Morning high (7.24am): 12C
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 22 March - Cloud, 15C; 23 March - Sun, cloud, 14C; 24 March - Sun, cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 4.
Bright start though there may be showers later. Tomorrow isn't looking too good but the forecast for the rest of the week has improved, with sunnier weather due from Wednesday.
Evening update (20.45): Turned out average. High of 17.2C.
Monday, March 21, 2016
The Burnt Image: Mallorca's cinema pioneer
There is a learned journal called "Artigrama" that is published by the University of Zaragoza. Fifteen years ago it contained an article entitled "Alternative Itineraries". These were for the Spanish possessions in north Africa - Ceuta and Melilla - the Canaries and the Balearics. The theme of the article was film and cinema and specifically its history.
The title hinted at something which wasn't really explored in the article: itineraries, as in tourist trips, based on film and cinema. There is a wealth of potential in Majorca for such itineraries, yet it remains largely untapped. Calvia, to its credit, is one municipality to have established a route based on locations used within its boundaries. Otherwise, the visitor is left somewhat to his or her own devices, eagerly hunting for the likes of Formentor's La Fortelesa, one of the principal stars of the property porn extravaganza that is "The Night Manager". When this enormously expensive estate isn't sending social networks into meltdown, then it is the sight of an unclad Tom Hiddleston (as well as, one might add, a similarly unclad Elizabeth Debicki).
Current film is of course light years away from what it once was. Which brings one back to the itineraries alluded to in that article's title and to one of the names to whom the article gives prominence. The Tramuntana mountain range and its coastline has long been the subject of interest for those with film cameras. While the current day has revealed the likes of Cala Deya or Sa Calobra, back in the day they were filming Soller. And there's one short film in particular.
A relic of cinema history from black-and-white days in 1913 is bound to be described as having "grainy" footage, as cliché demands that this is how it should be described. The Soller film to which I refer, as does the article, is one part of what was entitled "De Palma al Puerto Soller". It is a film of the inauguration of the tram (it can be found on YouTube). One sees gentlemen in their finery climbing aboard the tram, ladies in their finery - white outfits with white hats - children running in front of the tram. What is in a way remarkable about this film is that everything is so recognisable: the track as it makes its way from the station through the town and then on its way to the port.
The film was shot by one Josep Truyol Otero, who can claim to having been one of the pioneers of Mallorcan film if not the pioneer. The tram film was in fact contained within a two-part series with the overall title of "Excursiones por Mallorca". Here were the itineraries, the excursions on the island that Truyol filmed. One was solely about Palma, the other was the trip to Soller and the port.
Truyol, born in 1868, was a photographer. He moved to Barcelona aged nineteen and established a studio there. Some years later, 1900 to be precise, he went to the Exposition Universelle in Paris. At this world fair, he was introduced to the cinema. Three years later, and back in Mallorca, he opened the "Cinematógrafo Truyol". This was where the gardens of Hort del Rei now are, an area of Palma that was to the fore of entertainment around the turn of the twentieth century. This was where the wooden circus building had stood and where, in 1902, the Lyric Theatre (Teatro Lírico) opened.
The Lyric did show the occasional film, but Truyol's establishment was the first true cinema in Mallorca. Unfortunately for Truyol, the owner of the Lyric - Josep Tous Ferrer, something of a media mogul of the era - was to concentrate on films. In 1910, being undercut by the prices at the Lyric, Truyol's cinema closed. He faced financial ruin but in a way it was the making of him. While Tous Ferrer was to oversee more elaborate documentaries showing the wonders of Mallorca, Truyol was dabbling in film technique - double exposure, multiple imaging. The 1913 series was alas to be the pinnacle of his achievement.
He was persuaded to exhibit his films abroad. This proved to be a mistake. Further financial problems were to dog him. His last film work, it is believed, was in 1919. But frustrated and disappointed, he was to set fire to almost all the films he had. The film of the tram's inauguration survived. He continued working as a photographer and died in 1949, never having achieved his ambitions as a film maker.
His contribution to Mallorca's cinema was all but forgotten and so was he. But a few years ago this contribution was recognised. A documentary was made. Its title, poignantly enough, was "La imatge cremada": the burnt image.
The title hinted at something which wasn't really explored in the article: itineraries, as in tourist trips, based on film and cinema. There is a wealth of potential in Majorca for such itineraries, yet it remains largely untapped. Calvia, to its credit, is one municipality to have established a route based on locations used within its boundaries. Otherwise, the visitor is left somewhat to his or her own devices, eagerly hunting for the likes of Formentor's La Fortelesa, one of the principal stars of the property porn extravaganza that is "The Night Manager". When this enormously expensive estate isn't sending social networks into meltdown, then it is the sight of an unclad Tom Hiddleston (as well as, one might add, a similarly unclad Elizabeth Debicki).
Current film is of course light years away from what it once was. Which brings one back to the itineraries alluded to in that article's title and to one of the names to whom the article gives prominence. The Tramuntana mountain range and its coastline has long been the subject of interest for those with film cameras. While the current day has revealed the likes of Cala Deya or Sa Calobra, back in the day they were filming Soller. And there's one short film in particular.
A relic of cinema history from black-and-white days in 1913 is bound to be described as having "grainy" footage, as cliché demands that this is how it should be described. The Soller film to which I refer, as does the article, is one part of what was entitled "De Palma al Puerto Soller". It is a film of the inauguration of the tram (it can be found on YouTube). One sees gentlemen in their finery climbing aboard the tram, ladies in their finery - white outfits with white hats - children running in front of the tram. What is in a way remarkable about this film is that everything is so recognisable: the track as it makes its way from the station through the town and then on its way to the port.
The film was shot by one Josep Truyol Otero, who can claim to having been one of the pioneers of Mallorcan film if not the pioneer. The tram film was in fact contained within a two-part series with the overall title of "Excursiones por Mallorca". Here were the itineraries, the excursions on the island that Truyol filmed. One was solely about Palma, the other was the trip to Soller and the port.
Truyol, born in 1868, was a photographer. He moved to Barcelona aged nineteen and established a studio there. Some years later, 1900 to be precise, he went to the Exposition Universelle in Paris. At this world fair, he was introduced to the cinema. Three years later, and back in Mallorca, he opened the "Cinematógrafo Truyol". This was where the gardens of Hort del Rei now are, an area of Palma that was to the fore of entertainment around the turn of the twentieth century. This was where the wooden circus building had stood and where, in 1902, the Lyric Theatre (Teatro Lírico) opened.
The Lyric did show the occasional film, but Truyol's establishment was the first true cinema in Mallorca. Unfortunately for Truyol, the owner of the Lyric - Josep Tous Ferrer, something of a media mogul of the era - was to concentrate on films. In 1910, being undercut by the prices at the Lyric, Truyol's cinema closed. He faced financial ruin but in a way it was the making of him. While Tous Ferrer was to oversee more elaborate documentaries showing the wonders of Mallorca, Truyol was dabbling in film technique - double exposure, multiple imaging. The 1913 series was alas to be the pinnacle of his achievement.
He was persuaded to exhibit his films abroad. This proved to be a mistake. Further financial problems were to dog him. His last film work, it is believed, was in 1919. But frustrated and disappointed, he was to set fire to almost all the films he had. The film of the tram's inauguration survived. He continued working as a photographer and died in 1949, never having achieved his ambitions as a film maker.
His contribution to Mallorca's cinema was all but forgotten and so was he. But a few years ago this contribution was recognised. A documentary was made. Its title, poignantly enough, was "La imatge cremada": the burnt image.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 20 March 2016
Morning high (7.49am): 12.2C
Forecast high: 17C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 21 March - Cloud, 16C; 22 March - Cloud, 13C; 23 March - Cloud, sun, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Variable 2 to 3 becoming South in the afternoon.
Rain around but not heavy. Expected to clear for the afternoon, but rain looks possible during much of the week with the forecast suggesting an improvement on Good Friday.
Evening update (20.30); Sun didn't really show until late on. Mild day. High of 18.5C.
Forecast high: 17C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 21 March - Cloud, 16C; 22 March - Cloud, 13C; 23 March - Cloud, sun, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Variable 2 to 3 becoming South in the afternoon.
Rain around but not heavy. Expected to clear for the afternoon, but rain looks possible during much of the week with the forecast suggesting an improvement on Good Friday.
Evening update (20.30); Sun didn't really show until late on. Mild day. High of 18.5C.
Mick And The Illegal Refugees
The Banbury Boy, Mick of the Consell, has been receiving plaudits. Allow me if I may to quote from Joan Riera writing in "Ultima Hora". "Miquel Ensenyat is becoming a rising star within the Balearic left. In a few months he has achieved extraordinary success by uniting all the left that governs the island institution ... He is demonstrating empathy and leadership skills that might even create jealousy within his own party." Joan was thus issuing a warning while at the same time praising Mick for soaring above the "mediocrity that is the norm in a land like Mallorca". More than anything he has achieved what the mediocrity of the regional government has been unable to. At the Council of Mallorca there aren't the interminable squabbles that are the consequence of a PSOE-Més-Podemos ménage à trois.
It isn't perhaps all that surprising. Unlike for the government, when the negotiations were taking place to decide who should be president of the Council, there was an absence of posturing and thinly veiled threats. Mick emerged as the Més president in harmony with his vice-presidents, Francesc Miralles (PSOE) and Jesús Jurado of Podemos. Consensus and dialogue may not extend as far as the Partido Popular, as one its spokespeople said last week, but when it comes to the comrades Mick is all ears.
It was all the more unfortunate, therefore, that this ringing endorsement of Mick's ability to govern in alliance with something that doesn't resemble a primary school playground should run up against dark forces of the German right-wing. Mick will now be issuing instructions that someone takes a good look at Google before attending symposia on the progressive development of international law with certain Germans.
What happened, you see, was that the week before last there was a symposium on this subject that took place in Palma. There was a nice photo of participants which showed Mick next to a dapper chap dressed all in black. Which might seem rather appropriate. He was Karl Albrecht Schachtschneider. Among other things, Karl Albrecht is an expert on "secessionist processes", which in good Mallorcan left-wing nationalist terms - which Mick is - means the likes of Catalonia becoming independent. However, Karl Albrecht has also associated himself with the likes of the AfD, Alternative für Deutschland. If you are unaware of what it stands for, then Karl Albrecht's views on immigration might provide a clue. He said recently that refugees have no right to enter Germany. They are illegals.
Apart from inadvertently having found himself photographed next to a voice that edges to the far of the German right-wing, Mick was also next to someone whose views on refugees are totally opposed to those of Mick, who has of course been needing to explain why he went to Chios on a fact-finding mission as part of the process of handing over Council aid for refugees.
When this all came to light last week, there were mutterings of it having been a "desastre" for Mick. Some of the jealous ones might well have been pleased.
Oh well, even the most empathetic of leaders can have their off days. Put it down to experience.
It isn't perhaps all that surprising. Unlike for the government, when the negotiations were taking place to decide who should be president of the Council, there was an absence of posturing and thinly veiled threats. Mick emerged as the Més president in harmony with his vice-presidents, Francesc Miralles (PSOE) and Jesús Jurado of Podemos. Consensus and dialogue may not extend as far as the Partido Popular, as one its spokespeople said last week, but when it comes to the comrades Mick is all ears.
It was all the more unfortunate, therefore, that this ringing endorsement of Mick's ability to govern in alliance with something that doesn't resemble a primary school playground should run up against dark forces of the German right-wing. Mick will now be issuing instructions that someone takes a good look at Google before attending symposia on the progressive development of international law with certain Germans.
What happened, you see, was that the week before last there was a symposium on this subject that took place in Palma. There was a nice photo of participants which showed Mick next to a dapper chap dressed all in black. Which might seem rather appropriate. He was Karl Albrecht Schachtschneider. Among other things, Karl Albrecht is an expert on "secessionist processes", which in good Mallorcan left-wing nationalist terms - which Mick is - means the likes of Catalonia becoming independent. However, Karl Albrecht has also associated himself with the likes of the AfD, Alternative für Deutschland. If you are unaware of what it stands for, then Karl Albrecht's views on immigration might provide a clue. He said recently that refugees have no right to enter Germany. They are illegals.
Apart from inadvertently having found himself photographed next to a voice that edges to the far of the German right-wing, Mick was also next to someone whose views on refugees are totally opposed to those of Mick, who has of course been needing to explain why he went to Chios on a fact-finding mission as part of the process of handing over Council aid for refugees.
When this all came to light last week, there were mutterings of it having been a "desastre" for Mick. Some of the jealous ones might well have been pleased.
Oh well, even the most empathetic of leaders can have their off days. Put it down to experience.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 19 March 2016
Morning high (7.35am): 11C
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 20 March - Cloud, sun, 15C; 21 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 22 March - Rain, 13C.
A fine, bright morning with a good deal of sun expected later.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Southeast 2 to 3 increasing 4 during the morning.
Evening update (20.15): Pleasant enough and warm enough - at a high of 18.7C - but the sun vied with a good deal of cloud.
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 20 March - Cloud, sun, 15C; 21 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 22 March - Rain, 13C.
A fine, bright morning with a good deal of sun expected later.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Southeast 2 to 3 increasing 4 during the morning.
Evening update (20.15): Pleasant enough and warm enough - at a high of 18.7C - but the sun vied with a good deal of cloud.
The Hodge-Podge Of A Tax
So, now we know that the tourist tax will be introduced from 1 July. Any advance on 1 May? Do I hear 1 June? Sold to the man with 1 July. At least some common sense has prevailed. If you have any thoughts of practicality in mind, you do not pass legislation and expect tax collection to begin almost a month later. Not, it has to be said, that practicality enters into the equation. The pathetic squabbling of this government and its "partner" Podemos over how the revenue is to be spent totally ignores the practicalities of how the revenue is supposed to be collected.
Only the hoteliers seem to know about collection. Inma Benito said at the Berlin fair that the hotels were resigned to having to collect it. "To do anything else would be to break the law." But go ask villa agencies and see if they know. The hotels, one also understands, will not now be bearing the cost of the tax. Or at least this seems to no longer be hotelier federation policy. Individual hotel chains may decide to, but that would be up to them.
Justifications for the tax have once more been parroted by the politicians. Biel Barceló observes that tourist taxes exist in many European countries. True, they do, but most are city taxes and not global ones. But where they do exist, their purpose tends to be, as is the case with hotel stay taxes in Germany or Rome, to add revenue to assist in paying for services and resources. My own view of the tourist tax, long held, is that justification can be made (in fact should be made) for tourists contributing to the cost of water, sewage and other vital services. But such a practical application warrants no consideration in the Balearics. The tax is a tax and now let's look for all sorts of spurious reasons to spend it.
Then there is the cost that the tourist will have to bear. It is a "small" one the politicians consistently inform us. In terms of the overall price of a holiday, it is. But the Balearic tax is not as small as some others. The regional politicians are greedy. They should look across the sea at Catalonia, where the rates are more moderate and where the tax ceases to be paid after seven days. This won't be the case here; only that a 50% reduction is to be applied after ten days. Greed.
What Barceló and others seem totally incapable of understanding is that they should take it as a compliment that a Balearic tax should arouse as much debate and scrutiny as it does. Catalonia's did not create anything like the same level of intense discussion. Why? Because the Costa Brava is not Mallorca. The island attracts attention, especially among the British and Germans, like nowhere else.
The arguments over the allocation of revenue - a cart before horse state of affairs if ever there was one - are most unlikely to cease now that the government has arrived at some form of compromise with Podemos. As Alvaro Gijón of the PP has intimated, the decisions on geographical distribution and the remaining 40% of revenue not included in this will probably lead to unseemly lobbying by municipalities to get their fingers in the pie. And let's guess which two might be leading the way. Gijón should know about one: he used to be the deputy mayor. No prizes for guessing the other.
The PP had been suggesting that they might see the government in court over the tax. They won't be. But the party remains dead against it. If it is returned to power in 2019, then the tax will doubtless go, just as it did when Jaume Matas won in 2003. The tax is a political tax, and everyone knows it is, one hewn from ideology, as Inma Benito suggests. The former minister for public administration, the PP's José Manuel Lafuente referred to the tax as a "hodge-podge" after Tuesday's parliamentary committee session. How right he is.
Only the hoteliers seem to know about collection. Inma Benito said at the Berlin fair that the hotels were resigned to having to collect it. "To do anything else would be to break the law." But go ask villa agencies and see if they know. The hotels, one also understands, will not now be bearing the cost of the tax. Or at least this seems to no longer be hotelier federation policy. Individual hotel chains may decide to, but that would be up to them.
Justifications for the tax have once more been parroted by the politicians. Biel Barceló observes that tourist taxes exist in many European countries. True, they do, but most are city taxes and not global ones. But where they do exist, their purpose tends to be, as is the case with hotel stay taxes in Germany or Rome, to add revenue to assist in paying for services and resources. My own view of the tourist tax, long held, is that justification can be made (in fact should be made) for tourists contributing to the cost of water, sewage and other vital services. But such a practical application warrants no consideration in the Balearics. The tax is a tax and now let's look for all sorts of spurious reasons to spend it.
Then there is the cost that the tourist will have to bear. It is a "small" one the politicians consistently inform us. In terms of the overall price of a holiday, it is. But the Balearic tax is not as small as some others. The regional politicians are greedy. They should look across the sea at Catalonia, where the rates are more moderate and where the tax ceases to be paid after seven days. This won't be the case here; only that a 50% reduction is to be applied after ten days. Greed.
What Barceló and others seem totally incapable of understanding is that they should take it as a compliment that a Balearic tax should arouse as much debate and scrutiny as it does. Catalonia's did not create anything like the same level of intense discussion. Why? Because the Costa Brava is not Mallorca. The island attracts attention, especially among the British and Germans, like nowhere else.
The arguments over the allocation of revenue - a cart before horse state of affairs if ever there was one - are most unlikely to cease now that the government has arrived at some form of compromise with Podemos. As Alvaro Gijón of the PP has intimated, the decisions on geographical distribution and the remaining 40% of revenue not included in this will probably lead to unseemly lobbying by municipalities to get their fingers in the pie. And let's guess which two might be leading the way. Gijón should know about one: he used to be the deputy mayor. No prizes for guessing the other.
The PP had been suggesting that they might see the government in court over the tax. They won't be. But the party remains dead against it. If it is returned to power in 2019, then the tax will doubtless go, just as it did when Jaume Matas won in 2003. The tax is a political tax, and everyone knows it is, one hewn from ideology, as Inma Benito suggests. The former minister for public administration, the PP's José Manuel Lafuente referred to the tax as a "hodge-podge" after Tuesday's parliamentary committee session. How right he is.
Friday, March 18, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 18 March 2016
Morning high (6.43am): 10.6C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 19 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 20 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 21 March - Cloud, sun, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 2 to 3.
Cloudy first thing but expected to be reasonably sunny later. Tomorrow similar but the first day of spring (Sunday) could well see some rain.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 19 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 20 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 21 March - Cloud, sun, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 2 to 3.
Cloudy first thing but expected to be reasonably sunny later. Tomorrow similar but the first day of spring (Sunday) could well see some rain.
Marketing Personality: Palma and the mountains
There was a bit of a rumpus at the Berlin ITB travel fair. It was to do with a logo, the one for the Maldives, official partner of the 2016 fair. Was it familiar? Was it rather like the logo used for Spain by Turespaña, the one that the painter Joan Miró had designed all those years ago?
Well, perhaps there was some similarity in the image of the sun, though whether it was a conscious attempt at imitation would be impossible to say. What one can say is that the Maldives' logo lacks the distinctive Miró flavour. Similar maybe but not the discernible style that characterised much of Miró's work.
The Turespaña logo dates from 1984, the year after Miró died. It is a logo that is one of the most recognisable graphic displays of branding in the tourism world. In terms of recognition, it is right up there with New York. While Miró may not be to everyone's taste, there is no denying the unique quality of the logo and of so much of his oeuvre. It is unmistakably Miró and it is for this reason that the logo has acquired such a reputation. It is different. It stands out. It makes a statement. It also captures the essence of culture - art in this instance - and of what Spain represents for so many, the sun. As a logo, it does more or less everything a logo should do.
This was not the first time that Miró had designed a logo for tourism. In the early 1970s he donated one to the Fomento del Turismo, the Mallorca Tourist Board. The Sol de Mallorca should arguably now be as famous and as recognised as the Spanish sun. Perhaps they thought there would be confusion by having two Miró logos. Perhaps it was because the newly formed regional government wanted, from 1983, to have its own logo. Whatever the reason, the Sol de Mallorca ceased to be the abiding image for the island's tourism. There has not been a good one ever since.
A logo is only as good as what supports it and what it represents. If a destination lacks substance, strong attributes and messages, then a logo on its own achieves comparatively little. A strong logo isn't always necessary, though. Palma, for example, is doing fine without having one.
In Palma's case, it is the substance and the marketing of its virtues which are proving to be the bedrock for the city's current success. And one of these is Miró. Of the three giants of twentieth century Spanish art, Miró didn't cultivate fame and notoriety in the way that Dali and Picasso did. For this reason, his name is not as strong on a global stage. But it is strong enough, and precisely because he was an altogether more humble man, it can be argued that there was and is greater substance to him. He didn't need the extravagances of publicity to declare his genius.
Miró, the man, his work and his personality have become something of a marketing concept for Palma. It makes very good sense that he should be, as does the apparent closeness between the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation and the city in using this personality. To promote a city of culture, then who better to do so than an artist with such a strong association with the city and who bequeathed to it the buildings which combine to provide the Miró museum.
Mallorca has had a thing with using individuals for promotional purposes in the past, though this hasn't necessarily been terribly successful. Michael Douglas was arguably one of the more successful, but a weakness of the approach has been to use personalities whose associations are relatively superficial. This cannot be said of Miró. His Palma roots were and are deep.
When writing yesterday's article about the Tramuntana, I had thought about this use of personality. Reflecting on Palma's 365 marketing, Miró as some sort of figurehead is ideal. But Palma's marketing is, as observed yesterday, in a totally different league to that of the Tramuntana. It is heading towards a peak of excellence, while the Tramuntana's has yet to even aspire to make base camp.
If there were to be a personality for the Tramuntana, who would it be? Who, for a global audience, has the substance that Miró has for Palma? There are few candidates. Not Ramon Llull because the world doesn't know him. Not the Archduke Louis Salvador because only German speakers are aware of him. Chopin (and George Sand)? No. A three-month only residence disqualifies both as does the dislike that they expressed for Mallorca. Which leaves?
Someone with a deep association with the mountains and affinity with the culture. Someone whose name goes around the world. Someone who assisted in even better known personalities coming to Mallorca - Ava Gardner, Orson Welles and others. Robert Graves is that someone.
Well, perhaps there was some similarity in the image of the sun, though whether it was a conscious attempt at imitation would be impossible to say. What one can say is that the Maldives' logo lacks the distinctive Miró flavour. Similar maybe but not the discernible style that characterised much of Miró's work.
The Turespaña logo dates from 1984, the year after Miró died. It is a logo that is one of the most recognisable graphic displays of branding in the tourism world. In terms of recognition, it is right up there with New York. While Miró may not be to everyone's taste, there is no denying the unique quality of the logo and of so much of his oeuvre. It is unmistakably Miró and it is for this reason that the logo has acquired such a reputation. It is different. It stands out. It makes a statement. It also captures the essence of culture - art in this instance - and of what Spain represents for so many, the sun. As a logo, it does more or less everything a logo should do.
This was not the first time that Miró had designed a logo for tourism. In the early 1970s he donated one to the Fomento del Turismo, the Mallorca Tourist Board. The Sol de Mallorca should arguably now be as famous and as recognised as the Spanish sun. Perhaps they thought there would be confusion by having two Miró logos. Perhaps it was because the newly formed regional government wanted, from 1983, to have its own logo. Whatever the reason, the Sol de Mallorca ceased to be the abiding image for the island's tourism. There has not been a good one ever since.
A logo is only as good as what supports it and what it represents. If a destination lacks substance, strong attributes and messages, then a logo on its own achieves comparatively little. A strong logo isn't always necessary, though. Palma, for example, is doing fine without having one.
In Palma's case, it is the substance and the marketing of its virtues which are proving to be the bedrock for the city's current success. And one of these is Miró. Of the three giants of twentieth century Spanish art, Miró didn't cultivate fame and notoriety in the way that Dali and Picasso did. For this reason, his name is not as strong on a global stage. But it is strong enough, and precisely because he was an altogether more humble man, it can be argued that there was and is greater substance to him. He didn't need the extravagances of publicity to declare his genius.
Miró, the man, his work and his personality have become something of a marketing concept for Palma. It makes very good sense that he should be, as does the apparent closeness between the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation and the city in using this personality. To promote a city of culture, then who better to do so than an artist with such a strong association with the city and who bequeathed to it the buildings which combine to provide the Miró museum.
Mallorca has had a thing with using individuals for promotional purposes in the past, though this hasn't necessarily been terribly successful. Michael Douglas was arguably one of the more successful, but a weakness of the approach has been to use personalities whose associations are relatively superficial. This cannot be said of Miró. His Palma roots were and are deep.
When writing yesterday's article about the Tramuntana, I had thought about this use of personality. Reflecting on Palma's 365 marketing, Miró as some sort of figurehead is ideal. But Palma's marketing is, as observed yesterday, in a totally different league to that of the Tramuntana. It is heading towards a peak of excellence, while the Tramuntana's has yet to even aspire to make base camp.
If there were to be a personality for the Tramuntana, who would it be? Who, for a global audience, has the substance that Miró has for Palma? There are few candidates. Not Ramon Llull because the world doesn't know him. Not the Archduke Louis Salvador because only German speakers are aware of him. Chopin (and George Sand)? No. A three-month only residence disqualifies both as does the dislike that they expressed for Mallorca. Which leaves?
Someone with a deep association with the mountains and affinity with the culture. Someone whose name goes around the world. Someone who assisted in even better known personalities coming to Mallorca - Ava Gardner, Orson Welles and others. Robert Graves is that someone.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 17 March 2016
Morning high (7.05am): 8.3C
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 18 March - Sun, cloud, 15C; 19 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 20 March - Sun, cloud, 15C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Variable 2 to 3 increasing Northwest 4 during the morning.
A fine start though there is a slight risk of rain this morning. Should be sunny later. Tomorrow's looking fair, though we're still in the midst of an up-and-down phase and not particularly warm.
Evening update (20.15):E Some sun, some cloud. Nowt special. High of 16C.
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 18 March - Sun, cloud, 15C; 19 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 20 March - Sun, cloud, 15C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Variable 2 to 3 increasing Northwest 4 during the morning.
A fine start though there is a slight risk of rain this morning. Should be sunny later. Tomorrow's looking fair, though we're still in the midst of an up-and-down phase and not particularly warm.
Evening update (20.15):E Some sun, some cloud. Nowt special. High of 16C.
The Tramuntana: The Confusion Continues
Nine months ago, I wrote an article with the byline "tourism confusion". It was about the Tramuntana mountains and their promotion for tourism purposes. In that article I wondered about the organisation of the Tramuntana. Had there been a lack of political will? Had there been difficulties of co-ordination? Or was the whole management of the mountains within a tourism framework suffering from the lack of a clear vision as to what is wanted from the Tramuntana?
I suggested that a change in the political landscape might bring with it a more sympathetic attitude but that there would remain the question as to what the vision actually was. Well, that political change appears to have made very little difference. Mallorca has a marvellous asset and public institutions still apparently incapable of appreciating just how marvellous and of making this marvel known.
At the most recent Council of Mallorca full session was an item about the Tramuntana. Antoni Serra Comas, a Partido Popular councillor, said that the consortium which supposedly oversees the promotional development of the mountains was "in a state of total paralysis". He said that the regional government needed to figure out "what type of management model there should be for promoting the Tramuntana".
Comas was immediately identifying a structural problem. Which institution actually has overall responsibility? The Council of Mallorca has a great deal and will doubtless assume more once tourism promotion responsibilities are fully devolved to it. So why might the regional government need to be involved? Well, a reason is that the consortium to which Comas was referring - Consorcio Sierra de Tramuntana Patrimonio Mundial, to give it its full title - falls under the auspices of the ministry for the presidency: President Armengol of the regional government, that is.
On the government's website, it still names Bartomeu Deyà as being the head of this consortium. In fact, as Comas alluded to, he ceased to be its director last October. Since then, as I'm led to believe, there has been an executive looking after the shop. But no replacement as director has been found, despite, so I understand, one notable approach having been made.
There are those, it has been said to me, who were not totally enamoured of Deyà's performance. This is not for me comment on, but he came to the role with fifteen years of experience as manager of the Fomento del Turismo (Mallorca Tourist Board). He must have had something about him and more than just the fact that he was a Partido Popular appointment: one made by the former president of the Council, Maria Salom. Yes, a Council of Mallorca appointment, raising again the issue of institutional responsibility.
The governing board of the consortium has, since it was formed in 2011, had the president of the Council of Mallorca as its president. It is now Miquel Ensenyat. The vice-president is from the Council, which provides other members, as does the regional government. Plus there are observers from political parties that don't form the administrations at government and Council levels. Oh, and there are representatives from each of the Tramuntana municipalities on the consortium as well, most of whom will be new because of changes following the elections last May.
The apparent institutional confusion may well be a reason why the consortium seems to have been largely ineffective. Another is the lack of continuity. Political changes are to be expected, but it doesn't follow that these automatically have to lead to senior officials also changing. A good example of this is the Palma 365 Foundation. Pedro Homar has remained in place. He said in a recent interview that political change in Palma had made no difference to his job or to the work of Palma 365. The commitment was as it was under the PP. Indeed, it might be said to be greater.
This foundation and the Tramuntana consortium are designed to promote two key projects for promoting alternative forms of tourism for Mallorca: Palma all year and the mountains and all they have to offer. The consortium does have to abide by Unesco rules, so it does have an outside influence that Palma doesn't. But this shouldn't be an excuse for the great contrast in developments since both were formed.
They have been in existence for roughly the same length of time. While Palma goes from strength to strength, the Tramuntana is stuck in a state of paralysis, as Comas calls it. But there is one very major difference between the two bodies. Palma 365 has enormous private sector support. The mountains do not.
With Palma 365, the likes of TUI have worked closely in developing and rolling out the strategy. The Tramuntana could benefit from the same. Instead there are all sorts of public institutions and representatives who are involved in getting the strategy nowhere. Comas is right. A new management model is needed. The question is - who takes the decision?
I suggested that a change in the political landscape might bring with it a more sympathetic attitude but that there would remain the question as to what the vision actually was. Well, that political change appears to have made very little difference. Mallorca has a marvellous asset and public institutions still apparently incapable of appreciating just how marvellous and of making this marvel known.
At the most recent Council of Mallorca full session was an item about the Tramuntana. Antoni Serra Comas, a Partido Popular councillor, said that the consortium which supposedly oversees the promotional development of the mountains was "in a state of total paralysis". He said that the regional government needed to figure out "what type of management model there should be for promoting the Tramuntana".
Comas was immediately identifying a structural problem. Which institution actually has overall responsibility? The Council of Mallorca has a great deal and will doubtless assume more once tourism promotion responsibilities are fully devolved to it. So why might the regional government need to be involved? Well, a reason is that the consortium to which Comas was referring - Consorcio Sierra de Tramuntana Patrimonio Mundial, to give it its full title - falls under the auspices of the ministry for the presidency: President Armengol of the regional government, that is.
On the government's website, it still names Bartomeu Deyà as being the head of this consortium. In fact, as Comas alluded to, he ceased to be its director last October. Since then, as I'm led to believe, there has been an executive looking after the shop. But no replacement as director has been found, despite, so I understand, one notable approach having been made.
There are those, it has been said to me, who were not totally enamoured of Deyà's performance. This is not for me comment on, but he came to the role with fifteen years of experience as manager of the Fomento del Turismo (Mallorca Tourist Board). He must have had something about him and more than just the fact that he was a Partido Popular appointment: one made by the former president of the Council, Maria Salom. Yes, a Council of Mallorca appointment, raising again the issue of institutional responsibility.
The governing board of the consortium has, since it was formed in 2011, had the president of the Council of Mallorca as its president. It is now Miquel Ensenyat. The vice-president is from the Council, which provides other members, as does the regional government. Plus there are observers from political parties that don't form the administrations at government and Council levels. Oh, and there are representatives from each of the Tramuntana municipalities on the consortium as well, most of whom will be new because of changes following the elections last May.
The apparent institutional confusion may well be a reason why the consortium seems to have been largely ineffective. Another is the lack of continuity. Political changes are to be expected, but it doesn't follow that these automatically have to lead to senior officials also changing. A good example of this is the Palma 365 Foundation. Pedro Homar has remained in place. He said in a recent interview that political change in Palma had made no difference to his job or to the work of Palma 365. The commitment was as it was under the PP. Indeed, it might be said to be greater.
This foundation and the Tramuntana consortium are designed to promote two key projects for promoting alternative forms of tourism for Mallorca: Palma all year and the mountains and all they have to offer. The consortium does have to abide by Unesco rules, so it does have an outside influence that Palma doesn't. But this shouldn't be an excuse for the great contrast in developments since both were formed.
They have been in existence for roughly the same length of time. While Palma goes from strength to strength, the Tramuntana is stuck in a state of paralysis, as Comas calls it. But there is one very major difference between the two bodies. Palma 365 has enormous private sector support. The mountains do not.
With Palma 365, the likes of TUI have worked closely in developing and rolling out the strategy. The Tramuntana could benefit from the same. Instead there are all sorts of public institutions and representatives who are involved in getting the strategy nowhere. Comas is right. A new management model is needed. The question is - who takes the decision?
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 16 March 2016
Morning high (6.49am): 10.3C
Forecast high: 17C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 17 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 18 March - Cloud, sun, 13C; 19 March - Sun, cloud, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 3 to 4 easing Variable 2 to 3 during the morning.
Cloudy start, some sunny spells but possible showers by the late afternoon.
Forecast high: 17C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 17 March - Cloud, sun, 14C; 18 March - Cloud, sun, 13C; 19 March - Sun, cloud, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 3 to 4 easing Variable 2 to 3 during the morning.
Cloudy start, some sunny spells but possible showers by the late afternoon.
The Renewables' Absurdity Of Mallorca
Will Mallorca and the Balearics ever have a significant proportion of the islands' energy needs provided by renewable sources? Here are islands with a great deal of sun and a fair old amount of wind, to say nothing of waves and biomass. Of these, it is the former that should be heading the list of renewables. Should be, but when? Ever?
Depending on which figure you want to take, the percentage of renewable energy production in the Balearics is either around two or three per cent. The difference in the figure is immaterial. Either is pitifully low, and to give an indication as to just how low, one only has to consider a region like La Rioja. Stuck away on the northern mainland, it can manage to supply 80% of its energy needs from renewables. One imagines that this isn't being generated by converting surplus stocks of wine.
The Balearics is not alone in having enormous dependence on conventional sources of energy. The figures can again be quibbled over, but in the Canaries information from those islands' regional government puts renewable supply at around 10% of megawatts in 2011. There are those who would argue that it as low as 5%. Either way, it's more than the Balearics.
Both the Balearics and the Canaries are way behind the national average. La Rioja might be said to skew the figure of 30% green energy, but there again La Rioja isn't a big region. The national thirty per cent is at least ten times more than the Balearics. The situation here, as in the Canaries, is a total absurdity.
Just how absurd this situation is becoming can be determined from arguments surrounding the creation of two giant photovoltaic plants in Mallorca: one in Manacor and the other in Llucmajor. To the fore of the arguments against, almost unbelievably, are environmental pressure groups, such as GOB. It's not as though they are against solar energy - quite the contrary: they are expressing their opposition on the grounds of energy sovereignty. In other words, they don't want private investors reaping fat rewards from investment in plant and the energy companies controlling and charging for the supply. Laudable though this stance might be in seeking to retain control of natural sources of energy and to guarantee its cheap consumption, it isn't particularly realistic. If there were to be true and full energy sovereignty, derived from some form of co-operative mechanism and the public sector, then the chances of there being significant supply between now and climate change apocalypse are probably only slightly better than zero.
To further add to the absurdity, we have the situation being caused by stasis at national government. It is currently an acting government. It is not, therefore, making decisions or starting projects of an important nature, and one of these projects is firmly to do with solar and especially in the Balearics.
The ministry for energy and industry, which just so happens to be combined with tourism and is presided over by the Canaries PP politician, José Manuel Soria (he who has been so wedded to oil exploration off both archipelagos), should by now have set in motion procedures for an auction of solar energy. The government in fact passed a decree commanding this two years. Nothing is happening because the ministry, as with other ministries, is in acting mode, waiting to find out what is going to happen with the next government. This auction is meant to fund a first phase of solar energy production and supply in the Balearics. Because it isn't happening, various photovoltaic projects are on hold. GOB and the others have nothing to fear just at the moment. The 60 million euros investment in the Manacor solar park is on ice along with another 40 million or so euros of investment, included in which is a project to which I have previously referred on more than one occasion: one of around 16 million euros for a photovoltaic plant by the power station in Alcudia (which produces much of the islands' electricity). It would be capable of supplying the equivalent of the total normal population of Alcudia.
The delay in the auction may be considered to be just that: a delay. A new government, especially one with stronger environmental principles than the PP, might be expected to move rapidly towards a renewables policy. But would it and how might it be able to if the likes of GOB have their way in insisting on public sector control? The fear in the Balearics is that the projects currently on hold might not be realised at all, thus dashing ambitions (stated ones) of a minimum 20% renewables supply by 2020. And time to meet those ambitions is rapidly running out.
Sun and wind. You wouldn't think it would be proving to be so difficult. But it is. The 2020 20% is a pipe dream.
Depending on which figure you want to take, the percentage of renewable energy production in the Balearics is either around two or three per cent. The difference in the figure is immaterial. Either is pitifully low, and to give an indication as to just how low, one only has to consider a region like La Rioja. Stuck away on the northern mainland, it can manage to supply 80% of its energy needs from renewables. One imagines that this isn't being generated by converting surplus stocks of wine.
The Balearics is not alone in having enormous dependence on conventional sources of energy. The figures can again be quibbled over, but in the Canaries information from those islands' regional government puts renewable supply at around 10% of megawatts in 2011. There are those who would argue that it as low as 5%. Either way, it's more than the Balearics.
Both the Balearics and the Canaries are way behind the national average. La Rioja might be said to skew the figure of 30% green energy, but there again La Rioja isn't a big region. The national thirty per cent is at least ten times more than the Balearics. The situation here, as in the Canaries, is a total absurdity.
Just how absurd this situation is becoming can be determined from arguments surrounding the creation of two giant photovoltaic plants in Mallorca: one in Manacor and the other in Llucmajor. To the fore of the arguments against, almost unbelievably, are environmental pressure groups, such as GOB. It's not as though they are against solar energy - quite the contrary: they are expressing their opposition on the grounds of energy sovereignty. In other words, they don't want private investors reaping fat rewards from investment in plant and the energy companies controlling and charging for the supply. Laudable though this stance might be in seeking to retain control of natural sources of energy and to guarantee its cheap consumption, it isn't particularly realistic. If there were to be true and full energy sovereignty, derived from some form of co-operative mechanism and the public sector, then the chances of there being significant supply between now and climate change apocalypse are probably only slightly better than zero.
To further add to the absurdity, we have the situation being caused by stasis at national government. It is currently an acting government. It is not, therefore, making decisions or starting projects of an important nature, and one of these projects is firmly to do with solar and especially in the Balearics.
The ministry for energy and industry, which just so happens to be combined with tourism and is presided over by the Canaries PP politician, José Manuel Soria (he who has been so wedded to oil exploration off both archipelagos), should by now have set in motion procedures for an auction of solar energy. The government in fact passed a decree commanding this two years. Nothing is happening because the ministry, as with other ministries, is in acting mode, waiting to find out what is going to happen with the next government. This auction is meant to fund a first phase of solar energy production and supply in the Balearics. Because it isn't happening, various photovoltaic projects are on hold. GOB and the others have nothing to fear just at the moment. The 60 million euros investment in the Manacor solar park is on ice along with another 40 million or so euros of investment, included in which is a project to which I have previously referred on more than one occasion: one of around 16 million euros for a photovoltaic plant by the power station in Alcudia (which produces much of the islands' electricity). It would be capable of supplying the equivalent of the total normal population of Alcudia.
The delay in the auction may be considered to be just that: a delay. A new government, especially one with stronger environmental principles than the PP, might be expected to move rapidly towards a renewables policy. But would it and how might it be able to if the likes of GOB have their way in insisting on public sector control? The fear in the Balearics is that the projects currently on hold might not be realised at all, thus dashing ambitions (stated ones) of a minimum 20% renewables supply by 2020. And time to meet those ambitions is rapidly running out.
Sun and wind. You wouldn't think it would be proving to be so difficult. But it is. The 2020 20% is a pipe dream.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 15 March 2016
Morning high (6.54am): 7.3C
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 16 March - Cloud, sun, 16C; 17 March - Cloud, sun, 12C; 18 March - Cloud, sun, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 2 to 3 increasing Northwest 3 to 4 during the morning.
Fairly clear skies first thing. Should be quite warm when the sun is out later but cloud due to build up and showers are possible.
Evening update (19.45): Wasn't bad until it started to rain mid-afternoon. High of 17.6C fell rapidly by six or seven degrees.
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 16 March - Cloud, sun, 16C; 17 March - Cloud, sun, 12C; 18 March - Cloud, sun, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 2 to 3 increasing Northwest 3 to 4 during the morning.
Fairly clear skies first thing. Should be quite warm when the sun is out later but cloud due to build up and showers are possible.
Evening update (19.45): Wasn't bad until it started to rain mid-afternoon. High of 17.6C fell rapidly by six or seven degrees.
"Fijo Discontinuo": Winter Tourism's Villain?
In 1984, the PSOE national government of Felipe Gónzalez enacted labour legislation under which there would be a new form of employment contract. There was logic to this reform. The contract was intended to give some greater stability to a workforce which was engaged in seasonal sectors of the economy. Tourism was one of these. The contract was and is the "fijo discontinuo", essentially one by which an employee is retained but also laid off for a number of months, during which time he or she can claim benefit.
The contract has been subject to revision over the years and also to numerous legal cases, but its essence remains largely as it was thirty-two years ago while its use continues to grow. In August last year, it was reported that there were almost 70,000 employees in the Balearics who were registered with social security for this type of contract. As there were some 475,000 people signed on at the end of September 2015, employees working with this contract constituted getting on for 15% of the working population in employment. The 70,000 of last August were around 8,000 more than in August 2014, a fact that led one of the main unions, the CCOO, to complain that there were too many "discontinuo" contracts.
The complaint was ironic. It had been the unions who had pressed the Gónzalez government into creating "discontinuo", as it did ensure some greater job security. But that was thirty-two years ago. The general narrative surrounding employment contracts nowadays, one familiar to the Balearic regional government, is for work that limits even more the potential for job insecurity. And allied to this is the narrative of tackling seasonality, most obviously in the tourism sector.
Getting to grips with seasonality is a subject that is old as mass tourism. In the 1960s the tourism season ground to a halt in September. Go forward some years and there were some inroads - the pockets of resorts in Mallorca where there was discernible winter tourism business. It was never great, despite what some might suggest, but it did exist. By the end of the 1980s, some 25% of Mallorca's tourism was between November and April, though this was based on half the annual total today: roughly five million tourists. That it had come about owed little to political initiative. It was largely the consequence of tour operator business, but when the Balearics had become an autonomous region in 1983 the politicians had started talking up plans for dealing with seasonality. There were plans for the likes of cycling and golf, just as there are today.
The truth of the matter is that regardless of what politicians have ever said, seasonality has remained an issue and always has been an issue. The politicians keep returning to it and insisting that they will indeed be tackling it - as the current Balearic government is - but behind this talk has long been, so it is argued, a kind of conspiracy which allows talk to be cheap and to be spoken because it makes politicians appear to be doing something when they themselves have aligned themselves with forces that are inherently opposed to low-season tourism. And none more so than the "fijo discontinuo".
The argument goes that hoteliers have no incentive to remain open because they can shed a whole load of staff who will be looked after by the state and then take them on again the following spring. The employees themselves are happy with this state of affairs: several months off and the government pays them. And from this disincentive has sprung a collective lack of will and creativity that might truly tackle seasonality. For hoteliers, they have virtually no risk. They make their profits in the summer season and close up shop at the first sign of November coming into view. Everything is stacked in their favour because of the nature of employment.
There are commentators, such as the journalist Javier Mato, who attribute the low-season malaise to "fijo discontinuo". Mato has asked why, if it is such a good system, no other country has adopted it. But if it is such a negative influence, then what are the alternatives? Mallorca has far too much tourism infrastructure - hotels, restaurants, etc. It's fine for summer, but for the rest of the year it is unsustainable. Full-time contracts for any more than a small minority are out of the question.
There are, though, certain movements. The system of social security 50% "bonus" for "discontinuo" employees has been extended to now include February as well as March and November, as has been the case for three years. Is it in fact this labour modification which is leading to more hotel opening in Mallorca in these low-season months? And if it is, then why not extend it further? "Discontinuo" may not be perfect but it can be made to work better.
The contract has been subject to revision over the years and also to numerous legal cases, but its essence remains largely as it was thirty-two years ago while its use continues to grow. In August last year, it was reported that there were almost 70,000 employees in the Balearics who were registered with social security for this type of contract. As there were some 475,000 people signed on at the end of September 2015, employees working with this contract constituted getting on for 15% of the working population in employment. The 70,000 of last August were around 8,000 more than in August 2014, a fact that led one of the main unions, the CCOO, to complain that there were too many "discontinuo" contracts.
The complaint was ironic. It had been the unions who had pressed the Gónzalez government into creating "discontinuo", as it did ensure some greater job security. But that was thirty-two years ago. The general narrative surrounding employment contracts nowadays, one familiar to the Balearic regional government, is for work that limits even more the potential for job insecurity. And allied to this is the narrative of tackling seasonality, most obviously in the tourism sector.
Getting to grips with seasonality is a subject that is old as mass tourism. In the 1960s the tourism season ground to a halt in September. Go forward some years and there were some inroads - the pockets of resorts in Mallorca where there was discernible winter tourism business. It was never great, despite what some might suggest, but it did exist. By the end of the 1980s, some 25% of Mallorca's tourism was between November and April, though this was based on half the annual total today: roughly five million tourists. That it had come about owed little to political initiative. It was largely the consequence of tour operator business, but when the Balearics had become an autonomous region in 1983 the politicians had started talking up plans for dealing with seasonality. There were plans for the likes of cycling and golf, just as there are today.
The truth of the matter is that regardless of what politicians have ever said, seasonality has remained an issue and always has been an issue. The politicians keep returning to it and insisting that they will indeed be tackling it - as the current Balearic government is - but behind this talk has long been, so it is argued, a kind of conspiracy which allows talk to be cheap and to be spoken because it makes politicians appear to be doing something when they themselves have aligned themselves with forces that are inherently opposed to low-season tourism. And none more so than the "fijo discontinuo".
The argument goes that hoteliers have no incentive to remain open because they can shed a whole load of staff who will be looked after by the state and then take them on again the following spring. The employees themselves are happy with this state of affairs: several months off and the government pays them. And from this disincentive has sprung a collective lack of will and creativity that might truly tackle seasonality. For hoteliers, they have virtually no risk. They make their profits in the summer season and close up shop at the first sign of November coming into view. Everything is stacked in their favour because of the nature of employment.
There are commentators, such as the journalist Javier Mato, who attribute the low-season malaise to "fijo discontinuo". Mato has asked why, if it is such a good system, no other country has adopted it. But if it is such a negative influence, then what are the alternatives? Mallorca has far too much tourism infrastructure - hotels, restaurants, etc. It's fine for summer, but for the rest of the year it is unsustainable. Full-time contracts for any more than a small minority are out of the question.
There are, though, certain movements. The system of social security 50% "bonus" for "discontinuo" employees has been extended to now include February as well as March and November, as has been the case for three years. Is it in fact this labour modification which is leading to more hotel opening in Mallorca in these low-season months? And if it is, then why not extend it further? "Discontinuo" may not be perfect but it can be made to work better.
Monday, March 14, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 14 March 2016
Morning high (7.50am): 8.1C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 15 March - Cloud, sun, 15C; 16 March - Cloud, 14C; 17 March - Cloud, sun, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northeast 2 to 3.
Mainly light cloud first thing. Unremarkable day forecast with only occasional sun.
Evening update (19.45): Turned out better than had been expected. Quite sunny, quite warm; high of 19.1C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 15 March - Cloud, sun, 15C; 16 March - Cloud, 14C; 17 March - Cloud, sun, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northeast 2 to 3.
Mainly light cloud first thing. Unremarkable day forecast with only occasional sun.
Evening update (19.45): Turned out better than had been expected. Quite sunny, quite warm; high of 19.1C.
Slingshot: The Next Tourism Craze?
It was one of those occasions many years ago (32 to be precise) when Mallorca, unaware of the gift horse whose mouth into which it should have been staring, failed to capitalise on some fine, free publicity for its tourism. Quite probably, Mallorca - as in official tourism authority Mallorca - would do likewise were the gift horse to be presented today, but unofficial social media Mallorca (and elsewhere) would be taking the horse to water and allowing it to drink deeply from the well of the island's traditions.
We're talking 1984, we're talking British TV and we're talking one of the most popular figures on the telly in those days of yore. Anneka Rice came hunting for treasure, she raced around the mountains, stopping off in Valldemossa, Deya and Soller and in the process discovered a very ancient art. So ancient is this art that a strong case has been made for the archipelago in which Mallorca finds itself having been named after it. The Greeks had a word for the skill of the locals. The skill was the use of a sling, the Balearics slinger - "foner balear" - was so adept and lethal that he became a hired hand for Carthaginians and Romans, and there was Anneka marvelling at the fact that there were these modern-day chaps engaged in slingshot and about to reveal a clue to her.
In Ses Salines a couple of weeks ago, they staged the third international "tiro con honda", aka "tir amb fona" competition: that's slingshot to you and me. Fifteen countries were represented and despite Mallorca's ancient slinging past, Spain failed to provide the champion. He was one Silvio Vass from Celle in Lower Saxony, who goes under the sling stage name of Silvio Jaegoor, a variation, one supposes, on the German "Jäger" to mean hunter.
Though it would be unlikely that you would have been aware of this grand sporting occasion, it was a sufficiently big enough deal to have attracted the backing of the Balearic Federation for Tir amb Fona (obviously), the town hall of Ses Salines, the hoteliers association in Colonia Sant Jordi and the district board for said resort. The contest itself was held in a street just out of Ses Salines itself. They'd wanted to hold it at the Talayotic site of Els Antigors. But because it was raining, the ancient site was given a miss, which was a shame: where better to have staged a contest for such an ancient art than by a pile of prehistoric Mallorcan stonework?
Despite the weather, the mayor of Ses Salines, Bernat Roig, expressed his satisfaction in the event. In fact, so satisfied was Bernat that he's hoping that the international contest will continue to be staged in his town. Moreover, he believes that it would do wonders for raising awareness of the ancient culture of Mallorca (and the Balearics), with its associations with the Talayotic period, and become something with which to promote the Mallorcan off-season.
Slingshot, it's probably fair to say, hasn't featured prominently in the list of tourism sports with which to attract the world's tourists to Mallorca in the off-season: it isn't really in the same sporting league as cycling or golf. But when one considers the nations represented at the international contest, well, you would think that there's some merit in adding it to the list. Tibet probably wouldn't be sending many tourists, but Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom ... ?
If not devotees of the art, then it might be aficionados of culture and history. This is, after all, something that can lay claim to being one of the most identifiable ancient aspects of the island. It doesn't come much more traditional and historic than hurling a stone from a sling.
Tir amb fona was one of those traditions which, unlike others, was never threatened with extinction because of official indifference and the migration from rural communities to the tourist resorts of the coast. Its practice has been uninterrupted since ancient times but its popularity did certainly wane. When guns came along, the stone became less relevant. But in hunting circles it remained a skill used by the minority.
When Anneka turned up in 1984 it was still a minority interest but it was beginning to take hold as a sport as opposed to being a means for hunting. It was to take a few more years but in 1997 they held the first ever Balearic championship in Lluc. Rules had been defined as were the distances. There is now a Balearic league. The sport is also included as a secondary school activity for physical education. A document explains its roots and its contemporary rules. It concludes with some advice. When starting out, take care that you don't endanger anyone. Practise using a tennis ball in order to avoid serious accidents.
Sound advice indeed.
We're talking 1984, we're talking British TV and we're talking one of the most popular figures on the telly in those days of yore. Anneka Rice came hunting for treasure, she raced around the mountains, stopping off in Valldemossa, Deya and Soller and in the process discovered a very ancient art. So ancient is this art that a strong case has been made for the archipelago in which Mallorca finds itself having been named after it. The Greeks had a word for the skill of the locals. The skill was the use of a sling, the Balearics slinger - "foner balear" - was so adept and lethal that he became a hired hand for Carthaginians and Romans, and there was Anneka marvelling at the fact that there were these modern-day chaps engaged in slingshot and about to reveal a clue to her.
In Ses Salines a couple of weeks ago, they staged the third international "tiro con honda", aka "tir amb fona" competition: that's slingshot to you and me. Fifteen countries were represented and despite Mallorca's ancient slinging past, Spain failed to provide the champion. He was one Silvio Vass from Celle in Lower Saxony, who goes under the sling stage name of Silvio Jaegoor, a variation, one supposes, on the German "Jäger" to mean hunter.
Though it would be unlikely that you would have been aware of this grand sporting occasion, it was a sufficiently big enough deal to have attracted the backing of the Balearic Federation for Tir amb Fona (obviously), the town hall of Ses Salines, the hoteliers association in Colonia Sant Jordi and the district board for said resort. The contest itself was held in a street just out of Ses Salines itself. They'd wanted to hold it at the Talayotic site of Els Antigors. But because it was raining, the ancient site was given a miss, which was a shame: where better to have staged a contest for such an ancient art than by a pile of prehistoric Mallorcan stonework?
Despite the weather, the mayor of Ses Salines, Bernat Roig, expressed his satisfaction in the event. In fact, so satisfied was Bernat that he's hoping that the international contest will continue to be staged in his town. Moreover, he believes that it would do wonders for raising awareness of the ancient culture of Mallorca (and the Balearics), with its associations with the Talayotic period, and become something with which to promote the Mallorcan off-season.
Slingshot, it's probably fair to say, hasn't featured prominently in the list of tourism sports with which to attract the world's tourists to Mallorca in the off-season: it isn't really in the same sporting league as cycling or golf. But when one considers the nations represented at the international contest, well, you would think that there's some merit in adding it to the list. Tibet probably wouldn't be sending many tourists, but Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom ... ?
If not devotees of the art, then it might be aficionados of culture and history. This is, after all, something that can lay claim to being one of the most identifiable ancient aspects of the island. It doesn't come much more traditional and historic than hurling a stone from a sling.
Tir amb fona was one of those traditions which, unlike others, was never threatened with extinction because of official indifference and the migration from rural communities to the tourist resorts of the coast. Its practice has been uninterrupted since ancient times but its popularity did certainly wane. When guns came along, the stone became less relevant. But in hunting circles it remained a skill used by the minority.
When Anneka turned up in 1984 it was still a minority interest but it was beginning to take hold as a sport as opposed to being a means for hunting. It was to take a few more years but in 1997 they held the first ever Balearic championship in Lluc. Rules had been defined as were the distances. There is now a Balearic league. The sport is also included as a secondary school activity for physical education. A document explains its roots and its contemporary rules. It concludes with some advice. When starting out, take care that you don't endanger anyone. Practise using a tennis ball in order to avoid serious accidents.
Sound advice indeed.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 13 March 2016
Morning high (7.47am): 8.6C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 14 March - Cloud, 15C; 15 March - Cloud, sun, 13C; 16 March - Cloud, sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northwest 3 to 4 veering Northeast 3 in the afternoon.
Well, let's see if the forecast holds up better today than yesterday. Sunny spells and fairly warm. Chilly, bright start. Week ahead ... Mostly cloudy and not warm.
Evening update (20.00): Average sort of a day. High of 17.1C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 14 March - Cloud, 15C; 15 March - Cloud, sun, 13C; 16 March - Cloud, sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northwest 3 to 4 veering Northeast 3 in the afternoon.
Well, let's see if the forecast holds up better today than yesterday. Sunny spells and fairly warm. Chilly, bright start. Week ahead ... Mostly cloudy and not warm.
Evening update (20.00): Average sort of a day. High of 17.1C.
In A Tiz: Royal texts
Protocol demands that the president (speaker) of Congress has to visit the King personally to inform him of the result of proceedings to select a new prime minister (president). Patxi López, said speaker, duly went to see His Maj, who was doubtless already well aware of the shambles that had taken place the previous week. In fact, one imagines that the King was watching on the telly and thinking "what the fuck" like everyone else was. The meeting with Patxi revealed the extent to which the King towers above Spain's politicians: the top of Patxi's head barely corresponded with Felipe's shoulders. He is not the only one to be dwarfed. And it isn't only in stature. It might require some Constitutional jiggery-pokery, but the King should be nominated as prime minister (president). The man is vastly superior to the shower in parliament. Head and shoulders above the rest.
Felipe had the common good sense to put off for the time being any further discussions with the warring tribes of the Cortes. What was the point? Very little. Until they - whichever ones they might be - can cobble together the constituent parts of the pantomime horse that might pass as a government pact, why waste time on them?
Meanwhile the Royals, with half an eye on the Trial of the Millennium and the extent to which witnesses might have been attempting to put the boot further into the King's in-law, had a spot of their own bother. A leaked text message sent by Tizzy to some businessman who was in the mire for having availed himself of approximately 35,000 euros not entirely legally was splashed all over the media - conventional and social. It was a message that was being compared to Mariano's famous SMS to Luis Barcenas, when the one-time PP treasurer was right up to his neck in allegations surrounding the PP's alleged B accounts (black, in other words). Mazza had told Luis to stay strong (Mazza has since sought to place an ocean between himself and Luis). Tizzy told this businessman fellow that we (i.e. Felipe as well) know you and respect you and that the rest was all, err, brown stuff. She signed off by offering a kiss and referring to "yogui". Social media then proceeded to Photoshop snaps of the Royals with Yogi Bear.
Back in parliament, though, the cartoon continued ...
During the investiture debates of the previous week, The Hairy One had given the bloke who's Top Cat in En Comú Podem (the Barcelona Podemos faction) a smacker full on the lips. Such brotherly love was, however, less in evidence during the week. There was, we learned, some tension between Pablo and the Infant Íñigo Errejón, who was seemingly playing Jerry to The Hairy One's Tom, harrying him and wishing to reduce Pablo's power. Was this the first emerging sign of a split in Podemos ranks of a Stalin-Trotsky nature? Well actually, it was. Pablo responded to reports of the internal fighting by saying that he had sent the Infant and the baby-feeding Carolina Bescansa to Siberia in order to re-educate these dissidents. It was of course a joke. There is no Siberia in Spain. But we shall all be watching the space with interest. There is little finer than observing scraps between left-wing ideologues.
As it was International Women's Day on Tuesday, Pablo was out and about demonstrating his feminist credentials, while the ranks of the Podemistas (those who hadn't stopped talking to each other) were using the day to propose a change of name to Congress. This was a sort of out-in-sympathy with the lot in Palma who have insisted on eliminating the "de Mallorca" suffix. The Congress ones were proposing that Congress should no longer be officially known as "Congreso de los diputados" (note the male usage). Town halls aren't "ayuntamientos de los concejales", for instance, they argued. The "diputados" (deputies) bit excludes women. A change would be a small step towards the eradication of violence against women, suggested Podemista, Rosana Pastor.
The PP's deputy president (deputy speaker) of Congress, Celia Villalobos (she was the one who had made the lice observation about the Tenerife Podemista Natty Dreadlock In A Babylon), said that it was all "nonsense". The rest of the country wondered if they didn't have better things to do with their time.
Felipe had the common good sense to put off for the time being any further discussions with the warring tribes of the Cortes. What was the point? Very little. Until they - whichever ones they might be - can cobble together the constituent parts of the pantomime horse that might pass as a government pact, why waste time on them?
Meanwhile the Royals, with half an eye on the Trial of the Millennium and the extent to which witnesses might have been attempting to put the boot further into the King's in-law, had a spot of their own bother. A leaked text message sent by Tizzy to some businessman who was in the mire for having availed himself of approximately 35,000 euros not entirely legally was splashed all over the media - conventional and social. It was a message that was being compared to Mariano's famous SMS to Luis Barcenas, when the one-time PP treasurer was right up to his neck in allegations surrounding the PP's alleged B accounts (black, in other words). Mazza had told Luis to stay strong (Mazza has since sought to place an ocean between himself and Luis). Tizzy told this businessman fellow that we (i.e. Felipe as well) know you and respect you and that the rest was all, err, brown stuff. She signed off by offering a kiss and referring to "yogui". Social media then proceeded to Photoshop snaps of the Royals with Yogi Bear.
Back in parliament, though, the cartoon continued ...
During the investiture debates of the previous week, The Hairy One had given the bloke who's Top Cat in En Comú Podem (the Barcelona Podemos faction) a smacker full on the lips. Such brotherly love was, however, less in evidence during the week. There was, we learned, some tension between Pablo and the Infant Íñigo Errejón, who was seemingly playing Jerry to The Hairy One's Tom, harrying him and wishing to reduce Pablo's power. Was this the first emerging sign of a split in Podemos ranks of a Stalin-Trotsky nature? Well actually, it was. Pablo responded to reports of the internal fighting by saying that he had sent the Infant and the baby-feeding Carolina Bescansa to Siberia in order to re-educate these dissidents. It was of course a joke. There is no Siberia in Spain. But we shall all be watching the space with interest. There is little finer than observing scraps between left-wing ideologues.
As it was International Women's Day on Tuesday, Pablo was out and about demonstrating his feminist credentials, while the ranks of the Podemistas (those who hadn't stopped talking to each other) were using the day to propose a change of name to Congress. This was a sort of out-in-sympathy with the lot in Palma who have insisted on eliminating the "de Mallorca" suffix. The Congress ones were proposing that Congress should no longer be officially known as "Congreso de los diputados" (note the male usage). Town halls aren't "ayuntamientos de los concejales", for instance, they argued. The "diputados" (deputies) bit excludes women. A change would be a small step towards the eradication of violence against women, suggested Podemista, Rosana Pastor.
The PP's deputy president (deputy speaker) of Congress, Celia Villalobos (she was the one who had made the lice observation about the Tenerife Podemista Natty Dreadlock In A Babylon), said that it was all "nonsense". The rest of the country wondered if they didn't have better things to do with their time.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 12 March 2016
Morning high (7.50am): 11.4C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 13 March - Sun, cloud, 15C; 14 March - Cloud, sun, 12C; 15 March - Cloud, sun, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 5 to 7.
Reasonably sunny start, some banks of cloud, wind is down, though there is still an alert out for the coasts. Should be a fair enough day. General outlook remaining unsettled.
Evening update (19.45): Well, got that wrong. Rain this morning, cleared up later but not that sunny. High of 15.2C.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 13 March - Sun, cloud, 15C; 14 March - Cloud, sun, 12C; 15 March - Cloud, sun, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 5 to 7.
Reasonably sunny start, some banks of cloud, wind is down, though there is still an alert out for the coasts. Should be a fair enough day. General outlook remaining unsettled.
Evening update (19.45): Well, got that wrong. Rain this morning, cleared up later but not that sunny. High of 15.2C.
Podemos Takes Aim At Hoteliers Over Holiday Rentals
Laura Camargo, the Podemos number two in the Balearic parliament, certainly knows how to win friends and influence people. Or rather, she knows how not to win friends because she isn't particularly interested in their being her friends.
We are talking Mallorca's hoteliers and indeed the hoteliers on the other islands. They, says Laura, consider the islands to be their "cortijos", which literally means farmhouses or farm cottages but in a broader sense can be taken as meaning their domains. The hoteliers treat the Balearics like they own them but there are, as Laura has been at pains to point out this week, "many more people who have the right to offer accommodation to the tourists that we receive each year". Podemos has confirmed that it will be taking part in dialogue to arrive at the best possible agreements on the regulation of holiday rentals. And if the tourist tax is anything to go by, then this probably translates as what Podemos wants on holiday rentals will be what the legislation ultimately contains.
As mentioned in this column last week, it is the government's intention to have legislation signed, sealed and delivered within six months. Whether this schedule takes account of all the haggling with Podemos is not known. But legislation is on its way. What it will look like, no one can say with much certainty at this point. Of elements of the law that have been creeping out, we understand that town halls will be able to determine areas which cannot be used for tourist rental (a different emphasis to saying which ones can be used), that there will be a set of quality standards introduced for accommodation, that a maximum number of places will be imposed according to the type of property and that any property has to be five years old in order to be eligible for tourist rental.
The thinking behind this latter point is to prevent speculative developments with tourist rental alone in mind. It isn't one that the Partido Popular is wholly in agreement with. It doesn't want this provision but nor does it want more supply of accommodation. Which sounds as if it remains inherently opposed to a form of regulation which would facilitate greater supply, as in it remains opposed to apartments being openly marketed as tourist rentals.
All will be revealed over the coming months, but in the meantime there have been a couple of revelations this week that make one wonder as to how permissive any holiday rental regulation might be and also make one wonder as to the veracity of the notion that Podemos is behind what are two inextricably linked pieces of legislation: those for the tourist tax and holiday rentals.
The first of these was the lesser of the revelations, as we have known for some time that the tourism minister, Biel Barceló, has concerns about overcrowding because of the sheer volume of tourists in peak season. He said on Monday that "we have to get used to there being limits on beaches and other natural spaces, just like at a cinema or a football stadium". He made much of the fact that the current tourist model generates inequalities, pointing to the time in the 1980s when the Balearics had the highest per capita income in Spain courtesy of six million tourists. With more than double this number now, the Balearics have slipped to seventh in the income stakes.
The problem for Barceló is being able to define the type of limits that might be suitable. The second problem is how such limits might be enforced. But inherent to both these problems, in the immediate short term, is the issue of holiday rentals. More permissive regulation doesn't per se crank up the volume of accommodation to unsustainable levels, but it has to be reasonably permissive in order to tackle the blatant abuses that are being perpetrated and will continue to be without highly effective enforcement. It is this illegal supply that is a contributor to the overcrowding, but so it might be said is the legitimate supply. Barceló was not looking at the immediate short term, rather at five, ten, twenty years from now, but does one conclude that there is to be a strategic objective to cut hotel places?
The third problem for Barceló is that drawing on what was the situation thirty years ago is not a solid argument for basing decisions on in the current day. Apart from anything else, it may be that other regions have caught up rather than the Balearics going backwards. His analysis may well be simplistic.
The second revelation came from "Preferente" on Tuesday this week. An article said that three weeks before the general election in December, Barceló and President Armengol met with the grand hoteliers of the Balearics. They included apparently Fluxá, Escarrer and Barceló (Simón, that is). What was said at this gathering, according to the article, was that Podemos had the government (PSOE and Més) by the short and curlies over the tourist tax, intimating that it was basically Podemos who were driving it.
The hoteliers, it would appear, bought this, though one finds it difficult to believe that they, given who they are, would simply swallow the argument. The implication, though, was that both PSOE and Més were less evangelistic about the tourist tax than may have been thought. PSOE perhaps, but Més? The article then said that Armengol had been lying to the hoteliers and pointed, rightly enough, to the fact that it was PSOE and Més who between them had brought the tourist tax legislation before parliament. Podemos, it shouldn't be forgotten, abstained on the first pass at legislative approval because its demands were not being met in respect of, for instance, geographical distribution of the tax revenue and its sole use for environmental purposes. This isn't to deny that Podemos is highly influential in the drafting of the tax legislation, but for PSOE and Més to have apparently sought to distance themselves from it at that meeting does take some believing.
If nothing else, and if what was said at that meeting is indeed accurate, then it exposes the purely political nature of current tourism decision-making. The tax is one thing, and the holiday rentals will doubtless be another. In truth, this is no way to be running or legislating for Mallorca's principal industry. But then we probably already knew this.
We are talking Mallorca's hoteliers and indeed the hoteliers on the other islands. They, says Laura, consider the islands to be their "cortijos", which literally means farmhouses or farm cottages but in a broader sense can be taken as meaning their domains. The hoteliers treat the Balearics like they own them but there are, as Laura has been at pains to point out this week, "many more people who have the right to offer accommodation to the tourists that we receive each year". Podemos has confirmed that it will be taking part in dialogue to arrive at the best possible agreements on the regulation of holiday rentals. And if the tourist tax is anything to go by, then this probably translates as what Podemos wants on holiday rentals will be what the legislation ultimately contains.
As mentioned in this column last week, it is the government's intention to have legislation signed, sealed and delivered within six months. Whether this schedule takes account of all the haggling with Podemos is not known. But legislation is on its way. What it will look like, no one can say with much certainty at this point. Of elements of the law that have been creeping out, we understand that town halls will be able to determine areas which cannot be used for tourist rental (a different emphasis to saying which ones can be used), that there will be a set of quality standards introduced for accommodation, that a maximum number of places will be imposed according to the type of property and that any property has to be five years old in order to be eligible for tourist rental.
The thinking behind this latter point is to prevent speculative developments with tourist rental alone in mind. It isn't one that the Partido Popular is wholly in agreement with. It doesn't want this provision but nor does it want more supply of accommodation. Which sounds as if it remains inherently opposed to a form of regulation which would facilitate greater supply, as in it remains opposed to apartments being openly marketed as tourist rentals.
All will be revealed over the coming months, but in the meantime there have been a couple of revelations this week that make one wonder as to how permissive any holiday rental regulation might be and also make one wonder as to the veracity of the notion that Podemos is behind what are two inextricably linked pieces of legislation: those for the tourist tax and holiday rentals.
The first of these was the lesser of the revelations, as we have known for some time that the tourism minister, Biel Barceló, has concerns about overcrowding because of the sheer volume of tourists in peak season. He said on Monday that "we have to get used to there being limits on beaches and other natural spaces, just like at a cinema or a football stadium". He made much of the fact that the current tourist model generates inequalities, pointing to the time in the 1980s when the Balearics had the highest per capita income in Spain courtesy of six million tourists. With more than double this number now, the Balearics have slipped to seventh in the income stakes.
The problem for Barceló is being able to define the type of limits that might be suitable. The second problem is how such limits might be enforced. But inherent to both these problems, in the immediate short term, is the issue of holiday rentals. More permissive regulation doesn't per se crank up the volume of accommodation to unsustainable levels, but it has to be reasonably permissive in order to tackle the blatant abuses that are being perpetrated and will continue to be without highly effective enforcement. It is this illegal supply that is a contributor to the overcrowding, but so it might be said is the legitimate supply. Barceló was not looking at the immediate short term, rather at five, ten, twenty years from now, but does one conclude that there is to be a strategic objective to cut hotel places?
The third problem for Barceló is that drawing on what was the situation thirty years ago is not a solid argument for basing decisions on in the current day. Apart from anything else, it may be that other regions have caught up rather than the Balearics going backwards. His analysis may well be simplistic.
The second revelation came from "Preferente" on Tuesday this week. An article said that three weeks before the general election in December, Barceló and President Armengol met with the grand hoteliers of the Balearics. They included apparently Fluxá, Escarrer and Barceló (Simón, that is). What was said at this gathering, according to the article, was that Podemos had the government (PSOE and Més) by the short and curlies over the tourist tax, intimating that it was basically Podemos who were driving it.
The hoteliers, it would appear, bought this, though one finds it difficult to believe that they, given who they are, would simply swallow the argument. The implication, though, was that both PSOE and Més were less evangelistic about the tourist tax than may have been thought. PSOE perhaps, but Més? The article then said that Armengol had been lying to the hoteliers and pointed, rightly enough, to the fact that it was PSOE and Més who between them had brought the tourist tax legislation before parliament. Podemos, it shouldn't be forgotten, abstained on the first pass at legislative approval because its demands were not being met in respect of, for instance, geographical distribution of the tax revenue and its sole use for environmental purposes. This isn't to deny that Podemos is highly influential in the drafting of the tax legislation, but for PSOE and Més to have apparently sought to distance themselves from it at that meeting does take some believing.
If nothing else, and if what was said at that meeting is indeed accurate, then it exposes the purely political nature of current tourism decision-making. The tax is one thing, and the holiday rentals will doubtless be another. In truth, this is no way to be running or legislating for Mallorca's principal industry. But then we probably already knew this.
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