"Vorsprung durch Technik, as they say in Germany." Geoffrey Palmer's droll delivery told the story of the Schmitz, the Reinhards and the Müllers, who were driving to Spain on holiday. The moral of the story, or rather the punchline, was: "If you want to get on the beach before the Germans, you'd better buy an Audi 100."
Those were the days, eh: back in the 1980s when John Hegarty's agency BBH came up with the Audi ads. People used to go to the beach then. And they certainly took the trouble to get prime beach spots. I witnessed them in those distant days of actually having holidays. Six in the morning (I might have been coming in), and there they were, trooping off to the water's edge with their sun loungers. They may have been Germans. Sunbedsraum is not, however, and never has been a solely German form of holiday annexation. Still, it's all made for a good stereotype, and it made for a great advert.
People do still go to the beach, but it can seem a dreadfully passé thing to do when the hotel palace is awash with pools of various kinds and different attractions. Why bother heading out to sea for one of those offshore waterpark things, when there is an in-hotel version. Slides galore. Splash and more splash. It's small wonder that there is such a feverishly high demand and premium placed on the sun lounger, especially if this is a sun lounger that requires occupation by someone with an all-inclusive wristband. How awful. You've forked out for everything, only to discover that there is no sun lounger space. It's enough to make anyone lodge a claim for compensation: holiday totally ruined by Germans (or others) commandeering the sun loungers before dawn.
Of course, or so I'm led to believe, there are some rules on this at certain hotels. Or there is the official opening time for the great stampede. It's a few years ago now that someone posted a video that showed the great stampede in its frightening frenzy and, more importantly, how to avoid it. Chummy was staying at the Lagotel in Playa de Muro. He'd discovered a way into the pool area from the perimeter road. If you want to get a sun lounger by the pool before the Germans (or any other nationality), you'd better find a gap in the fence.
I'm not one of the I don't like hotels so therefore I want Airbnb brigade. I quite like hotels. But there are limits. Such as the pool. It has not been my fate to actually stay in a local all-inclusive, but work has demanded observation. Hell, sheer hell. Why anyone wishes to shoehorn him or herself (plus wristband) into a confined space next to others smelling of sweat and coconut is beyond me. Worse still is the mere act of entering the water. More sweat and coconut plus urine and God knows what else. Give me the beach and sea any day. I'm willing to chance my luck with the jellyfish. Unfortunately of course, the beach hasn't become so passé that it isn't subject to the similar need for shoehorning. That'll be saturation for you.
Holidays, some of them, are, when you think about it, distinctly odd. Social beings we humans may be, but we spend most of our existences craving and pursuing privacy and peace and quiet. What happens on holiday? Precisely the opposite. A sharing experience with a mass of humanity, some of it cavorting in the water while the pool aerobics instructor bellows orders and the PA blasts out The Merrymen and their Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot 1988 masterwork. Why?
Well, the answer to why is that an awful lot of people appear to enjoy this. But their enjoyment can be ruined because of the sun lounger shortage or pre-dawn raid. So, what have those nice people at Thomas Cook come up with? The sun lounger (aka sunbed) reservation system. Why had no one thought of this before? What a brilliant way to add a few more pounds or euros to the bottom line. For a mere 25 euros a week, you can "choose you favourite sunbed". Three hotels in the Canaries are to form part of a pilot project. If it works, then Thomas Cook will roll out the scheme to thirty hotels this summer.
Thomas Cook insist that this is all to do with the traditional holiday package being a thing of the past. "Tourists want customised products that better define their needs and lifestyles," says Thomas Cook's Chris Mottershead. Nonsense, they want to make sure they get a sunbed. It's part of the traditional holiday package.
So there you are. For a price similar to the tourist tax for seven nights in a four star, you can get a sunbed with your name on it. Holidays. Don't you just love 'em.
Showing posts with label Sunbeds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunbeds. Show all posts
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Paying For Sand: Prices on beaches
How much are you paying for a sunbed? It's one of those questions, on a par with what's the weather like in (add as applicable), that is on the list of the Mallorcan visitor's enquiries.
I confess to not knowing a great deal about the cost of sunbeds. I have never, ever hired one. They are a part of beach life that has passed me by, and I pass them by on the way to finding a piece of soft sand. But the sunbed is important for many. The beach should be comfortable and not be a place where no end of patting the sand down can seem to eliminate the annoying ridge that's sticking into your back.
My knowledge of the subject has, however, increased thanks to the fact that sunbeds have been very much a theme of this Mallorcan summer. They have either not been provided (Puerto Pollensa for a time) or too many have been provided (Can Picafort, before the mayor ordered the removal of excessive numbers).
And I can now thank the local Chamber of Commerce for adding to the body of the sunbed knowledge. It's put out a report and is asking for a harmonisation in pricing in the different resorts, differences in which can be as great as five euros for a bed and a shade combination. The average price is 7.6 euros.
The cost of sunbeds has increased markedly since the turn of the century. One reason for this has been an increase in the tax charged by town halls. It's a simple equation: the higher the tax, the higher the price.
The beach operators, however, have other costs to take into account, such as those for the sunbeds and parasols themselves, which are often meant to comply with certain specifications. For example, some of the parasols in Pollensa have not been of the required reed material, which has added to what has become an annual controversy in respect of beach provision.
With the tax that has to be paid and all the other costs, it is perhaps unsurprising that you got a situation such as that in Can Picafort where the operator was exceeding the number of sunbeds by some 550. It's all about profitability, after all. Nevertheless, Can Picafort is one resort where the cost is said to be reasonable.
The differing costs to the operators and the differing prices they charge mean that the overall annual benefits to operators also vary. The report suggests that in Felanitx (by which I guess it means Portocolom) the return is just under five hundred euros a unit, way higher than in Manacor (92 euros).
Sunbeds aren't the only elements of beach life that come with a price. Some come with a pretty significant one. Well, would you pay 50 euros for 20 minutes on a jetski? Maybe you would. Less expensive though and also more sedate are pedaloes. Average going rate 11.7 euros, says the report. But it can be nine euros or it can be 15 (Alcúdia). What you win on lower sunbed prices in Alcúdia, you lose on a pedalo.
And what about the beach bars? The "chiringuitos" and "balnearios". They too are subject to varying taxes according to resort, and so charge accordingly.
Last year, before the season had even properly started, I was being told about the fact that the beach bar prices were too high. An example was given in respect of Swedish tourists to Alcúdia who now found a "pint" in a beach bar to be roughly the equivalent of that back in Sweden, a country hardly known for its cheap alcohol.
But when the chiringuitos are being taxed in the way they are, the prices start to become understandable. They have to pay the town halls, the inland revenue and the concessionaire who actually runs the beach bars.
The town halls make a mint out of their beaches. If they have a number of them and/or they have large beaches with high occupancy by tourists, then they are quids in. One of the largest beaches is that in Alcúdia, and the town hall here rakes in the most of any town hall from its beaches, more so than Palma: nearly three and a half million euros. Even Pollensa, with smaller beaches, can outstrip even Calvia when it comes to its revenue: around a million less than Alcúdia.
There's money to be made from sand. But you know, the beach should be simple. Take a towel and lie on the sand, forget about the pedalo, pack your own drinks and snacks. And then there soon wouldn't be money to be made.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
I confess to not knowing a great deal about the cost of sunbeds. I have never, ever hired one. They are a part of beach life that has passed me by, and I pass them by on the way to finding a piece of soft sand. But the sunbed is important for many. The beach should be comfortable and not be a place where no end of patting the sand down can seem to eliminate the annoying ridge that's sticking into your back.
My knowledge of the subject has, however, increased thanks to the fact that sunbeds have been very much a theme of this Mallorcan summer. They have either not been provided (Puerto Pollensa for a time) or too many have been provided (Can Picafort, before the mayor ordered the removal of excessive numbers).
And I can now thank the local Chamber of Commerce for adding to the body of the sunbed knowledge. It's put out a report and is asking for a harmonisation in pricing in the different resorts, differences in which can be as great as five euros for a bed and a shade combination. The average price is 7.6 euros.
The cost of sunbeds has increased markedly since the turn of the century. One reason for this has been an increase in the tax charged by town halls. It's a simple equation: the higher the tax, the higher the price.
The beach operators, however, have other costs to take into account, such as those for the sunbeds and parasols themselves, which are often meant to comply with certain specifications. For example, some of the parasols in Pollensa have not been of the required reed material, which has added to what has become an annual controversy in respect of beach provision.
With the tax that has to be paid and all the other costs, it is perhaps unsurprising that you got a situation such as that in Can Picafort where the operator was exceeding the number of sunbeds by some 550. It's all about profitability, after all. Nevertheless, Can Picafort is one resort where the cost is said to be reasonable.
The differing costs to the operators and the differing prices they charge mean that the overall annual benefits to operators also vary. The report suggests that in Felanitx (by which I guess it means Portocolom) the return is just under five hundred euros a unit, way higher than in Manacor (92 euros).
Sunbeds aren't the only elements of beach life that come with a price. Some come with a pretty significant one. Well, would you pay 50 euros for 20 minutes on a jetski? Maybe you would. Less expensive though and also more sedate are pedaloes. Average going rate 11.7 euros, says the report. But it can be nine euros or it can be 15 (Alcúdia). What you win on lower sunbed prices in Alcúdia, you lose on a pedalo.
And what about the beach bars? The "chiringuitos" and "balnearios". They too are subject to varying taxes according to resort, and so charge accordingly.
Last year, before the season had even properly started, I was being told about the fact that the beach bar prices were too high. An example was given in respect of Swedish tourists to Alcúdia who now found a "pint" in a beach bar to be roughly the equivalent of that back in Sweden, a country hardly known for its cheap alcohol.
But when the chiringuitos are being taxed in the way they are, the prices start to become understandable. They have to pay the town halls, the inland revenue and the concessionaire who actually runs the beach bars.
The town halls make a mint out of their beaches. If they have a number of them and/or they have large beaches with high occupancy by tourists, then they are quids in. One of the largest beaches is that in Alcúdia, and the town hall here rakes in the most of any town hall from its beaches, more so than Palma: nearly three and a half million euros. Even Pollensa, with smaller beaches, can outstrip even Calvia when it comes to its revenue: around a million less than Alcúdia.
There's money to be made from sand. But you know, the beach should be simple. Take a towel and lie on the sand, forget about the pedalo, pack your own drinks and snacks. And then there soon wouldn't be money to be made.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A Bit Of R'n'R
After the brief diversion into matters of minor consequence yesterday, back to the all-important issues and, in particular, the matter of overriding concern at the moment - the aversion to spellings with two "r"s; oh, and the question why some seem to have forgotten that the season has already started.
But to this spelling. The double-r is almost a form of embarrassment because, unlike the word five words back in this sentence (which is spelt correctly), it often is not. Is it embarrassment or just a reluctance to indulge in the r-duo that so regularly finds embarrassment diminished by a factor of one r to a mere embarassment? Who knows? But the poor twin r is casually cast aside, the runt of the r litter of two. And so it also was today in "The Bulletin" wherein local dentist-cum-man with a mission, Dr. Garry Bonsall, was stripped of his third letter, or was it his fourth letter? Either way, he was reduced by 20%, via the unerring r-ing reticence.
Be all this as it may, but what Garry was drawing to the island's attention was the tardiness of the local Pollensa beach Oberführers to get some sunbeds onto the aforementioned beach (well, actually not aforementioned as Pollensa doesn't have a beach, Puerto Pollensa does, but I'm sure you understood). Yes, the season may be slightly less than a week old, but the beach in Puerto Pollensa is seemingly yet to subside under the weight of the sunbed-parasol combination. One suspects it is the same problem as in Cala San Vicente, i.e. no one has quite got around to granting the concessions. But maybe it isn't. Personally, I have no truck with these items of beach furniture. A towel and a soft acre or two of sand do me fine, but there is nothing like the absence of a lounger or several to provoke some news item and indeed some "fury", as reported the other day.
And then there are the strange cases of the restaurants that haven't quite got round to opening. In the Alcúdia Pins area of Playa de Muro, the Portobello restaurant is not only not open it is in the middle of complete upheaval. Having passed by on many an occasion over the past few weeks, and witnessed not a jot of activity and only papered-over windows, I can only surmise that the start of the season was the day when the work actually started, which - something tells me - is not quite how it's meant to be. But if they can do without the business until it does open, then fine. Just seems very odd.
QUIZ
Yesterday's chain - Jack Bruce to Manfred Mann to Manfred Mann's Earthband to "Blinded By The Light" to Springsteen. And how do you get from Springsteen to Buzz Lightyear?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
But to this spelling. The double-r is almost a form of embarrassment because, unlike the word five words back in this sentence (which is spelt correctly), it often is not. Is it embarrassment or just a reluctance to indulge in the r-duo that so regularly finds embarrassment diminished by a factor of one r to a mere embarassment? Who knows? But the poor twin r is casually cast aside, the runt of the r litter of two. And so it also was today in "The Bulletin" wherein local dentist-cum-man with a mission, Dr. Garry Bonsall, was stripped of his third letter, or was it his fourth letter? Either way, he was reduced by 20%, via the unerring r-ing reticence.
Be all this as it may, but what Garry was drawing to the island's attention was the tardiness of the local Pollensa beach Oberführers to get some sunbeds onto the aforementioned beach (well, actually not aforementioned as Pollensa doesn't have a beach, Puerto Pollensa does, but I'm sure you understood). Yes, the season may be slightly less than a week old, but the beach in Puerto Pollensa is seemingly yet to subside under the weight of the sunbed-parasol combination. One suspects it is the same problem as in Cala San Vicente, i.e. no one has quite got around to granting the concessions. But maybe it isn't. Personally, I have no truck with these items of beach furniture. A towel and a soft acre or two of sand do me fine, but there is nothing like the absence of a lounger or several to provoke some news item and indeed some "fury", as reported the other day.
And then there are the strange cases of the restaurants that haven't quite got round to opening. In the Alcúdia Pins area of Playa de Muro, the Portobello restaurant is not only not open it is in the middle of complete upheaval. Having passed by on many an occasion over the past few weeks, and witnessed not a jot of activity and only papered-over windows, I can only surmise that the start of the season was the day when the work actually started, which - something tells me - is not quite how it's meant to be. But if they can do without the business until it does open, then fine. Just seems very odd.
QUIZ
Yesterday's chain - Jack Bruce to Manfred Mann to Manfred Mann's Earthband to "Blinded By The Light" to Springsteen. And how do you get from Springsteen to Buzz Lightyear?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, May 02, 2008
Day After Day
As mentioned yesterday, the season started - yesterday. And as of yesterday, and also today, not everything was ready or how it should be, or how it really would be nice were it as it should be. Bit of a stink time down Cala San Vicente way, according to "The Bulletin". Not a pong stink, but a "fury" stink. And the fury is that of local restaurant and bar owners who, as the clock turned time to get out on the beach for a bit of sunning on the first day of the season, saw that there was nary a sunbed nor parasol to be stretched out on or under. And so, apparently, those in search of the sun and a sandy cove on which to plant their feet, voted with those feet and went away. No sunbed and parasol, no sunbathing. Fairweather sunworshippers I reckon, but nevertheless, the "fury" of the local traders is understandable as the town hall should have had this little bit of Pollensa beach sorted with some items of beach comfort. But the town hall hasn't as the town hall has not allocated the concessions as yet.
And down in jolly old Can Picafort, a place that knows a thing or three about sunbeds and parasols and their lack owing to the non-provision of concessions and also knows a thing or quite a few more about some impropriety when it actually comes to the granting of concessions, not only were the sunbeds and parasols thin on the sand, the chaps had also miscalculated by a day or two and not quite got round to shifting the seaweed. Or rather, they were in the process of doing so, at least I think that was what they were doing. Some rather attractive tractor marks and piles of sand were there for the sunbathers to clamber over to find that part of the beach that didn't have seaweed.
Smooth as clockwork.
QUIZ
Dan Ackroyd was The Blues Brothers. And a rather different type of "chain" question - how do you get from The Blues Brothers to Eric Burdon? Yesterday's title was Devo. Today's title - where is this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
And down in jolly old Can Picafort, a place that knows a thing or three about sunbeds and parasols and their lack owing to the non-provision of concessions and also knows a thing or quite a few more about some impropriety when it actually comes to the granting of concessions, not only were the sunbeds and parasols thin on the sand, the chaps had also miscalculated by a day or two and not quite got round to shifting the seaweed. Or rather, they were in the process of doing so, at least I think that was what they were doing. Some rather attractive tractor marks and piles of sand were there for the sunbathers to clamber over to find that part of the beach that didn't have seaweed.
Smooth as clockwork.
QUIZ
Dan Ackroyd was The Blues Brothers. And a rather different type of "chain" question - how do you get from The Blues Brothers to Eric Burdon? Yesterday's title was Devo. Today's title - where is this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
In The Dead Of Night
Extraordinary stuff going on on Playa de Muro beach. The story about the sunbeds situation has cropped up a couple of times already this summer, the most recent being 1 September: “Oh Superman Where Are You Now?” in which I mentioned the fact that Muro council face fines for the over-provision of sunbeds and beach umbrellas. Well now, and not for the first time, things have turned a tad ugly.
One of the concessionaires operating the sunbed lots has had more of his sunbeds slashed. This occurred yesterday some time during the early morning. This concessionaire has had a total of 574 sunbeds wrecked. It will have cost him, he says, 40,000 euros to repair them.
The apparent criminality of these actions is one thing, the other is the potential damage it does to reputation. Imagine if you happen to come down to the beach one morning only to find that sunbeds are unavailable because someone has come along and cut them up in the dead of night. Doesn’t sound too appealing. It does sound as though someone needs to get a grip on the situation.
Back to the future. Following the claim put forward in the last piece on this blog regarding a potential doubling of the number of tourists by 2020, the Balearic Government’s conference, under the title “Plan Turismo 2020”, has moved to increase “added value” in the tourist sector with fewer tourists and higher income. A strategic centrepiece of this is an investigation into the role of development and innovation into increasing the quality and sustainability of the islands’ tourist model. The Government, it would seem, is also keen to promote hotel tourism over residential, about which I have reported before, not least in connection with the registration requirements being placed on holiday lets (itself in part driven by the hotel industry).
The thing is that we have been here before. Higher-quality tourism, less overall tourism and more money. It’s as if the tape is on constant loop. As one who used to be steeped in management and business speak in a previous publishing guise, I have become inured to much of this speak, not to say downright cynical. Added value, strategic positioning ... grand words and phrases. And when governments assume the language of the MBA I become even more sceptical (and I actually have an MBA qualification). The question is where’s the beef.
From what I can make out of the participation at this conference, it is not clear if certain stakeholders (sorry, management speak) are being engaged, such as the representatives of the restaurants, bars, shops etc. And what of the tourist himself? Whilst governments can, if they so wish, switch on or off the level of tourism, ultimate power lies in the market, namely the consumer (the tourist) and the tour operator.
(Source for some of these two items: “Ultima Hora”.)
QUIZ
Last time. Test tube babies. Geoff puts it at 6565, which would mean that Zager and Evans were only some 4,500 years out. But, hey, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll. Today’s title - what sang in the dead of night?
PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
One of the concessionaires operating the sunbed lots has had more of his sunbeds slashed. This occurred yesterday some time during the early morning. This concessionaire has had a total of 574 sunbeds wrecked. It will have cost him, he says, 40,000 euros to repair them.
The apparent criminality of these actions is one thing, the other is the potential damage it does to reputation. Imagine if you happen to come down to the beach one morning only to find that sunbeds are unavailable because someone has come along and cut them up in the dead of night. Doesn’t sound too appealing. It does sound as though someone needs to get a grip on the situation.
Back to the future. Following the claim put forward in the last piece on this blog regarding a potential doubling of the number of tourists by 2020, the Balearic Government’s conference, under the title “Plan Turismo 2020”, has moved to increase “added value” in the tourist sector with fewer tourists and higher income. A strategic centrepiece of this is an investigation into the role of development and innovation into increasing the quality and sustainability of the islands’ tourist model. The Government, it would seem, is also keen to promote hotel tourism over residential, about which I have reported before, not least in connection with the registration requirements being placed on holiday lets (itself in part driven by the hotel industry).
The thing is that we have been here before. Higher-quality tourism, less overall tourism and more money. It’s as if the tape is on constant loop. As one who used to be steeped in management and business speak in a previous publishing guise, I have become inured to much of this speak, not to say downright cynical. Added value, strategic positioning ... grand words and phrases. And when governments assume the language of the MBA I become even more sceptical (and I actually have an MBA qualification). The question is where’s the beef.
From what I can make out of the participation at this conference, it is not clear if certain stakeholders (sorry, management speak) are being engaged, such as the representatives of the restaurants, bars, shops etc. And what of the tourist himself? Whilst governments can, if they so wish, switch on or off the level of tourism, ultimate power lies in the market, namely the consumer (the tourist) and the tour operator.
(Source for some of these two items: “Ultima Hora”.)
QUIZ
Last time. Test tube babies. Geoff puts it at 6565, which would mean that Zager and Evans were only some 4,500 years out. But, hey, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll. Today’s title - what sang in the dead of night?
PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Oh Superman Where Are You Now?
I don’t know, I get pretty confused. All this statistical stuff. We’re back to the subject of how well, or not, restaurants have been doing this season. On 16 August (“Bad”), I referred to a survey by the small and medium-sized business organisation which suggested that restaurants, notably in Alcúdia and Can Picafort, were doing less well than last year and that the apparent late start of the high season was one of the factors (together with all-inclusives). So, what are we supposed to make of another survey emanating from the same organisation which suggests, in the case of Puerto Alcúdia, the opposite?
Restaurants in Puerto Pollensa and Puerto Alcúdia have had increases in numbers of up to 15% and up to 10% in spend. This contradicts the earlier report. Moreover, the latest survey says that June and July were better than August. Fair enough, I said this on 16 August, but this does also contradict the earlier report’s finding that the allegedly late start to the season was a reason for poor performance.
As I say, I don’t know, albeit that poor old Can Picafort is consistent - down by as much as 10% of spend.
And so to a follow-up to the issue I raised on 15 July (“200 Motels”). This concerned the over-availability of sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach at Playa de Muro. Now it seems that Muro council could be fined because there are too many, which would be passed to the concessionaires, already liable to fines from the council itself. Confused? Well, check back to 15 July for a bit more of an explanation.
Muro council is very much in the naughty chair at the moment because of the presence of dogs and horses on the beach and harm to the dunes. Well, well, here’s something else I had previously brought up (24 May: A Horse, Of Course). Something odd happened a couple of months back. I went to check the information board on my bit of beach in Playa de Muro, and it had gone. Disappeared. Now, that board for sure had a no-dogs sign, so why was it removed? Very odd.
As to the dunes, I’m also a bit confused. As far as I am aware, the dunes form part of the nature park and are therefore the responsibility of the relevant ministry. Indeed the sign that was put up when part of the dunes were roped off made this clear; there was the Government’s motif and that of S’Albufera. The criticism of the council specfically refers to the “elimination” of the dunes. I suspect that this does not envisage the head of the council standing at the water’s edge Cnut-like trying to ward off the waves. All I can think is that this suggests that the dunes have been built on or are being used for some reason or another. There is no doubt that this is the case, in the sense that hotels (and houses) have been built on what were dunes, but that is historical. What are they going to do? Plough the bulldozers into a few Iberostars? I don’t think so. Otherwise, the dunes aren’t, from what I can see, used for anything except for the Balnearios, which have also been there for years.
Confused? I am.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Will Smith “Men in Black”. Today’s title: it is a line from a song that echoes the theme of this piece.
PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Restaurants in Puerto Pollensa and Puerto Alcúdia have had increases in numbers of up to 15% and up to 10% in spend. This contradicts the earlier report. Moreover, the latest survey says that June and July were better than August. Fair enough, I said this on 16 August, but this does also contradict the earlier report’s finding that the allegedly late start to the season was a reason for poor performance.
As I say, I don’t know, albeit that poor old Can Picafort is consistent - down by as much as 10% of spend.
And so to a follow-up to the issue I raised on 15 July (“200 Motels”). This concerned the over-availability of sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach at Playa de Muro. Now it seems that Muro council could be fined because there are too many, which would be passed to the concessionaires, already liable to fines from the council itself. Confused? Well, check back to 15 July for a bit more of an explanation.
Muro council is very much in the naughty chair at the moment because of the presence of dogs and horses on the beach and harm to the dunes. Well, well, here’s something else I had previously brought up (24 May: A Horse, Of Course). Something odd happened a couple of months back. I went to check the information board on my bit of beach in Playa de Muro, and it had gone. Disappeared. Now, that board for sure had a no-dogs sign, so why was it removed? Very odd.
As to the dunes, I’m also a bit confused. As far as I am aware, the dunes form part of the nature park and are therefore the responsibility of the relevant ministry. Indeed the sign that was put up when part of the dunes were roped off made this clear; there was the Government’s motif and that of S’Albufera. The criticism of the council specfically refers to the “elimination” of the dunes. I suspect that this does not envisage the head of the council standing at the water’s edge Cnut-like trying to ward off the waves. All I can think is that this suggests that the dunes have been built on or are being used for some reason or another. There is no doubt that this is the case, in the sense that hotels (and houses) have been built on what were dunes, but that is historical. What are they going to do? Plough the bulldozers into a few Iberostars? I don’t think so. Otherwise, the dunes aren’t, from what I can see, used for anything except for the Balnearios, which have also been there for years.
Confused? I am.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Will Smith “Men in Black”. Today’s title: it is a line from a song that echoes the theme of this piece.
PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
200 Motels
And more on beach umbrellas. Beach umbrellas and sunbeds. In Can Picafort and Playa de Muro there is a little local issue regarding the numbers of umbrellas and sunbeds on the beaches. In Can Picafort, part of the beach (in Son Bauló) has had a different problem - there not being any. But the issue on the main beach and in Muro is that there are too many. Seems this has all to do with the fact that when the concessions are being sorted out, there are secret tenders handed to the town halls. There are about four main concessionaires, and they try and outbid each other for the various “lots”. Obvious you would think, but the bids are excessively high in order to get the lots. So the town halls trouser a goodly sum and then wait for additional income through fines. That’s because the concessionaire, having handed over so many folding notes, puts out more sunbed and umbrella sets than are prescribed. Why? In order to coin back the outlay. The fines are doubtless budgeted for in the concessionaire’s business plan. They are not ordered to remove the excessive numbers of sunbeds; just fined. And they, the concessionaires, continue to charge about 8.50euros - per use - for a sunbed and umbrella set. Anyway, the local residents and neighbourhood groups have had enough, and have complained, grounds being that there is less “public” space, i.e. beach, and more and more commercialised space.
The 200th post to this blog was recently attained. Seems like 2000. Anyway, to celebrate here is a 200 quiz. “200 Motels” as a title is in honour of the fact that between Alcúdia, Pollensa, Playa de Muro and Can Picafort, there are at least 200 hotels or other such establishments, if not motels. This was the title of an album by whom? And then there is also this lyric: “She's 200 years old. So mean, she couldn't grow no lips. Boy, she'd be in trouble if she tried to grow a moustache”. Who? The answer is the same for both questions. And what is the lyric’s reference to? Yesterday - Band Aid. Of course.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The 200th post to this blog was recently attained. Seems like 2000. Anyway, to celebrate here is a 200 quiz. “200 Motels” as a title is in honour of the fact that between Alcúdia, Pollensa, Playa de Muro and Can Picafort, there are at least 200 hotels or other such establishments, if not motels. This was the title of an album by whom? And then there is also this lyric: “She's 200 years old. So mean, she couldn't grow no lips. Boy, she'd be in trouble if she tried to grow a moustache”. Who? The answer is the same for both questions. And what is the lyric’s reference to? Yesterday - Band Aid. Of course.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
