to celebrate, as has been the tenth spot for Sóller. Mayors Onieva and Simarro, respectively of Calvia and Sóller, were on an away day in Madrid on Tuesday to pick up the Trip Advisor gongs for these merits (the gongs are a plaque).
In a recent article in which I wrote about land designated as touristic land in the different Mallorcan municipalities, I drew attention to the vastly greater amount of such land which exists in Calvia when compared with other towns. It is small wonder therefore that Calvia leaps into the top three of Spanish tourist density in high summer. There is a lot of touristic provision. There is a lot of quantity.
The success of Trip Advisor is such that it has elevated itself to a position of self-appointed arbiter of tourist taste. It is, to apply a greatly over-used word, a "phenomenon". Phenomenally successful but not, despite its claims otherwise, always phenomenally reliable. Occasionally, it throws up a genuine and pleasing surprise, such as that regarding the Tramuntana mountains, which I also wrote about recently: the number one attraction in Mallorca. But just one problem with it is knowing precisely how things are measured, and the best destinations classification is one of these.
Trip Advisor refers to the use of a "proprietary algorithm" that determines its popularity index. This takes into account quality, recency and quantity, but because it is proprietary, it is exclusive to Trip Advisor and the precise methodology is disclosed only in general and rather vague terms.
Because Calvia attracts the number of tourists that it does, it would be surprising if it weren't in the top ten. Indeed, one might suggest that it should be higher than eighth on quantity alone. As the algorithm takes account of quality as well, what conclusion might one draw from this? I'll leave you to work that out.
Methodology and sheer weight of tourists aside, Calvia's place in the rankings is curious because of its recognition factor. Which tourists actually go to Calvia? Lots of them of course, but Calvia is incidental. They are going to Magalluf or Santa Ponsa or Portals or Illetes or, or ... . Calvia is a Mallorca in microcosm. Much of what you would associate with the island is to be found within its municipal boundaries: high-density tourism; smaller, more intimate resorts; marinas; culture; mountains. Its very diversity makes you wonder what it is that gets it into the top ten. Go to reviews, and you get an answer. Magalluf, Magalluf, Magalluf; Palmanova, Palmanova, Palmanova.
Calvia town hall once made available an outstanding document detailing the natural environment in the municipality (it may still be available but I can't immediately locate it). For many visitors, used only to the densely populated resorts, it would have been a surprising document. I doubt that many of them saw it, though. But what it showed was that Calvia has every right to be among the best destinations because of its diversity. Yet one would have to guess that this diversity is not the basis for Trip Advisor's award. The award is primarily because of quantity.
Sóller being in tenth spot does rather emphasise this point. It has nothing like the quantity of Calvia's tourists. Sóller creeping into the top ten is surprising, whereas Calvia's eighth isn't surprising. Without fully knowing how the algorithm works, one would have to guess that the quality-quantity equation is quite different for Sóller, as on quantity alone it wouldn't have a cat in hell's chance of getting anywhere near the top ten let alone making the top ten.
Both towns will make much of their awards, and good luck to them. If there is an award, why not brag about it; there is nothing wrong in doing so. But Sóller's ranking seems more meritorious than Calvia's and very much more unexpected. The two towns are "bests" from different parts of the tourism spectrum, and where Sóller is concerned, and unlike Calvia, it has the virtue of being pretty much a single entity of town and port, linked by a quaint old tram. Sóller is singular; Calvia is all but countless.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
So Very Little: Mapping tourism
POOT is an urban planning mechanism. Its purpose is to lay down rules as to the density of touristic development. Essentially, it operates according to a quota system; only so much land in given municipalities can be dedicated to such development. The POOT zones are the ones with tourism concentration, and when one looks at this particular map, something strikes you. Because it is so stripped-down, the amount of purple looks inconsequential. We know about the concentrations of tourism, but in the overall land scheme, they amount to only a very small part of Mallorca.
The residential zones, those not covered by POOT because there is little or no touristic development other than, for example, agrotourism, country fincas for rent and so on, are distributed right across the island with the exception of chunks of the Tramuntana region. They are the town centres. The grey that represents them is to be found in largest amount where you would expect it to be found - Palma and Marratxí.
What is not shown on this basic map are other areas covered by the land plan. They include areas of a high level of protection, natural areas of special interest, rural areas of wooded landscape interest, areas of farming interest, and rustic land under the general forestry regime. There are others, each with their own acronym; areas for this, areas for that.
The POOT purple is only to be found in coastal areas. All of the municipalities which have coast have some POOT, with the exception of six along the west coast - Estellencs, Banyalbufar, Valldemossa, Deiá, Fornalutx and Escorca. Of these, it might be surprising to learn that Deiá has no purple; Deiá does, after all, have tourism. It does, but it isn't a touristic zone. Its land use is determined in other ways, which exclude development that would make it a touristic zone in the same way as Port de Sóller is.
Of the coastal municipalities, there is one striking example of just how little land, comparatively speaking, is dedicated to tourism development, and that is Llucmajor. By land area, it is Mallorca's largest municipality, 120 square kilometres or so bigger than Palma, 60 square kilometres bigger than the second largest, Manacor, and over twice the size of Calvia. Being home to Arenal, Llucmajor might conceivably have acquired a negative image, but when does anyone hear anything untoward about Sa Torre or Cala Pi? Arenal can be spoken of in the same breath as Magalluf, but then Magalluf is part of a virtually unbroken coastal conurbation within one municipality.
Calvia is, in a sense, an anomaly. The density of its tourism development, its POOT ratio, far exceeds that of any other municipality. And it is its disproportionate level of tourism development which, one suspects, is a principal reason for charges that Mallorca sold its soul to the devil of tourism. One is well aware of the coastal abominations that have been committed in different touristic zones and also aware of accusations of over-commercialism, over-construction and indeed over-reliance on tourism, yet, with the exception of Calvia (even Palma's POOT is relatively confined), the map paints a picture that doesn't quite measure up to this charge list. Only Alcúdia and Capdepera, roughly the same land size and both with relatively large amounts of POOT, might - in comparative terms - be placed in a similar category as Calvia.
This POOT land is what breathes economic life into Mallorca; a very small amount of land relative to its contribution. The POOT land may have changed local culture and landscape in the coastal areas, but elsewhere? 60% of Mallorca's land is for agriculture and contributes only 1% of gross added value. Much more of the land is protected by those various other acronyms. Can POOT and tourism be held so accountable? If culture elsewhere has been changed, then it has been changed through a process of modernisation, for which tourism is only partly or incidentally responsible. We are familiar with the map of Mallorca, but we are perhaps less familiar with what the map actually tells us.
Thursday, July 04, 2013
The Consortium For Building And Knocking Down
Mallorca loves consortiums. The Balearics tourism ministry has various consortiums and one of these is the Consortium for the Tourist Accommodation Fund, a somewhat misleading title as accommodation is not its main reason for being, unless one counts accommodation it is planning on paying for in order for it to be demolished.
This particular consortium, in addition to the tourism ministry itself, comprises representatives of Sa Nostra bank, the Mallorcan hoteliers federation and the Mallorcan hotel chains group, two unions and the Council of Mallorca. It is a consortium which, unlike some other parts of the tourism ministry, for instance that which deals with promotion, has a reasonable amount of money at its disposal. It has recently announced a budget into next year of 7.5 million euros.
Not everyone in the consortium is happy with the way that the budget will be divvied up. Thirteen projects are envisaged, five of which, representing around 30% of the budget, will involve investments in one municipality: Calvia, whose former mayor, Carlos Delgado, is now the tourism minister.
This might seem as though investment is somewhat skewed in favour of Carlos's old patch and, up to a point, it is. In August 2011, as an example, Calvia registered almost 1.6 million overnight stays. The total for the whole of Mallorca for that month was 7.8 million, meaning that Calvia accounted for only a fifth of the island's tourism. But, it would be a 10% quibble to suggest that Calvia shouldn't demand a greater percentage slice of the investment cake; the municipality also happened to be, in that month of August, among the top three destinations in the whole of Spain in terms of overnight stays. The other two? Barcelona and Madrid.
When you place Calvia's tourist volume in context, you realise just how important the town is not just for Mallorca's tourism but also Spain's. This is a place with little more than 50,000 permanent residents vying for top tourism spot with the might of the El Clasico cities. So, if Calvia is awarded greater investment than anywhere else by the Consortium, this seems perfectly reasonable.
However, this is not how some members of the Consortium see things. There should be more of an even distribution across the island, suggests the hotel chains' group representative. Well, possibly so, but there is one hotel chain that may beg to differ, and Delgado has argued that investment the Consortium is making should take account of investment activities by the private sector, i.e. the hotels, and especially Meliá. One of the Calvia projects will be the boulevard in Magalluf to connect the various Meliá complexes which the company has been upgrading.
While criticisms of the level of investment heading Calvia's way seem a little churlish, there have been wider criticisms for the one project to do with accommodation - the demolition one. And this is the abandoned Rocamar hostel in Port de Soller.
The controversy surrounding this hostel took a further turn last summer when it emerged that the Consortium had come to an agreement to acquire and demolish it. At the heart of this turn in the controversy was who would in fact end up with the money: not the owner, but Jaume Ensenyat, a local businessman and the father of the head of inspection at the tourism ministry. He had loaned the owner almost a million euros in 2005 in return for a mortgage guarantee. The valuation placed on the acquisition and demolition was some 19,000 euros lower than this loan.
In itself, and despite the obvious connection to the head of inspection, the fact that the payment would go to someone else other than the owner also doesn't seem unreasonable. The problem is, and hence the wider criticisms, that an official valuation made by an architect (contracted by the tourism ministry) in February 2012 set the valuation at under 300,000 euros. Two months later, two reports emanated from ministry technical experts which disputed this and placed a valuation 241% higher - not far short of a million.
The socialist PSOE party intends to press for a commission of inquiry to be established to look into what it has said is the lack of a "plausible explanation" from Carlos Delgado as to why there has been an agreement to pay this higher valuation. It might note, though, that members of the Consortium were apparently unanimous in agreeing the budget for the Rocamar. Maybe they were right to be, but while there has been disagreement about the level of investment that is going to Calvia, the silence as to a spend way over the valuation given by the ministry's own architect is ever so slightly deafening.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
This particular consortium, in addition to the tourism ministry itself, comprises representatives of Sa Nostra bank, the Mallorcan hoteliers federation and the Mallorcan hotel chains group, two unions and the Council of Mallorca. It is a consortium which, unlike some other parts of the tourism ministry, for instance that which deals with promotion, has a reasonable amount of money at its disposal. It has recently announced a budget into next year of 7.5 million euros.
Not everyone in the consortium is happy with the way that the budget will be divvied up. Thirteen projects are envisaged, five of which, representing around 30% of the budget, will involve investments in one municipality: Calvia, whose former mayor, Carlos Delgado, is now the tourism minister.
This might seem as though investment is somewhat skewed in favour of Carlos's old patch and, up to a point, it is. In August 2011, as an example, Calvia registered almost 1.6 million overnight stays. The total for the whole of Mallorca for that month was 7.8 million, meaning that Calvia accounted for only a fifth of the island's tourism. But, it would be a 10% quibble to suggest that Calvia shouldn't demand a greater percentage slice of the investment cake; the municipality also happened to be, in that month of August, among the top three destinations in the whole of Spain in terms of overnight stays. The other two? Barcelona and Madrid.
When you place Calvia's tourist volume in context, you realise just how important the town is not just for Mallorca's tourism but also Spain's. This is a place with little more than 50,000 permanent residents vying for top tourism spot with the might of the El Clasico cities. So, if Calvia is awarded greater investment than anywhere else by the Consortium, this seems perfectly reasonable.
However, this is not how some members of the Consortium see things. There should be more of an even distribution across the island, suggests the hotel chains' group representative. Well, possibly so, but there is one hotel chain that may beg to differ, and Delgado has argued that investment the Consortium is making should take account of investment activities by the private sector, i.e. the hotels, and especially Meliá. One of the Calvia projects will be the boulevard in Magalluf to connect the various Meliá complexes which the company has been upgrading.
While criticisms of the level of investment heading Calvia's way seem a little churlish, there have been wider criticisms for the one project to do with accommodation - the demolition one. And this is the abandoned Rocamar hostel in Port de Soller.
The controversy surrounding this hostel took a further turn last summer when it emerged that the Consortium had come to an agreement to acquire and demolish it. At the heart of this turn in the controversy was who would in fact end up with the money: not the owner, but Jaume Ensenyat, a local businessman and the father of the head of inspection at the tourism ministry. He had loaned the owner almost a million euros in 2005 in return for a mortgage guarantee. The valuation placed on the acquisition and demolition was some 19,000 euros lower than this loan.
In itself, and despite the obvious connection to the head of inspection, the fact that the payment would go to someone else other than the owner also doesn't seem unreasonable. The problem is, and hence the wider criticisms, that an official valuation made by an architect (contracted by the tourism ministry) in February 2012 set the valuation at under 300,000 euros. Two months later, two reports emanated from ministry technical experts which disputed this and placed a valuation 241% higher - not far short of a million.
The socialist PSOE party intends to press for a commission of inquiry to be established to look into what it has said is the lack of a "plausible explanation" from Carlos Delgado as to why there has been an agreement to pay this higher valuation. It might note, though, that members of the Consortium were apparently unanimous in agreeing the budget for the Rocamar. Maybe they were right to be, but while there has been disagreement about the level of investment that is going to Calvia, the silence as to a spend way over the valuation given by the ministry's own architect is ever so slightly deafening.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
PR Disaster: Calvia's tiquetero tax
Calvia town hall is to permit "tiqueteros" once more. It hasn't decided exactly what the new ordinance governing the PRs will entail, but it has already decided what it is going to cost. Going to cost bars, restaurants and clubs, that is. The town hall is licking its lips at the prospect of 1.2 million euros finding their way into the municipal coffers, over a third of them in the form of fines, as a consequence of the PRs returning to the streets of Magalluf and other resorts and of their employers having to pay the town hall for the privilege.
Depending on the size of establishment and therefore the number of PRs that will be allowed, a bar owner could find him or herself having to fork out up to 3,500 euros a week.
For larger places, the cost of one employee could be as much as 350 euros more per week. This is because larger establishments will be obliged to fork out 50 euros a day (and they would be allowed to employ a maximum of ten PRs). Smaller places, i.e. less than one hundred square metres in size, will have to pay 30 euros a day but can only employ one PR.
To the onus of the tax (and this is the only way it can be described) is added an engineering of the business process. Smaller bars might wish to employ more PRs, so why shouldn't they be allowed to? What is the obsession with 100 square metres (or 200, another level of tax determination?
Over and above the arbitrariness, there is the question as to how such a tax can be justified, as it is a tax on marketing. The town hall's response would probably be along the lines of the fact that a PR occupies space owned by the town that is on the "public way". It is the same sort of principle as is applied to terraces which encroach onto the public way.
Up to a point, one can understand this, but where PRs are concerned, to be allowing them and then to be charging for them is a case of giving with one hand and taking with the other. But what if PRs were to be based only on a bar's property? What if they never moved? This would be unlikely, but were it to be so, then how could the town hall justify the tax? Only if the town's property is being used, can it feel safe in levying such a charge.
While regulating what businesses do is a legitimate responsibility of local authorities, too often bars appear to bear the brunt of petty and heavy-handed regulation. This is symptomatic of a culture in which business often appears to be misunderstood or simply exploited. There is a them-and-us culture, one exacerbated by a town hall mindset in which revenue calculations are arrived at with fines having been factored in. Town halls might be right to think like this, but it doesn't exactly make for an atmosphere in which all sectors of local resorts are co-operating for the greater good.
But, aside from the tax, what of the return of the PRs? Plenty of businesses have argued that they have suffered because they can't employ them (well, not legitimately). Perhaps so, but one reason why they were banned and why in other resorts they were confined to the premises and not meant to be patrolling the streets, was that there were so many complaints about harassment.
The town hall doubtless has a list of rules that it will unfurl to cover how PRs should operate, and doubtless they will be ignored. Allowing the return of PRs is one thing, making bars pay a tax for them is another. Calvia is making a rod for its own back. A bar owner who is obliged to spend as much as is being envisaged will want to make damn sure that he or she gets a return. And this is likely to mean a return to harassment of passers-by.
You can already begin to imagine how it's going to be. The local police will be spending all their time under instruction from the town hall to go in search of PRs acting inappropriately or without the tax having been paid so that the town hall can say it is keeping a lid on things and make a few more bob from fines. Meanwhile, other complaints that surface in the tourism season in resorts such as Magalluf will go unattended.
They're bringing back the PRs, but they're likely to bring about a PR disaster as well. Just wait for the internet to get clogged up with tourists moaning about the PRs.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Depending on the size of establishment and therefore the number of PRs that will be allowed, a bar owner could find him or herself having to fork out up to 3,500 euros a week.
For larger places, the cost of one employee could be as much as 350 euros more per week. This is because larger establishments will be obliged to fork out 50 euros a day (and they would be allowed to employ a maximum of ten PRs). Smaller places, i.e. less than one hundred square metres in size, will have to pay 30 euros a day but can only employ one PR.
To the onus of the tax (and this is the only way it can be described) is added an engineering of the business process. Smaller bars might wish to employ more PRs, so why shouldn't they be allowed to? What is the obsession with 100 square metres (or 200, another level of tax determination?
Over and above the arbitrariness, there is the question as to how such a tax can be justified, as it is a tax on marketing. The town hall's response would probably be along the lines of the fact that a PR occupies space owned by the town that is on the "public way". It is the same sort of principle as is applied to terraces which encroach onto the public way.
Up to a point, one can understand this, but where PRs are concerned, to be allowing them and then to be charging for them is a case of giving with one hand and taking with the other. But what if PRs were to be based only on a bar's property? What if they never moved? This would be unlikely, but were it to be so, then how could the town hall justify the tax? Only if the town's property is being used, can it feel safe in levying such a charge.
While regulating what businesses do is a legitimate responsibility of local authorities, too often bars appear to bear the brunt of petty and heavy-handed regulation. This is symptomatic of a culture in which business often appears to be misunderstood or simply exploited. There is a them-and-us culture, one exacerbated by a town hall mindset in which revenue calculations are arrived at with fines having been factored in. Town halls might be right to think like this, but it doesn't exactly make for an atmosphere in which all sectors of local resorts are co-operating for the greater good.
But, aside from the tax, what of the return of the PRs? Plenty of businesses have argued that they have suffered because they can't employ them (well, not legitimately). Perhaps so, but one reason why they were banned and why in other resorts they were confined to the premises and not meant to be patrolling the streets, was that there were so many complaints about harassment.
The town hall doubtless has a list of rules that it will unfurl to cover how PRs should operate, and doubtless they will be ignored. Allowing the return of PRs is one thing, making bars pay a tax for them is another. Calvia is making a rod for its own back. A bar owner who is obliged to spend as much as is being envisaged will want to make damn sure that he or she gets a return. And this is likely to mean a return to harassment of passers-by.
You can already begin to imagine how it's going to be. The local police will be spending all their time under instruction from the town hall to go in search of PRs acting inappropriately or without the tax having been paid so that the town hall can say it is keeping a lid on things and make a few more bob from fines. Meanwhile, other complaints that surface in the tourism season in resorts such as Magalluf will go unattended.
They're bringing back the PRs, but they're likely to bring about a PR disaster as well. Just wait for the internet to get clogged up with tourists moaning about the PRs.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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