As the temperatures took a real dive yesterday, thanks to the rain, air-conditioning became unnecessary (even if lurking were some truly bizarre, exaggerated ideas as to yesterday's temperature, but 'tis ever thus). By coincidence though, there was a report in "Ultima Hora" about the optimum setting for air-con units during the summer. A couple of days ago, the government's energy director-general kicked off a campaign for different aspects of energy-saving. One of them is that the temperature should be 26 degrees. For every degree lower, energy consumption rises by eight per cent, so he says. Given the cost of electricity, his advice is probably worth heeding. But those of you who have been paying attention will recall a piece on 8 July ("Rattle and Hum") about air-con. In that, I mentioned the plan to establish temperatures in bars and restaurants etc ("a mad proposal"). Interior temperatures would not be lower than 26, which is exactly what the director-general is now recommending.
Recommendation is one thing. Getting people to do anything about it quite another. But there is more than just recommendation. In the article, it says that a temperature of 26 degrees is "obligatory for public places". Is it really?
A while ago, there was another press report about temperatures being too high in public buildings during the colder part of the year. One of these buildings was the island's environment ministry. Heating too high or air-con too low. It's the same waste of energy, and guess who's wasting it? One should perhaps applaud the town hall of Andratx which has banned air-con. Sales of fans must have soared, and not necessarily electric ones.
It's the definition of "public places" that is confusing. The smoking ban will apply to just these public places, as in bars and restaurants. So has an obligatory level of air-con temperature been applied to these and no one has been told. If it hasn't, then one can guess that it probably will be. It might sound like a mad proposal, but the government is serious as to its energy policy.
There are places one goes into which are near freezing. Supermarkets, for example. Are these public places? The 26 degree advice (78/79 Fahrenheit) is widely accepted as being energy-efficient, and not just in Spain, but when there are higher air temperatures, the temptation is to turn the air-con down lower. It is for this reason, one presumes, that there is the other proposal regarding keeping doors to bars and restaurants closed.
If the current definition of public places is only public sector, then one can expect that it will be widened, and that recommendation will turn into enforcement. Bars and restaurants have been warned.
By the way, as far as weather is concerned, and there will be those who are concerned given the rain, this is the link to the Spanish Met Office for Alcúdia. You can go to http://www.aemet.es/es/-m:b/eltiempo/prediccion/localidades/alcudia-07030. It shows (or did at 21:00 yesterday) 30 degrees maximum by Friday with a five per cent chance of rain and the same for a few days after. For Pollensa, you can click on "localidades" and get to the forecast for there which, you will not be surprised to learn, is the same. On the HOT! Facebook, I posted the links for the local weather stations, and these give current weather information.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Air-traffic controllers' strike - update
It now seems that the strike will take place across three days - 14, 15, 16 August (according to the report in "The Diario"). Last-minute bookings to Mallorca are going to be seriously affected; up to 30% of bookings being lost, it is being claimed.
It Just Gets Worse - Part Two: Air-traffic controllers' strike
In early season it was the volcanic ash, now there is due to be more air chaos. Air-traffic controllers have voted (massively) to strike later this month. The date is likely to be 18 or 20 August. They haven't ruled out further strikes.
The controllers have got a real beef with the government. Rest periods and salaries have been cut, the latter - in practice - by up to 40%. There has been a sort of strike already, if one believes that taking a "sicky", which has been happening, constitutes a withdrawal of labour. Unlike their French colleagues who have been on strike and do so on a seemingly regular basis, the Spanish air-traffic controllers have historically not been militant. This will in fact be the first official strike they have ever called.
The hyperbole has of course gone into overdrive. It will be a disaster. But of course it won't be. What would be were if a lack of rest were to result in a mid-air collision. The controllers do have a point. Nevertheless, bang in the middle of high season is hardly convenient. It will cause considerable disruption, though quite how strong the strike will be is unclear. There are legal requirements as to maintaining "minimum services". The rail service, for example, is covered by these. But there are no precedents for air-traffic controllers. While the railways can help to ease the transport burden on the mainland, Mallorca and the islands have little by way of a fall-back position, as was exposed by the volcano; increased ferry services make little impression. One option, being floated by the government, would be to bring in the military, but the controllers argue that this would be unsafe as there would be a lack of expertise in handling the sheer volume of air traffic.
A wider question, set against the austerity measures that the Spanish Government has brought in and will add to next year, is whether others will follow the air-traffic controllers. A general strike of all sectors, not just public, is meant to be occurring at the end of September. Though Spain has not experienced the kind of unrest that Greece has, there was an alarming report in "The Observer" at the weekend in which the Greek security forces warned of a descent into violence, provoked by the country's own austerity measures.
The air-traffic controllers could just be a start.
QUIZ:
Yesterday - Deacon Blue, "Your Town", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm7xlyH3YsI
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The controllers have got a real beef with the government. Rest periods and salaries have been cut, the latter - in practice - by up to 40%. There has been a sort of strike already, if one believes that taking a "sicky", which has been happening, constitutes a withdrawal of labour. Unlike their French colleagues who have been on strike and do so on a seemingly regular basis, the Spanish air-traffic controllers have historically not been militant. This will in fact be the first official strike they have ever called.
The hyperbole has of course gone into overdrive. It will be a disaster. But of course it won't be. What would be were if a lack of rest were to result in a mid-air collision. The controllers do have a point. Nevertheless, bang in the middle of high season is hardly convenient. It will cause considerable disruption, though quite how strong the strike will be is unclear. There are legal requirements as to maintaining "minimum services". The rail service, for example, is covered by these. But there are no precedents for air-traffic controllers. While the railways can help to ease the transport burden on the mainland, Mallorca and the islands have little by way of a fall-back position, as was exposed by the volcano; increased ferry services make little impression. One option, being floated by the government, would be to bring in the military, but the controllers argue that this would be unsafe as there would be a lack of expertise in handling the sheer volume of air traffic.
A wider question, set against the austerity measures that the Spanish Government has brought in and will add to next year, is whether others will follow the air-traffic controllers. A general strike of all sectors, not just public, is meant to be occurring at the end of September. Though Spain has not experienced the kind of unrest that Greece has, there was an alarming report in "The Observer" at the weekend in which the Greek security forces warned of a descent into violence, provoked by the country's own austerity measures.
The air-traffic controllers could just be a start.
QUIZ:
Yesterday - Deacon Blue, "Your Town", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm7xlyH3YsI
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
It Just Gets Worse: All-inclusive comes to Puerto Pollensa
There was a report in "The Diario" yesterday that should, despite the heat, send shivers through many in Puerto Pollensa. Hotels in the resort are admitting defeat. They have resisted all-inclusive, but can no longer do so. To not offer it could mean having to close.
The hotels don't necessarily want AI, but the tour operators do. The report makes clear, as should be clear to those in other resorts, that AI has largely been driven by tour operator pressure. The good news may be that only a few hotels in the port will go down this route next year. That's one view. The less good news is an alternative view that it will be more widespread and will be a necessity.
One can guess at which hotels might move to AI: those not on the "front line". But one can also imagine certain establishments on the front that might embrace AI. Currently, as far as one is aware, only one hotel in Puerto Pollensa has some form of AI, and that is Club Sol, where it might be argued that it is appropriate, given the location. (Club Pollentia doesn't count as it's more Alcúdia than Puerto Pollensa, while Duva, on its website at any rate, says nothing about AI.) Whatever the current situation is, from next year, all-inclusive will, in all likelihood, not be out of town.
There is no point in revisiting the arguments for and against all-inclusive; they are well enough known. While these arguments focus on the market that AI creates and on the impact on local businesses, they don't necessarily deal with the character of a resort. In Puerto Pollensa, the chances are that this - the character - will change, though this might merely be a continuation of a change that has been occurring for some years.
Where Puerto Pollensa is different to resorts such as Puerto Alcúdia and Can Picafort is that it has a high level of residential tourism (holiday lets in other words) relative to hotel accommodation, so all-inclusive might have less of an impact, but impact it will most certainly have. When the protest against the sorry state of affairs in the Moll took place in early June, calls for either more hotels or improvements to hotels would surely not have had AI in mind. The protesters are likely to see their wishes met. More tourists could be on their way, but not ones they might have hoped for. The target of protests may well shift, and while the town hall has it within its gift to do something about the state of the streets and rubbish collection, it has no power to prevent all-inclusives; they are for the tour operators, the hotels and the tourism ministry (now presumably the Council of Mallorca as well) to determine. And as ever, what the tour operators want, the tour operators get.
Although some hoteliers take the view that all-inclusive is just a case of good business and that they have no responsibility for what happens to local bars, restaurants and the rest, not all agree. In Puerto Alcúdia, the director of a hotel that has stood against AI and who doesn't like AI precisely because of its effect on businesses, has become almost resigned to the fact that his hotel will have to accept the inevitable. And the inevitable can bring advantages to hotels, other than just guests. What is sometimes overlooked is that tour operators, granted longish-term contracts with certain hotels, will help financially with improvements. So long as they get something in return. And that, increasingly, means all-inclusive. Pollensa's mayor recently suggested that hotels in Puerto Pollensa may not all be "adequate". Those which are not may well become so. Adequate enough to stop guests patronising the local eateries.
This should not happen. But it's going to. A bad day.
* Those of you who do the native may want to read the full article. Here's the link: http://www.diariodemallorca.es/part-forana/2010/08/02/hoteles-port-ceden-presiones-operadores-ofertar-incluido/591491.html
QUIZ:
And especially for all the Puerto Pollensa Jocks. Come on, show us your credentials. From which song does "it just gets worse" come? "Living out in ... ." Brilliant stuff.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The hotels don't necessarily want AI, but the tour operators do. The report makes clear, as should be clear to those in other resorts, that AI has largely been driven by tour operator pressure. The good news may be that only a few hotels in the port will go down this route next year. That's one view. The less good news is an alternative view that it will be more widespread and will be a necessity.
One can guess at which hotels might move to AI: those not on the "front line". But one can also imagine certain establishments on the front that might embrace AI. Currently, as far as one is aware, only one hotel in Puerto Pollensa has some form of AI, and that is Club Sol, where it might be argued that it is appropriate, given the location. (Club Pollentia doesn't count as it's more Alcúdia than Puerto Pollensa, while Duva, on its website at any rate, says nothing about AI.) Whatever the current situation is, from next year, all-inclusive will, in all likelihood, not be out of town.
There is no point in revisiting the arguments for and against all-inclusive; they are well enough known. While these arguments focus on the market that AI creates and on the impact on local businesses, they don't necessarily deal with the character of a resort. In Puerto Pollensa, the chances are that this - the character - will change, though this might merely be a continuation of a change that has been occurring for some years.
Where Puerto Pollensa is different to resorts such as Puerto Alcúdia and Can Picafort is that it has a high level of residential tourism (holiday lets in other words) relative to hotel accommodation, so all-inclusive might have less of an impact, but impact it will most certainly have. When the protest against the sorry state of affairs in the Moll took place in early June, calls for either more hotels or improvements to hotels would surely not have had AI in mind. The protesters are likely to see their wishes met. More tourists could be on their way, but not ones they might have hoped for. The target of protests may well shift, and while the town hall has it within its gift to do something about the state of the streets and rubbish collection, it has no power to prevent all-inclusives; they are for the tour operators, the hotels and the tourism ministry (now presumably the Council of Mallorca as well) to determine. And as ever, what the tour operators want, the tour operators get.
Although some hoteliers take the view that all-inclusive is just a case of good business and that they have no responsibility for what happens to local bars, restaurants and the rest, not all agree. In Puerto Alcúdia, the director of a hotel that has stood against AI and who doesn't like AI precisely because of its effect on businesses, has become almost resigned to the fact that his hotel will have to accept the inevitable. And the inevitable can bring advantages to hotels, other than just guests. What is sometimes overlooked is that tour operators, granted longish-term contracts with certain hotels, will help financially with improvements. So long as they get something in return. And that, increasingly, means all-inclusive. Pollensa's mayor recently suggested that hotels in Puerto Pollensa may not all be "adequate". Those which are not may well become so. Adequate enough to stop guests patronising the local eateries.
This should not happen. But it's going to. A bad day.
* Those of you who do the native may want to read the full article. Here's the link: http://www.diariodemallorca.es/part-forana/2010/08/02/hoteles-port-ceden-presiones-operadores-ofertar-incluido/591491.html
QUIZ:
And especially for all the Puerto Pollensa Jocks. Come on, show us your credentials. From which song does "it just gets worse" come? "Living out in ... ." Brilliant stuff.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Strange Town: The strange case of Porto Cristo's name
The question as to the correct usage of local place names is rarely a case of being correct or incorrect, simply (simply!?) a case of Catalan versus Castellano. Hence, one has Port de Pollença versus Puerto (de) Pollensa and Port d'Alcúdia versus Puerto (de) Alcúdia. Oh, that the usage should be this straightforward. Consider, if you will, the case of a resort on the east coast of Mallorca. It is commonly called Porto Cristo. Indeed, this is how pretty much everyone knows it. However, the correct name of the resort has been open to debate for years, and still is.
"The Diario" yesterday pointed out that there are five possibilities: Porto Cristo, Portocristo (all one word), Port de Manacor, Cala Manacor or Colònia de Nostra Senyora del Carme. You can also toss in a hyphenated Porto-Cristo, if you are inclined to do so.
Apparently, the original name was the Colònia mouthful one, so we should probably be grateful that there aren't many batting for it to be reinstated. This took its name, one assumes, from the church in Manacor, so was the "colony" of the church. The port or cala of Manacor are obvious, or will be to those who know that Porto Cristo is Manacor's resort, in the same way that Puerto Pollensa is Pollensa's. So why isn't it Port de Manacor (or Puerto de Manacor, if you prefer the Spanish)? For some reason it just fell out of common use, but this doesn't explain how it came to be Porto Cristo.
There are other "portos" in Mallorca, and it is a word that has confused me. It is neither a Spanish nor a Catalan word. I have assumed that it came either from Portuguese or Italian. According to a professor at the university in Palma, Portocristo - one word - is an imitation of other portos on the island and is a "false" adaptation from the language of the Mozarabés, the Christians who lived among the Muslims during their reign in Spain (there are now only some 2000 families said to be Mozarabés).
None of this, however, gives an answer as to how the name came to be adopted, other than one arrived at for religious reasons, and gives rise to the confusion as to what the place really should be called and to competing linguistic, cultural and political opinions as to what it should be. Twelve years ago, the matter received adjudication - in the Balearics Supreme Court, believe it or not. And it reckoned that it should be Porto Cristo, with two words and not Portocristo. Notwithstanding the court's decision, the confusion still exists, as does the debate.
More toplessness
The arguments over women removing their tops on beaches seem pretty daft, but they risk becoming an absurd diversion when there are matters of rather greater importance to be considered. As alluded to yesterday, they can be seen within the context of a far wider clash between conservative, Catholic Spain and today's liberalism. There is another organisation which is strident in its calls for women to cover up. This is a far-right group called "Hazte Oír" (which translates as make yourself heard). It has handed in a petition to the Balearic Government, calling for there to be a ban. The petition does not seem to be that strong; it's nothing on the scale of the petition that led to the bullfighting ban in Catalonia: some 700 families support the proposal, according to the report in "Ultima Hora".
If you go to its website (and it is quite an impressive one), you will find a whole load on the usual suspects of subjects, abortion for example, and there is a headline for something termed "Playas Familiares 2010". In this, exactly the same words as used by the family policy institute can be read. These bodies, one has to conclude, are all part of the same thing - a movement of the Catholic far right. The toplessness argument is petty, but there is something altogether more serious lurking.
QUIZ:
Yesterday - The Style Council. The best thing they ever did. Worthy of a youtube embedding ... And "strange town" - continuing a Weller theme.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
"The Diario" yesterday pointed out that there are five possibilities: Porto Cristo, Portocristo (all one word), Port de Manacor, Cala Manacor or Colònia de Nostra Senyora del Carme. You can also toss in a hyphenated Porto-Cristo, if you are inclined to do so.
Apparently, the original name was the Colònia mouthful one, so we should probably be grateful that there aren't many batting for it to be reinstated. This took its name, one assumes, from the church in Manacor, so was the "colony" of the church. The port or cala of Manacor are obvious, or will be to those who know that Porto Cristo is Manacor's resort, in the same way that Puerto Pollensa is Pollensa's. So why isn't it Port de Manacor (or Puerto de Manacor, if you prefer the Spanish)? For some reason it just fell out of common use, but this doesn't explain how it came to be Porto Cristo.
There are other "portos" in Mallorca, and it is a word that has confused me. It is neither a Spanish nor a Catalan word. I have assumed that it came either from Portuguese or Italian. According to a professor at the university in Palma, Portocristo - one word - is an imitation of other portos on the island and is a "false" adaptation from the language of the Mozarabés, the Christians who lived among the Muslims during their reign in Spain (there are now only some 2000 families said to be Mozarabés).
None of this, however, gives an answer as to how the name came to be adopted, other than one arrived at for religious reasons, and gives rise to the confusion as to what the place really should be called and to competing linguistic, cultural and political opinions as to what it should be. Twelve years ago, the matter received adjudication - in the Balearics Supreme Court, believe it or not. And it reckoned that it should be Porto Cristo, with two words and not Portocristo. Notwithstanding the court's decision, the confusion still exists, as does the debate.
More toplessness
The arguments over women removing their tops on beaches seem pretty daft, but they risk becoming an absurd diversion when there are matters of rather greater importance to be considered. As alluded to yesterday, they can be seen within the context of a far wider clash between conservative, Catholic Spain and today's liberalism. There is another organisation which is strident in its calls for women to cover up. This is a far-right group called "Hazte Oír" (which translates as make yourself heard). It has handed in a petition to the Balearic Government, calling for there to be a ban. The petition does not seem to be that strong; it's nothing on the scale of the petition that led to the bullfighting ban in Catalonia: some 700 families support the proposal, according to the report in "Ultima Hora".
If you go to its website (and it is quite an impressive one), you will find a whole load on the usual suspects of subjects, abortion for example, and there is a headline for something termed "Playas Familiares 2010". In this, exactly the same words as used by the family policy institute can be read. These bodies, one has to conclude, are all part of the same thing - a movement of the Catholic far right. The toplessness argument is petty, but there is something altogether more serious lurking.
QUIZ:
Yesterday - The Style Council. The best thing they ever did. Worthy of a youtube embedding ... And "strange town" - continuing a Weller theme.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Shout To The Top (less)
There is a body called the "Instituto de Política Familiar" (institute of family policy). Family and policy - sounds like a euphemism for something of the right. And right is not wrong. This body is making a thing about the body. The female body. On the beach and by the pool. The president of the Balearics wing of the institute, Agustín Buades, would most unlikely be one to shout "get your tits out for the lads". (And do excuse me for this lapse of taste.) Quite the contrary. He wants them covered up.
The institute reckons that topless sunbathing by women exceeds norms of decorum and that beaches and pools should be places for family use in conditions of "respect and protection of childhood". The institute wants a ban on toplessness but is most unlikely to get its way. Thank God for that, albeit that God must surely play a role in its thinking. Not that it says it is a religious or indeed a politically-aligned body. Well, it would do.
Go for a trawl through Google and you will unearth a number of references to this institute. Unsurprisingly, the references crop up alongside themes such as homosexuality, abortion and the pill. It seems less than well-disposed to any of them. It may deny religious and political associations, but the words "Catholic" and "right" come swiftly to mind. Comments accompanying the article about the institute's call for a ban in "The Diario" are revealing. They are invariably hostile and some invoke Opus Dei in connection with Buades.
Among the references in Google, you will come across one to an interview with the institute's national president in a publication called "Arbil", the name also of a pressure group for Catholic values, Spanishness and of course the family. The president says, in this interview, that he is in total agreement with the aims of the Arbil forum. On the home page of its website is a black bow under a photo of the dead president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski. Why would that be, do you suppose? Nothing to do with Kaczynski's opposition to homosexuality presumably.
Topless sunbathing is commonplace. In the interests of research, I assessed the level of toplessness on the local beach yesterday afternoon. Commonplace but in the minority. What there was not was total kit-off. The institute may or may not be aware that, according to the Spanish naturist federation at any rate, kit-off is legal on any beach. (Not that I recommend you try putting this into practice.) I mention this, though, because some local councils have sought to outlaw nudism and have had to rescind any ban. Nudity, partial or total, is a question of personal liberty, a concept that doesn't always sit easily with those of an outlook at the farther ends of the political spectrum - right and left.
The worry with this institute is that, as with other movements or politics that make the "family" its focus, the family is hijacked as a camouflage for an agenda that, while it may well be sincere in its promotion of family values (and there's no reason to question this), may well have other aims. It, the institute, is clearly at odds with the liberalism of Spain under Zapatero, and bare breasts expose it - as it were - as being so. If it wants women to cover up, then maybe it should support the wearing of a burka. But it wouldn't. You don't get many burkas in Spanish families.
QUIZ:
Back for a guest appearance. "Shout To The Top". Brilliant. Who was it?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The institute reckons that topless sunbathing by women exceeds norms of decorum and that beaches and pools should be places for family use in conditions of "respect and protection of childhood". The institute wants a ban on toplessness but is most unlikely to get its way. Thank God for that, albeit that God must surely play a role in its thinking. Not that it says it is a religious or indeed a politically-aligned body. Well, it would do.
Go for a trawl through Google and you will unearth a number of references to this institute. Unsurprisingly, the references crop up alongside themes such as homosexuality, abortion and the pill. It seems less than well-disposed to any of them. It may deny religious and political associations, but the words "Catholic" and "right" come swiftly to mind. Comments accompanying the article about the institute's call for a ban in "The Diario" are revealing. They are invariably hostile and some invoke Opus Dei in connection with Buades.
Among the references in Google, you will come across one to an interview with the institute's national president in a publication called "Arbil", the name also of a pressure group for Catholic values, Spanishness and of course the family. The president says, in this interview, that he is in total agreement with the aims of the Arbil forum. On the home page of its website is a black bow under a photo of the dead president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski. Why would that be, do you suppose? Nothing to do with Kaczynski's opposition to homosexuality presumably.
Topless sunbathing is commonplace. In the interests of research, I assessed the level of toplessness on the local beach yesterday afternoon. Commonplace but in the minority. What there was not was total kit-off. The institute may or may not be aware that, according to the Spanish naturist federation at any rate, kit-off is legal on any beach. (Not that I recommend you try putting this into practice.) I mention this, though, because some local councils have sought to outlaw nudism and have had to rescind any ban. Nudity, partial or total, is a question of personal liberty, a concept that doesn't always sit easily with those of an outlook at the farther ends of the political spectrum - right and left.
The worry with this institute is that, as with other movements or politics that make the "family" its focus, the family is hijacked as a camouflage for an agenda that, while it may well be sincere in its promotion of family values (and there's no reason to question this), may well have other aims. It, the institute, is clearly at odds with the liberalism of Spain under Zapatero, and bare breasts expose it - as it were - as being so. If it wants women to cover up, then maybe it should support the wearing of a burka. But it wouldn't. You don't get many burkas in Spanish families.
QUIZ:
Back for a guest appearance. "Shout To The Top". Brilliant. Who was it?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Clutching At Straws: Concerts and tourism responsibilities
Straw, clutch. Clutch, straw. Elton, Andrea. Andrea, Elton.
On 4 September, Elton John and Andrea Bocelli will be playing Real Mallorca's stadium. Not at football, but at their day jobs - in the evening. At the risk of offending fans, excuse me if I stifle an unenthusiastic yawn. I may well be out of tune with my audience, some of whom - you, in other words - may be in the audience. At up to a mere 169 euros a pop. Pop music meets the classics at classic prices - they've got to be kidding.
Whenever, which isn't very often, a major name in the music world - or two, as the case may be - pitches up in Mallorca, excitement goes into overdrive, among some. And where Reg and Bocelli are concerned, the government's tourism ministry is getting excited. Together with the concert's promoters, it is eyeing the gig up as a means of attracting tourists. Straw, clutch.
The stadium will be able to hold 34,000 for the concert. Not exactly Wembley, but still a fair number of people, but not so many for an island with an 800,000 or so population plus all the others who are knocking about. Two major artists. The tickets went on sale on 21 June. It is now the end of July. Hmm.
The ministry reckons that tour operators will be able to offer packages to come to Mallorca and take in the event. It will "prove a vital adjunct to the success of marketing the Balearic Islands this season" (quote from "The Bulletin").
Let's just consider this. Tour operators may indeed be able to offer packages, but isn't this all a little late? How many tourists would actually come? However many might will make barely a dent in the overall tourism intake over a whole season. A season that, by implication from that quote, has already been something of a success. Has it really? The belated marketing of Reg sounds less like an enhancement of the tourist season and more one of desperation to sell tickets.
Elsewhere in tourism ministry-land, a previous bonkers suggestion that its responsibilities should be handed to the Council of Mallorca has not been taken up fully, but it has been taken up in part. Some of the ministry's duties, those related to the regulation and administration of tourism businesses, are to go to the council, which presumably will allow the ministry to concentrate on more glamorous tasks, such as trying like hell to fill Mallorca's stadium when Elton comes to town. It doesn't really matter where the responsibilities reside, except for the fact that it will have the effect of beefing up the council when the reverse should be happening. If they want to save money, then they should slim it down not fatten it.
The ministry is also to create yet another damn body, this one a "mesa" (table) around which will sit government institutions and the private sector and have a chinwag about boosting some "alternative" tourism, such as trekking and bird-watching. Fair enough perhaps, but not if it merely creates a further link in the not always joined up chain of tourism promotion and not if, as one fears, this "alternative" tourism is largely illusory. Straw, clutch.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for July 2010
Air-conditioning - 8 July 2010
Alejandro de Abarca: murder of Ana Niculai - 26 July 2010
Beach life - 2 July 2010
Bullfighting ban in Catalonia - 29 July 2010, 30 July 2010
Butane gas - 19 July 2010
Catalonian self-government - 11 July 2010
Coast road, Alcúdia-Puerto Pollensa - 13 July 2010
Elton John and Andrea Bocelli - 31 July 2010
Fiesta elections - 20 July 2010
Garden rubbish - 6 July 2010
High temperatures - 6 July 2010
Hotels: receptions and smells - 9 July 2010
IBATUR corruption case (Operación Pasarela) - 1 July 2010, 7 July 2010
Lobsters - 5 July 2010
Looky-looky men - 15 July 2010
Muro golf course - 10 July 2010, 22 July 2010
Nightlife, tourists and - 17 July 2010
Pedestrianisation in Puerto Pollensa - 25 July 2010
Playa de Muro, all-inclusives and - 23 July 2010
Price rip-offs - 14 July 2010
Puerto Alcúdia v. Puerto Pollensa: British - 3 July 2010
Puerto Pollensa: tourism study - 24 July 2010
Sant Crist, Alcúdia - 27 July 2010
Sex advertising - 18 July 2010
Sources, newspaper - 21 July 2010
Tourism responsibilities - 31 July 2010
Tourism secretary of state and ministry: changes - 28 July 2010
Tourist destinations, most popular - 21 July 2010
Tribute acts - 16 July 2010
Walk On Water Balls - 16 July 2010
World Cup - 4 July 2010, 12 July 2010
On 4 September, Elton John and Andrea Bocelli will be playing Real Mallorca's stadium. Not at football, but at their day jobs - in the evening. At the risk of offending fans, excuse me if I stifle an unenthusiastic yawn. I may well be out of tune with my audience, some of whom - you, in other words - may be in the audience. At up to a mere 169 euros a pop. Pop music meets the classics at classic prices - they've got to be kidding.
Whenever, which isn't very often, a major name in the music world - or two, as the case may be - pitches up in Mallorca, excitement goes into overdrive, among some. And where Reg and Bocelli are concerned, the government's tourism ministry is getting excited. Together with the concert's promoters, it is eyeing the gig up as a means of attracting tourists. Straw, clutch.
The stadium will be able to hold 34,000 for the concert. Not exactly Wembley, but still a fair number of people, but not so many for an island with an 800,000 or so population plus all the others who are knocking about. Two major artists. The tickets went on sale on 21 June. It is now the end of July. Hmm.
The ministry reckons that tour operators will be able to offer packages to come to Mallorca and take in the event. It will "prove a vital adjunct to the success of marketing the Balearic Islands this season" (quote from "The Bulletin").
Let's just consider this. Tour operators may indeed be able to offer packages, but isn't this all a little late? How many tourists would actually come? However many might will make barely a dent in the overall tourism intake over a whole season. A season that, by implication from that quote, has already been something of a success. Has it really? The belated marketing of Reg sounds less like an enhancement of the tourist season and more one of desperation to sell tickets.
Elsewhere in tourism ministry-land, a previous bonkers suggestion that its responsibilities should be handed to the Council of Mallorca has not been taken up fully, but it has been taken up in part. Some of the ministry's duties, those related to the regulation and administration of tourism businesses, are to go to the council, which presumably will allow the ministry to concentrate on more glamorous tasks, such as trying like hell to fill Mallorca's stadium when Elton comes to town. It doesn't really matter where the responsibilities reside, except for the fact that it will have the effect of beefing up the council when the reverse should be happening. If they want to save money, then they should slim it down not fatten it.
The ministry is also to create yet another damn body, this one a "mesa" (table) around which will sit government institutions and the private sector and have a chinwag about boosting some "alternative" tourism, such as trekking and bird-watching. Fair enough perhaps, but not if it merely creates a further link in the not always joined up chain of tourism promotion and not if, as one fears, this "alternative" tourism is largely illusory. Straw, clutch.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for July 2010
Air-conditioning - 8 July 2010
Alejandro de Abarca: murder of Ana Niculai - 26 July 2010
Beach life - 2 July 2010
Bullfighting ban in Catalonia - 29 July 2010, 30 July 2010
Butane gas - 19 July 2010
Catalonian self-government - 11 July 2010
Coast road, Alcúdia-Puerto Pollensa - 13 July 2010
Elton John and Andrea Bocelli - 31 July 2010
Fiesta elections - 20 July 2010
Garden rubbish - 6 July 2010
High temperatures - 6 July 2010
Hotels: receptions and smells - 9 July 2010
IBATUR corruption case (Operación Pasarela) - 1 July 2010, 7 July 2010
Lobsters - 5 July 2010
Looky-looky men - 15 July 2010
Muro golf course - 10 July 2010, 22 July 2010
Nightlife, tourists and - 17 July 2010
Pedestrianisation in Puerto Pollensa - 25 July 2010
Playa de Muro, all-inclusives and - 23 July 2010
Price rip-offs - 14 July 2010
Puerto Alcúdia v. Puerto Pollensa: British - 3 July 2010
Puerto Pollensa: tourism study - 24 July 2010
Sant Crist, Alcúdia - 27 July 2010
Sex advertising - 18 July 2010
Sources, newspaper - 21 July 2010
Tourism responsibilities - 31 July 2010
Tourism secretary of state and ministry: changes - 28 July 2010
Tourist destinations, most popular - 21 July 2010
Tribute acts - 16 July 2010
Walk On Water Balls - 16 July 2010
World Cup - 4 July 2010, 12 July 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
A Bit More Bull: The bullfighting ban
"A sad day." One of the reactions to the news of the Catalonian ban on bullfighting. The local press in Mallorca sought opinions and found them, "The Diario" even asking Joaquín Sabina, a well-known Spanish singer and someone from the left, who believes that the ban is a "tremendous mistake", one made by ignorant politicians. A one-time matador believes that other regions will not follow the Catalonian lead in instituting a ban. The Catalonians have never wanted bulls, he believes; they just want to demonstrate that they are somehow "special".
The anti-bullfight brigade takes quite a different view, as you might expect. Rather than a sad day, it was one to celebrate. The bullfight, as with other social, cultural and political issues in Spain, has the power to divide opinion, and to divide it markedly.
To read what Sabina had to say was surprising. Here is someone who was in exile for some years. He was an opponent of the Franco regime, which was fully supportive of the traditional "Spanishness" of the bullfight. Yet he considers that the ban does away with centuries of cultural heritage. Or perhaps it is not surprising. The bullfight is not a political issue per se, even if politicians have decided its fate in Catalonia; right and left are equally as likely to support it or reject it, and the vote in Catalonia was one of conscience - a free vote in other words.
To brand the politicians who backed the ban as "ignorant" is a peculiar charge. Whereas some observers from outside Spain might be considered thus when it comes to all the arguments for and against, it seems implausible to believe that Spanish (Catalonian) politicians would not know them. Much as though there is a political dimension (Catalan-Spanish relations) to the decision, it is also implausible to suggest that the ban is purely a political snub to Spain.
The cultural aspect is fundamental to the debate as to the future of the bullfight; Sabina is not wrong in this regard. Spanish culture is spectacularly at variance with others in its disregard for what might be considered the norm. As there is only a nodding acquaintance with health and safety when it comes to certain traditions, so there is often a thumbing of the nose to animal welfare. But local culture can appear to practise double standards. Compared with the harmless duck tossing of Can Picafort (banned), the bullfight is, in the view of many, cruel and obscene. The ducks are a soft target though and do not have a cultural symbolism or power.
Yet to what extent should this culture be neutered? Do we wish to see Spain go further in becoming somehow homogenized within a set of standards which, while not determined by a European authority, smack of pandering to sensibilities in other European countries? The ban was of course inspired not by outside opinion or law but by Spanish (Catalonian) citizens, and many of the changes that Spain has undergone over the past decade and especially just recently are in line with a liberal morality in most of Europe - gay marriage, easier divorce and abortion; all of them arrived at by shifting mores in the country. The Spanish have become "good" Europeans in this respect, and should be applauded for having done so. The Catalonians, who crave independence within the European Union, have, through the ban, made a political statement in proclaiming their greater "European-ness", even if they demonstrate hypocrisy by allowing other bull "traditions" to persist. For the rest of Spain, the question it has to address is how it can reconcile increased social liberalism with seemingly archaic manifestations of culture, of which the bullfight is the most obvious.
I have no wish to see the culture neutered. Nor do many Spaniards. And nor do many from other countries. But this is precisely what has been happening, and, for the most part, we have been happy to stand and clap. The bullfight remains a vestige of an old Spain. The argument as to its continuance is one about the heart and soul of the country. The bullfight is repugnant. But ban it and what would Spain lose?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The anti-bullfight brigade takes quite a different view, as you might expect. Rather than a sad day, it was one to celebrate. The bullfight, as with other social, cultural and political issues in Spain, has the power to divide opinion, and to divide it markedly.
To read what Sabina had to say was surprising. Here is someone who was in exile for some years. He was an opponent of the Franco regime, which was fully supportive of the traditional "Spanishness" of the bullfight. Yet he considers that the ban does away with centuries of cultural heritage. Or perhaps it is not surprising. The bullfight is not a political issue per se, even if politicians have decided its fate in Catalonia; right and left are equally as likely to support it or reject it, and the vote in Catalonia was one of conscience - a free vote in other words.
To brand the politicians who backed the ban as "ignorant" is a peculiar charge. Whereas some observers from outside Spain might be considered thus when it comes to all the arguments for and against, it seems implausible to believe that Spanish (Catalonian) politicians would not know them. Much as though there is a political dimension (Catalan-Spanish relations) to the decision, it is also implausible to suggest that the ban is purely a political snub to Spain.
The cultural aspect is fundamental to the debate as to the future of the bullfight; Sabina is not wrong in this regard. Spanish culture is spectacularly at variance with others in its disregard for what might be considered the norm. As there is only a nodding acquaintance with health and safety when it comes to certain traditions, so there is often a thumbing of the nose to animal welfare. But local culture can appear to practise double standards. Compared with the harmless duck tossing of Can Picafort (banned), the bullfight is, in the view of many, cruel and obscene. The ducks are a soft target though and do not have a cultural symbolism or power.
Yet to what extent should this culture be neutered? Do we wish to see Spain go further in becoming somehow homogenized within a set of standards which, while not determined by a European authority, smack of pandering to sensibilities in other European countries? The ban was of course inspired not by outside opinion or law but by Spanish (Catalonian) citizens, and many of the changes that Spain has undergone over the past decade and especially just recently are in line with a liberal morality in most of Europe - gay marriage, easier divorce and abortion; all of them arrived at by shifting mores in the country. The Spanish have become "good" Europeans in this respect, and should be applauded for having done so. The Catalonians, who crave independence within the European Union, have, through the ban, made a political statement in proclaiming their greater "European-ness", even if they demonstrate hypocrisy by allowing other bull "traditions" to persist. For the rest of Spain, the question it has to address is how it can reconcile increased social liberalism with seemingly archaic manifestations of culture, of which the bullfight is the most obvious.
I have no wish to see the culture neutered. Nor do many Spaniards. And nor do many from other countries. But this is precisely what has been happening, and, for the most part, we have been happy to stand and clap. The bullfight remains a vestige of an old Spain. The argument as to its continuance is one about the heart and soul of the country. The bullfight is repugnant. But ban it and what would Spain lose?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
A Load More Bull: Catalonia votes to ban bullfighting
The Catalonian parliament voted yesterday to ban bullfighting. There were 68 votes in favour of a ban, 55 against with nine abstentions. The ban will take effect as from 2012. It is not the first time that a region of Spain has imposed a ban, but one in a region as important - for various reasons - as Catalonia is significant.
Though politicians are seeking to deny it, there is more than just a hint of the anti-Spain about the ban. Bullfighting, with all its ceremony and overtones of nobility, is representative of an old Spanish order that persists - one at variance with Catalonian nationalism. One can nuance the ban as a slap in the face for Castile and history, as a political statement as much as one founded on animal rights. It might also have ramifications in other regions of Spain.
"The Diario" has polled members of the Balearic parliament as to their views of a potential ban. Ten were in favour of a ban, ten were against with four abstaining. It is just possible that the islands would follow Catalonia were a motion to be brought before parliament.
The annual bullfight as part of the Sant Jaume fiestas was staged in Alcúdia last Sunday. As with the bullfight in Muro in June, there was a demonstration against it. The numbers were not great, and those participating were generally youthful. This might be taken as a protest of idealistic young people, but there are many local Mallorcans who do not like the bullfight. They would not protest though. To do so would be to make themselves known. It isn't necessarily a good career move to be seen to be allying oneself with the anti-bullfight brigade.
Rather like the fox-hunting debate in Britain introduced all manner of pros and cons, so the bullfight-ban debate has its. One of them is economic. In Catalonia, it is being said that a ban will result in a cost to each family of 250 euros. How on earth such a figure is arrived at, heaven only knows, but there is an economic downside to the prohibition of bullfighting. Also like fox-hunting, the debate is essentially emotional - you either like the bullfight or you don't. The president of Catalonia, José Montilla, radical in his calls for Catalonian self-government, voted against the ban as he doesn't approve of a legal imposition that would deny the bullfight to those who enjoy it, though how his position stacks up against other legislation "imposed" in Catalonia, I'm not quite sure.
However, in Catalonia the impulse for a ban came not from parliament or political parties; it came from the views of Catalonian people. There is a system known as the "iniciativa legislativa popular" which under the constitution allows for mass petitions to be presented as the basis for potential reform of laws. It was such a petition that brought the Catalonian parliament to debate and now outlaw bullfighting. In this respect, therefore, the ban might be said to reflect the will of the people and not be an imposition. In Catalonia, the popular will has worked, and while Catalonia is not like the rest of Spain, alarm bells are ringing that similar petitions might force votes in other regions.
The 180,000 signatories to the petition represent a massive expression of popular will, and President Montilla has said that it is correct to respect this will. The popular will was activist-driven, though it does appear to reflect majority opinion. But to believe that it did not have at least an element of nationalist politics about it would be wrong. Montilla, not exactly temperate in his views after the constitutional tribunal dismissed Catalonian self-government aspirations, has been quick to downplay the vote as an indication of the state of Catalan-Spanish relations. Others will see it as a deliberate waving of a red rag in front of a Spanish bull.
At a more general level, the vote, together with the growing opposition to bullfighting throughout Spain, indicates - once again - the degree to which the country has changed. The apathy and conservatism of a predominantly rural population pre-tourism boom and pre-restoration has given way to an urban awareness, activism and liberalism. The vote may have been about Catalonia versus Spain, but it was also about new versus old Spain.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Though politicians are seeking to deny it, there is more than just a hint of the anti-Spain about the ban. Bullfighting, with all its ceremony and overtones of nobility, is representative of an old Spanish order that persists - one at variance with Catalonian nationalism. One can nuance the ban as a slap in the face for Castile and history, as a political statement as much as one founded on animal rights. It might also have ramifications in other regions of Spain.
"The Diario" has polled members of the Balearic parliament as to their views of a potential ban. Ten were in favour of a ban, ten were against with four abstaining. It is just possible that the islands would follow Catalonia were a motion to be brought before parliament.
The annual bullfight as part of the Sant Jaume fiestas was staged in Alcúdia last Sunday. As with the bullfight in Muro in June, there was a demonstration against it. The numbers were not great, and those participating were generally youthful. This might be taken as a protest of idealistic young people, but there are many local Mallorcans who do not like the bullfight. They would not protest though. To do so would be to make themselves known. It isn't necessarily a good career move to be seen to be allying oneself with the anti-bullfight brigade.
Rather like the fox-hunting debate in Britain introduced all manner of pros and cons, so the bullfight-ban debate has its. One of them is economic. In Catalonia, it is being said that a ban will result in a cost to each family of 250 euros. How on earth such a figure is arrived at, heaven only knows, but there is an economic downside to the prohibition of bullfighting. Also like fox-hunting, the debate is essentially emotional - you either like the bullfight or you don't. The president of Catalonia, José Montilla, radical in his calls for Catalonian self-government, voted against the ban as he doesn't approve of a legal imposition that would deny the bullfight to those who enjoy it, though how his position stacks up against other legislation "imposed" in Catalonia, I'm not quite sure.
However, in Catalonia the impulse for a ban came not from parliament or political parties; it came from the views of Catalonian people. There is a system known as the "iniciativa legislativa popular" which under the constitution allows for mass petitions to be presented as the basis for potential reform of laws. It was such a petition that brought the Catalonian parliament to debate and now outlaw bullfighting. In this respect, therefore, the ban might be said to reflect the will of the people and not be an imposition. In Catalonia, the popular will has worked, and while Catalonia is not like the rest of Spain, alarm bells are ringing that similar petitions might force votes in other regions.
The 180,000 signatories to the petition represent a massive expression of popular will, and President Montilla has said that it is correct to respect this will. The popular will was activist-driven, though it does appear to reflect majority opinion. But to believe that it did not have at least an element of nationalist politics about it would be wrong. Montilla, not exactly temperate in his views after the constitutional tribunal dismissed Catalonian self-government aspirations, has been quick to downplay the vote as an indication of the state of Catalan-Spanish relations. Others will see it as a deliberate waving of a red rag in front of a Spanish bull.
At a more general level, the vote, together with the growing opposition to bullfighting throughout Spain, indicates - once again - the degree to which the country has changed. The apathy and conservatism of a predominantly rural population pre-tourism boom and pre-restoration has given way to an urban awareness, activism and liberalism. The vote may have been about Catalonia versus Spain, but it was also about new versus old Spain.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pedestrianisation plan and the Don Pedro
As flagged up on 25 July, Pollensa town hall yesterday approved the plan for a development in the Ullal area of Puerto Pollensa which would also involve the developers undertaking the pedestrianisation of the resort's "front line". The town hall has also approved the demolition of the Don Pedro hotel in Cala San Vicente.
Men From The Ministry: Downgrading Spanish tourism
In an attempt to reduce costs, the Spanish Government has been cutting back on posts and ministries. In what might seem like a bizarre, almost perverse move, the tourism secretary of state has been, in effect, demoted, and the ministry itself merged.
There is particular anger at the move in Mallorca, whence came the secretary of state, Joan Mesquida. But setting aside any possible feelings of a Mallorcan politician having been slighted, the greater upset is reserved for the fact that tourism as a whole appears to have been downgraded in terms of importance. Now is not the time to be ... you can fill in the rest, it all has to do with crisis, recession and competition from other destinations.
While the move does seem strange, to Mallorcan hoteliers and politicians, is it really that important? The percentage of GDP created by tourism in Spain as a whole amounts to around 5%, not that much higher than in the UK. Is there a tourism minister at cabinet in the British Government? Take a look at the list of cabinet members and their jobs, and nowhere does the word tourism appear. I may be wrong but I don't think tourism has ever commanded a cabinet post, per se, in Britain.
Spain is different though. Take away a tourism secretary of state, and it's as if national pride and the national psyche have been attacked; it was tourism, as much as anything else, that was the foundation of contemporary Spain and of the economic boom that propelled the country from its position as a basket case. Moreover, Spain is reckoned to have the second largest tourism economy in the world. It is a not insignificant industry.
Though the GDP percentage may appear relatively low in national terms, at local levels it is far, far higher. Some latitude may be applied as to how the figures are arrived at, but in Mallorca, tourism is said to amount to 80% of the island's GDP, almost certainly an exaggeration, but maybe not when one takes into consideration related industries.
One of the arguments in favour of maintaining the more elevated role of tourism is that in competing countries tourism is at the very heart of government. Yet these competing countries have far greater levels of centralised government, Egypt for example. Spain was once highly centralised, and tourism was once the flagship industry, but no longer; the country is highly decentralised. It is decentralised not just in terms of regional government but also in terms of its tourism diversity. Selling "Spain" is as outmoded as Franco's state-directed system of government. Do tourists treat Spain and Mallorca as being synonymous? I would very much doubt it. The regional governments, such as that in the Balearics, have their own tourism marketing and their own tourism ministries. The ministry in the Balearics may have become a laughing-stock, but the strategic significance of tourism is reflected in the importance attached to the ministry (one that I have argued should in fact have greater importance attached to it).
One suspects that anger in Mallorca is an expression of anxiety as to possible cuts in funding for tourism from Madrid. Given that the local tourism ministry has found innumerable ways to fritter away public money, not all of them legal (allegedly), one might have sympathy were the Zapatero administration to wish Mallorca a plague on its various tourism houses (and institutes and foundations).
Mallorca is in competition with other destinations, and included among the competition are other parts of Spain, the Canaries and the Costas. The island's politicians want Madrid to be its benefactor and seemingly its tourism "leader" as part of a greater Spanish tourism industry, while at the same time doing whatever they can to nick tourists from other parts of the country. It doesn't quite add up. The regional government has its own structure, its own tourism industry, its own ministry, its own ability to determine industries (well, one) of strategic importance; it should get on with what it's meant to be doing and not fret about musical chairs in Madrid. They can't have everything. Why should there be a tourism secretary of state? There isn't one for construction or one for making donkeys with sombreros on their ears. They should just get over it.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
There is particular anger at the move in Mallorca, whence came the secretary of state, Joan Mesquida. But setting aside any possible feelings of a Mallorcan politician having been slighted, the greater upset is reserved for the fact that tourism as a whole appears to have been downgraded in terms of importance. Now is not the time to be ... you can fill in the rest, it all has to do with crisis, recession and competition from other destinations.
While the move does seem strange, to Mallorcan hoteliers and politicians, is it really that important? The percentage of GDP created by tourism in Spain as a whole amounts to around 5%, not that much higher than in the UK. Is there a tourism minister at cabinet in the British Government? Take a look at the list of cabinet members and their jobs, and nowhere does the word tourism appear. I may be wrong but I don't think tourism has ever commanded a cabinet post, per se, in Britain.
Spain is different though. Take away a tourism secretary of state, and it's as if national pride and the national psyche have been attacked; it was tourism, as much as anything else, that was the foundation of contemporary Spain and of the economic boom that propelled the country from its position as a basket case. Moreover, Spain is reckoned to have the second largest tourism economy in the world. It is a not insignificant industry.
Though the GDP percentage may appear relatively low in national terms, at local levels it is far, far higher. Some latitude may be applied as to how the figures are arrived at, but in Mallorca, tourism is said to amount to 80% of the island's GDP, almost certainly an exaggeration, but maybe not when one takes into consideration related industries.
One of the arguments in favour of maintaining the more elevated role of tourism is that in competing countries tourism is at the very heart of government. Yet these competing countries have far greater levels of centralised government, Egypt for example. Spain was once highly centralised, and tourism was once the flagship industry, but no longer; the country is highly decentralised. It is decentralised not just in terms of regional government but also in terms of its tourism diversity. Selling "Spain" is as outmoded as Franco's state-directed system of government. Do tourists treat Spain and Mallorca as being synonymous? I would very much doubt it. The regional governments, such as that in the Balearics, have their own tourism marketing and their own tourism ministries. The ministry in the Balearics may have become a laughing-stock, but the strategic significance of tourism is reflected in the importance attached to the ministry (one that I have argued should in fact have greater importance attached to it).
One suspects that anger in Mallorca is an expression of anxiety as to possible cuts in funding for tourism from Madrid. Given that the local tourism ministry has found innumerable ways to fritter away public money, not all of them legal (allegedly), one might have sympathy were the Zapatero administration to wish Mallorca a plague on its various tourism houses (and institutes and foundations).
Mallorca is in competition with other destinations, and included among the competition are other parts of Spain, the Canaries and the Costas. The island's politicians want Madrid to be its benefactor and seemingly its tourism "leader" as part of a greater Spanish tourism industry, while at the same time doing whatever they can to nick tourists from other parts of the country. It doesn't quite add up. The regional government has its own structure, its own tourism industry, its own ministry, its own ability to determine industries (well, one) of strategic importance; it should get on with what it's meant to be doing and not fret about musical chairs in Madrid. They can't have everything. Why should there be a tourism secretary of state? There isn't one for construction or one for making donkeys with sombreros on their ears. They should just get over it.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
History Repeating Itself: Sant Crist
It rained yesterday. Quite heavily. Miraculously even. The coincidence was even noted on Facebook. For yesterday was the triennial celebration of the miracle of Sant Crist which delivered the poor sods who lived in Alcúdia at the start of the sixteenth century from a period of drought, pestilence and all manner of privations of biblical proportions. On Sunday evening there was a special Via Fora street dramatisation of Sant Crist in the old town, one that featured a good friend of all things to do with the publications I'm involved with - Xisco at Sunwing. "Ultima Hora" described it as portraying the "leyenda" of Sant Crist: that word again - legend. For, as with many of the religious celebrations, there is a degree of, how can one put it, licence as to the reality of their origins, as there also is with their dating. Sant Crist shouldn't occur in July, as its date is in fact 24 February. Though even this might be open to interpretation.
In 2007, the town celebrated the 500th anniversary of Sant Crist. Three years ago. How time flies. While I get a distinct sense of history repeating itself when the annual fiestas roll around, a three-year lapse might be thought long enough to forget the previous occasion. Not so. I remember it well. And it was on this blog. There is something rather satisfying about the chronicling of events over a period of time. Three years seem like a long time, but they're not. Here is what was said about Sant Crist back then, and when I went back and located it, I was startled to find that the same piece had a photo of Mike and Jane Lynham at their leaving do. Was that really three years ago? It was.
From "The History Man", 21 July 2007:
"In 1507, Alcúdia and indeed the whole of the island was enduring a time of famine, plague and warring between competing dynasties. To add to this, Alcúdia had a threat of drought, which, in turn, threatened the harvest. In order to try and combat this, the local clergy and justices, organised a procession. It was to be a form of begging or pleading procession, the centrepiece of which would be an image of Christ on the cross, crafted from wood. The hope was that an adoration of and pleading to this image would lead to some form of deliverance from the misfortune that had befallen the local people.
The image was taken from the cave of Sant Martí, which is at the foot of the Puig (hill) Sant Martí, which overlooks Alcúdia. On returning to the cave, it was noted that the image oozed water and some drops of blood. This was subsequently confirmed by the religious men. The upshot of all this was that the next harvest was one of the best for many years, thus cementing the miracle of Sant Crist into local history, tradition and folklore. Whether you believe it or not (and as with most of these alleged miracles, they are implausible at best), is not really the point. The fact is that it is part of local history, mythology one might even venture. And it gives the clergy a chance to dress up and walk through the streets and for there to be a bit of a do.
And as to why every three years. In 1697 the then rector of the Sant Jaume church decreed as such. Moreover, they shifted the actual date from 28 July to 26 July, which also happens to be the date of Santa Anna.
So, now you know."
De Abarca
Following on from yesterday ... You can all sleep easy in your beds. He has been caught. And no, he wasn't in Albufera. He was found near Selva, quite some distance away.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
In 2007, the town celebrated the 500th anniversary of Sant Crist. Three years ago. How time flies. While I get a distinct sense of history repeating itself when the annual fiestas roll around, a three-year lapse might be thought long enough to forget the previous occasion. Not so. I remember it well. And it was on this blog. There is something rather satisfying about the chronicling of events over a period of time. Three years seem like a long time, but they're not. Here is what was said about Sant Crist back then, and when I went back and located it, I was startled to find that the same piece had a photo of Mike and Jane Lynham at their leaving do. Was that really three years ago? It was.
From "The History Man", 21 July 2007:
"In 1507, Alcúdia and indeed the whole of the island was enduring a time of famine, plague and warring between competing dynasties. To add to this, Alcúdia had a threat of drought, which, in turn, threatened the harvest. In order to try and combat this, the local clergy and justices, organised a procession. It was to be a form of begging or pleading procession, the centrepiece of which would be an image of Christ on the cross, crafted from wood. The hope was that an adoration of and pleading to this image would lead to some form of deliverance from the misfortune that had befallen the local people.
The image was taken from the cave of Sant Martí, which is at the foot of the Puig (hill) Sant Martí, which overlooks Alcúdia. On returning to the cave, it was noted that the image oozed water and some drops of blood. This was subsequently confirmed by the religious men. The upshot of all this was that the next harvest was one of the best for many years, thus cementing the miracle of Sant Crist into local history, tradition and folklore. Whether you believe it or not (and as with most of these alleged miracles, they are implausible at best), is not really the point. The fact is that it is part of local history, mythology one might even venture. And it gives the clergy a chance to dress up and walk through the streets and for there to be a bit of a do.
And as to why every three years. In 1697 the then rector of the Sant Jaume church decreed as such. Moreover, they shifted the actual date from 28 July to 26 July, which also happens to be the date of Santa Anna.
So, now you know."
De Abarca
Following on from yesterday ... You can all sleep easy in your beds. He has been caught. And no, he wasn't in Albufera. He was found near Selva, quite some distance away.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Legend Of The Stones: The de Abarca murder case
In the garden there are a number of stones, some of them quite big stones, more like small rocks. There are also a whole load of small stones, observable on the surface of what would normally be called a lawn were it not for it having been divested of the usual grass and having turned the colour of a German tourist. What all these stones have in common is that, for some time now, they have all remained unturned, something that leaves me baffled, as the Balearics delegate, an old friend of this blog Ramon Socias, has said that no stone is being left unturned in the search for crazed murderer Alejandro de Abarca. I say "crazed" because one is expected to use such a word, even if I have no evidence as to his mental state. I also say "murderer" though he has not only not been caught he also not been charged or convicted. But to say anything else wouldn't have quite the same impact. Like saying that no stone is being left unturned.
My guess is that Sr. Socias didn't use these precise words, but we are led to believe that he did. Maybe the phrase is in common usage among police forces across Europe and among politicians who must attempt to reassure a nervous public. But the assiduous or otherwise turning of stones appears to be unnecessary in setting the public's mind at ease. Despite the fact that de Abarca may or may not be holed up in the vicinity, following the discovery of the burnt-out car in Muro with the body of Ana Niculai, his unfortunate victim - or rather, alleged victim - no one is taking much notice. Yet for all we know, he could be only a short distance away in Albufera, hiding under the nearest water buffalo. As he is nicknamed The Dwarf, this is not as far-fetched as it might sound.
Now just think about this for a moment. Killer on the loose. Massive manhunt. Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it. What isn't, to a British audience, is that there is a complete absence of hysteria. There is also an absence of British media, wandering along streets with sincere expressions saying that things like this don't happen here and that this is a tight-knit community. Delegates may resort to clichés but they are the only ones who do. There is also likely to be an absence of any Facebook pages devoted to the "legend", or "leyenda" if you prefer, of de Abarca. Tempting though it may be to apply a touch of expat snobbery in believing that the British have sole claim on complete stupidity, one finds it hard to think that there is lurking a Spaniard who would make Shannon Matthews' mother appear to possess an intellect akin to Wittgenstein's by comparison with the absurd woman behind the Raoul Moat Facebook (and if you've not seen/heard it, I implore you to go to You Tube for the interview with Talk Sport's Ian Collins).
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
My guess is that Sr. Socias didn't use these precise words, but we are led to believe that he did. Maybe the phrase is in common usage among police forces across Europe and among politicians who must attempt to reassure a nervous public. But the assiduous or otherwise turning of stones appears to be unnecessary in setting the public's mind at ease. Despite the fact that de Abarca may or may not be holed up in the vicinity, following the discovery of the burnt-out car in Muro with the body of Ana Niculai, his unfortunate victim - or rather, alleged victim - no one is taking much notice. Yet for all we know, he could be only a short distance away in Albufera, hiding under the nearest water buffalo. As he is nicknamed The Dwarf, this is not as far-fetched as it might sound.
Now just think about this for a moment. Killer on the loose. Massive manhunt. Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it. What isn't, to a British audience, is that there is a complete absence of hysteria. There is also an absence of British media, wandering along streets with sincere expressions saying that things like this don't happen here and that this is a tight-knit community. Delegates may resort to clichés but they are the only ones who do. There is also likely to be an absence of any Facebook pages devoted to the "legend", or "leyenda" if you prefer, of de Abarca. Tempting though it may be to apply a touch of expat snobbery in believing that the British have sole claim on complete stupidity, one finds it hard to think that there is lurking a Spaniard who would make Shannon Matthews' mother appear to possess an intellect akin to Wittgenstein's by comparison with the absurd woman behind the Raoul Moat Facebook (and if you've not seen/heard it, I implore you to go to You Tube for the interview with Talk Sport's Ian Collins).
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Kicking Off Again? Pedestrianisation in Puerto Pollensa
Two years after the scheme to pedestrianise the "front line" of Puerto Pollensa between Llenaire and the centre of the Moll was abandoned, it is about to make a comeback. The impetus for its return is an agreement to develop land in the Ullal area of the town (around and near to the Pollensa Park hotel). As reported in "The Diario", the town hall will give this plan the go ahead this coming week. The developers will be able to build residential accommodation on some 100,000 square metres of land, in return for which they will also undertake the pedestrianisation scheme. According to the mayor, all parties which were informed of the plan last week, which seem to include the revolutionaries (as referred to yesterday), are in agreement. Given what happened last time the pedestrianisation scheme reared its head though, it's hard to imagine that there will be unanimity this time round. Apart from anything else, it will mean that all traffic gets diverted along the bypass, which was built as part of the same plan as that for the pedestrianisation, envisaged as far back as the late sixties. Other revolutionaries, notably those of Gotmar who protested loud and long a couple of years ago, will surely not be taking the latest news lying down.
The plan is a potential minefield. Though the building development will be in the vicinity of wetlands deemed of ecological interest, the green light for it has come from the Council of Mallorca which has reclassifed the land as a so-called area of territorial reconversion (ART), which is the same provision that has been applied to areas in Bonaire and Puerto Alcúdia, prompting developments in both instances, the second of which includes what is widely presumed to be and largely already built, but mystifyingly unconfirmed, a Lidl supermarket. Despite the Council's acquiescence, one can yet anticipate objections from the environmental lobby.
What seems curious about this plan is that it doesn't directly address the tourism problem that was highlighted yesterday. If it is indeed the case that Puerto Pollensa needs more hotel stock, might the development not be better served by sticking up a new hotel or two? This said, the chances are that a number of the new houses will end up as holiday lets. For a resort with a high dependence on residential tourism, this might seem fair enough, though it runs counter to the attitude at government level towards the letting business and would provide far fewer additional tourists than a hotel would.
Meanwhile, the same ART is being invoked to finally put the Don Pedro in Cala San Vicente out of its misery. It's been a long death, but it would now seem that the demolition is going to occur; just a question as to when. This has been said for years, but now it seems as though it will happen. Much as the demolition might now appear inevitable, nothing ever runs smoothly, least of all in Pollensa; and so it may still also be with Pedestrianisation 2010.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The plan is a potential minefield. Though the building development will be in the vicinity of wetlands deemed of ecological interest, the green light for it has come from the Council of Mallorca which has reclassifed the land as a so-called area of territorial reconversion (ART), which is the same provision that has been applied to areas in Bonaire and Puerto Alcúdia, prompting developments in both instances, the second of which includes what is widely presumed to be and largely already built, but mystifyingly unconfirmed, a Lidl supermarket. Despite the Council's acquiescence, one can yet anticipate objections from the environmental lobby.
What seems curious about this plan is that it doesn't directly address the tourism problem that was highlighted yesterday. If it is indeed the case that Puerto Pollensa needs more hotel stock, might the development not be better served by sticking up a new hotel or two? This said, the chances are that a number of the new houses will end up as holiday lets. For a resort with a high dependence on residential tourism, this might seem fair enough, though it runs counter to the attitude at government level towards the letting business and would provide far fewer additional tourists than a hotel would.
Meanwhile, the same ART is being invoked to finally put the Don Pedro in Cala San Vicente out of its misery. It's been a long death, but it would now seem that the demolition is going to occur; just a question as to when. This has been said for years, but now it seems as though it will happen. Much as the demolition might now appear inevitable, nothing ever runs smoothly, least of all in Pollensa; and so it may still also be with Pedestrianisation 2010.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Squeezing Lemons: Puerto Pollensa wants a tourism study
The protest against conditions in Puerto Pollensa at the start of June has led to there being meetings between the town hall and representatives of businesses and residents in Puerto Pollensa. At the latest meeting the town hall decided to invite the university in Palma to investigate reasons why the port has been losing tourists and its image (as reported in "The Diario").
When all fails, call for a study, but there is an obstacle: Mayor Cerdà doesn't know who will pay for it. Which just goes to prove that money can indeed not buy everything, if you don't have any. There is an awful lot of everything in Pollensa that cannot be paid for.
The mayor says that he doesn't know whether the tourism problem is as a result of tourists deciding against staying in the port, of the tour operators going elsewhere, of a bad image or of inadequate hotels. Things he might know are that there has been a recession, that the British market, upon which Puerto Pollensa is over-reliant, has been particularly affected, that the pound has been weak. Any study would have to establish that there was a discernible downward trend BC (before crisis). If there wasn't, then the mayor might think a study to be a waste of time and money, were there any. Its mere suggestion smacks of a dose of PR and of attempting to mollify the Moll revolutionaries.
There is a colossal amount of garbage spoken about the apparent malaise that has laid Puerto Pollensa low. Garbage being one aspect, along with what you'd rather not tread on and even, for God's sake, road signs not pointing people in the direction of the Moll. All of it is irrelevant. Cerdà's unknown unknowns are not all unknown. Funnily enough, yes, tour operators do choose to go elsewhere. And perhaps some of the hotels aren't up to scratch. Perhaps there simply aren't enough hotels, a point to which the revolutionaries have alluded.
But let's suppose a study were to be conducted. What do you think would happen? Chances are that the hefty tome of a report would gather dust on shelves somewhere in the improved town hall building that cost a mere couple of million euros along with shelved tourism ideas, such as the lunatic notion of using the image of Agatha Christie to promote Puerto Pollensa. Whatever happened to that? Let me hazard a guess. It would have cost an arm, a leg and the equivalent of several studies by the university to dosh up for image rights.
Research is fine. Nothing wrong with it, so long as it is meaningful and might result in some action. Trouble is that in Puerto Pollensa they do research, and have done so for some time. Remember? June 29 last year - "The Lemon Tree". That was about the questionnaire of tourism satisfaction that does the rounds. I doubted then that anything was done with the survey results, and I doubt it even more now. So, Pollensa town hall, go find some money down the back of the mayoral sofa, hand it over to the university and wait for another bunch of lemons. Ridiculous.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
When all fails, call for a study, but there is an obstacle: Mayor Cerdà doesn't know who will pay for it. Which just goes to prove that money can indeed not buy everything, if you don't have any. There is an awful lot of everything in Pollensa that cannot be paid for.
The mayor says that he doesn't know whether the tourism problem is as a result of tourists deciding against staying in the port, of the tour operators going elsewhere, of a bad image or of inadequate hotels. Things he might know are that there has been a recession, that the British market, upon which Puerto Pollensa is over-reliant, has been particularly affected, that the pound has been weak. Any study would have to establish that there was a discernible downward trend BC (before crisis). If there wasn't, then the mayor might think a study to be a waste of time and money, were there any. Its mere suggestion smacks of a dose of PR and of attempting to mollify the Moll revolutionaries.
There is a colossal amount of garbage spoken about the apparent malaise that has laid Puerto Pollensa low. Garbage being one aspect, along with what you'd rather not tread on and even, for God's sake, road signs not pointing people in the direction of the Moll. All of it is irrelevant. Cerdà's unknown unknowns are not all unknown. Funnily enough, yes, tour operators do choose to go elsewhere. And perhaps some of the hotels aren't up to scratch. Perhaps there simply aren't enough hotels, a point to which the revolutionaries have alluded.
But let's suppose a study were to be conducted. What do you think would happen? Chances are that the hefty tome of a report would gather dust on shelves somewhere in the improved town hall building that cost a mere couple of million euros along with shelved tourism ideas, such as the lunatic notion of using the image of Agatha Christie to promote Puerto Pollensa. Whatever happened to that? Let me hazard a guess. It would have cost an arm, a leg and the equivalent of several studies by the university to dosh up for image rights.
Research is fine. Nothing wrong with it, so long as it is meaningful and might result in some action. Trouble is that in Puerto Pollensa they do research, and have done so for some time. Remember? June 29 last year - "The Lemon Tree". That was about the questionnaire of tourism satisfaction that does the rounds. I doubted then that anything was done with the survey results, and I doubt it even more now. So, Pollensa town hall, go find some money down the back of the mayoral sofa, hand it over to the university and wait for another bunch of lemons. Ridiculous.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Throwback: Why all-inclusives might have a point
In Playa de Muro there are 32 hotels. Depending on your definition, there are roughly the same number of restaurants. One restaurant per hotel. You might think that this was a pretty decent equation when it comes to there being adequate business for restaurant owners. Not so, when you take into account the impact of all-inclusive offers.
One restaurant owner was talking about a protest against all-inclusives. It's a familiar theme, is it not? There was similar talk along Puerto Alcúdia's Mile earlier in the season. But there is a difference in Playa de Muro, isn't there? It's a different market.
Playa de Muro does not have the same sort of vast all-inclusive ghettoes that Puerto Alcúdia has, but all-inclusive it most certainly does have. A trawl through some websites of hotels in the resort confirms this. From the more economy Continental and Lagotel to the more exclusive Vivas and Iberostars, you will find that all-inclusive is available. Playa de Muro may be a different market in that it is generally up-market, but what's up-market when it's still subject to the same market conditions created by all-inclusives. That restaurant owner was scathing not only about the existence of so much AI, he was also critical of what he saw as an undermining of the apparent "quality" in at least one of the more up-market hotels. Plastic glasses. Re-used. Or so he says.
Playa de Muro is a curious resort. It is a complete invention of the tourism boom. There was no Playa de Muro until the late 60s and early 70s. The development around Las Gaviotas and the Esperanza hotel started it all off, and then along came a handful of restaurants and ultimately the coastal colonisation as far as Alcúdia Pins. The resort has nothing of the past of a Puerto Alcúdia or Puerto Pollensa, or even Can Picafort: it just emerged.
But as with other resorts, those who started businesses there enjoyed some good times, some very good times indeed, buoyed also by the residential tourism of Mallorcan-owned second homes and foreign-owned holiday homes, of which there are a not insignificant number. However, Playa de Muro and its businesses, save for the hotels, is a victim of that old success. Many places have simply never moved with the times. And now that times are not so good, it's hard to justify the sort of investment that might be said to be required to make places seem less, well, old-fashioned.
In the resort there are two five-star hotels. I was once told by someone at a car-hire firm that it, the car-hire agency, does good business with those from the five stars who head off in the search of restaurants, Pollensa perhaps; but not in Playa de Muro. I can recall forum comments from guests at four-star Iberostars preferring to stay in the hotel and eat because they weren't much taken by the restaurants nearby. There is nothing wrong with the restaurants nearby, quite the contrary, but many look what they are - throwbacks. For a market that has grown more sophisticated, even one that goes AI, there is an image crisis in Playa de Muro. And to this one can add the fact that there is so little differentiation. Where, for example, can one eat Mallorcan cuisine? Mar Petita, yes. Meson los Patos, yes. But the latter isn't actually in Playa de Muro. Otherwise, it's a mix of burgers, steaks, grills and the odd touch of the Orient.
The counter-arguments that the hoteliers make when faced with complaints about the impact of all-inclusive include one that businesses should make a greater effort to improve or change their products. It's not always easy, and in certain instances, e.g. along the Mile in Puerto Alcúdia, it's especially difficult because of the nature of the market. But despite the all-inclusive, Playa de Muro is an example of somewhere, because it does benefit from a more exclusive market, where greater attention to product, to image, to marketing would probably go a long way.
There won't be a protest because there would be a lack of will to effect one, and it would be of no value in any event. One can sympathise, and I do, because I know a number of these business owners, but try telling them that a change might benefit them and they'll pooh-pooh the idea. Fair enough; they know better than I what their business is. I don't run a restaurant. But I do hear and read a lot of comments, and I can observe for myself, as others observe and choose to stay in their 32 hotels.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
One restaurant owner was talking about a protest against all-inclusives. It's a familiar theme, is it not? There was similar talk along Puerto Alcúdia's Mile earlier in the season. But there is a difference in Playa de Muro, isn't there? It's a different market.
Playa de Muro does not have the same sort of vast all-inclusive ghettoes that Puerto Alcúdia has, but all-inclusive it most certainly does have. A trawl through some websites of hotels in the resort confirms this. From the more economy Continental and Lagotel to the more exclusive Vivas and Iberostars, you will find that all-inclusive is available. Playa de Muro may be a different market in that it is generally up-market, but what's up-market when it's still subject to the same market conditions created by all-inclusives. That restaurant owner was scathing not only about the existence of so much AI, he was also critical of what he saw as an undermining of the apparent "quality" in at least one of the more up-market hotels. Plastic glasses. Re-used. Or so he says.
Playa de Muro is a curious resort. It is a complete invention of the tourism boom. There was no Playa de Muro until the late 60s and early 70s. The development around Las Gaviotas and the Esperanza hotel started it all off, and then along came a handful of restaurants and ultimately the coastal colonisation as far as Alcúdia Pins. The resort has nothing of the past of a Puerto Alcúdia or Puerto Pollensa, or even Can Picafort: it just emerged.
But as with other resorts, those who started businesses there enjoyed some good times, some very good times indeed, buoyed also by the residential tourism of Mallorcan-owned second homes and foreign-owned holiday homes, of which there are a not insignificant number. However, Playa de Muro and its businesses, save for the hotels, is a victim of that old success. Many places have simply never moved with the times. And now that times are not so good, it's hard to justify the sort of investment that might be said to be required to make places seem less, well, old-fashioned.
In the resort there are two five-star hotels. I was once told by someone at a car-hire firm that it, the car-hire agency, does good business with those from the five stars who head off in the search of restaurants, Pollensa perhaps; but not in Playa de Muro. I can recall forum comments from guests at four-star Iberostars preferring to stay in the hotel and eat because they weren't much taken by the restaurants nearby. There is nothing wrong with the restaurants nearby, quite the contrary, but many look what they are - throwbacks. For a market that has grown more sophisticated, even one that goes AI, there is an image crisis in Playa de Muro. And to this one can add the fact that there is so little differentiation. Where, for example, can one eat Mallorcan cuisine? Mar Petita, yes. Meson los Patos, yes. But the latter isn't actually in Playa de Muro. Otherwise, it's a mix of burgers, steaks, grills and the odd touch of the Orient.
The counter-arguments that the hoteliers make when faced with complaints about the impact of all-inclusive include one that businesses should make a greater effort to improve or change their products. It's not always easy, and in certain instances, e.g. along the Mile in Puerto Alcúdia, it's especially difficult because of the nature of the market. But despite the all-inclusive, Playa de Muro is an example of somewhere, because it does benefit from a more exclusive market, where greater attention to product, to image, to marketing would probably go a long way.
There won't be a protest because there would be a lack of will to effect one, and it would be of no value in any event. One can sympathise, and I do, because I know a number of these business owners, but try telling them that a change might benefit them and they'll pooh-pooh the idea. Fair enough; they know better than I what their business is. I don't run a restaurant. But I do hear and read a lot of comments, and I can observe for myself, as others observe and choose to stay in their 32 hotels.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Suck It And See: The golf course in Muro
Never think that matters in Mallorca draw to a simple conclusion. If you are inclined to think this, then consider the matter of the Muro golf course. Yes, the arguments are of course still going on. What appeared as though it might have been a conclusion, when a bird protection order was made to cover the site of the course, is nothing of the sort, and now the Balearic parliament, thanks to block voting by the centre-right parties (Partido Popular and Unió Mallorquina), has effectively given the development the green light again, the right arguing that the course is in the interest of the island. The left say it is all about private interests, while the enviro lobby group GOB reckons the decision will bring "shame" to the people of Mallorca. The protection order might still hold sway, but if so it will, in all likelihood, need the matter to be booted upstairs, all the way to Brussels. Some 14 years after the project was first talked about, a definitive agreement and indeed conclusion is still to be made.
Something interesting has been happening with the press coverage of the golf development. There have recently been two interviews with the head of the Grupotel hotel chain, one of the main shareholders in the golf course, as well as one with the director of the development company. This has been interesting as the coverage suggests a shift away from what has seemed like press favouritism towards the environmental case. Or perhaps it is just a case of greater balance being applied. The arguments set out by Grupotel and its fellow hotel groups are well known: the course will help to reduce tourism seasonality and to add dynamism to tourism in the area; the development has received favourable environmental reports, and potentially harmful environmental issues have been addressed.
Despite the endless environmental points raised by GOB and the left, the environment is not, for many, the most important issue. What is, is whether the damn course is necessary or can be justified in terms of "adding dynamism". The pronouncements in the interviews have been vague, as has always been the case where the real value of the course is concerned. The PR problem for the developers is two-fold: the environment and a persuasive business argument. They have singularly failed to be persuasive. No assessment is ever made, at least publicly, as to how many additional tourists the course will generate or as to how much value it will bring to the local economy, except in creating a small number of jobs.
There is an inherent lack of logic to the business case. Firstly, the developers cannot count on a return from the sale of real estate, which is often a core feature of golf developments; there will be no residential construction. Secondly, while making his case for the course, the director of the company pointed out that the Muro course will have advantages over other local courses - unlike Pollensa, it will have eighteen holes, and unlike Alcanada, it will not be a luxury course. However, though this hints at a course for everyone, is a "luxury" aspect not part of a course's attraction, especially to hotel groups with four- and five-star hotels in their portfolio? Moreover, whatever might be designed in Muro can surely not benefit from the landscapes of Pollensa and Alcanada or the demanding links-style nature of the latter course. Thirdly, there are several hotel groups represented in Playa de Muro which are involved in the development. How can they all benefit, especially as there is seemingly an unknown, and a very important one - the number of tourists?
The course would add to the intangibility of the "quality" of Playa de Muro as a resort. This shouldn't be underestimated, but it is - once again - a somewhat vague concept, just as the real benefits of the course remain vague. Rather like the so-called "active well-being" branding of the area that is now to be initiated seems like an exercise in sucking it and seeing, with no hard numbers being given and any number of hotels which would be most unlikely to gain any benefit, so it is with the golf course. In business terms, the Muro course has all the feel of being product-led. Here's a course, now here come the tourists. It doesn't work like that.
As ever though, the business case for the course might still be redundant if GOB and the left were to finally have their way, and given the tortuous nature of the arguments and challenges over the years, one really shouldn't rule that out.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Something interesting has been happening with the press coverage of the golf development. There have recently been two interviews with the head of the Grupotel hotel chain, one of the main shareholders in the golf course, as well as one with the director of the development company. This has been interesting as the coverage suggests a shift away from what has seemed like press favouritism towards the environmental case. Or perhaps it is just a case of greater balance being applied. The arguments set out by Grupotel and its fellow hotel groups are well known: the course will help to reduce tourism seasonality and to add dynamism to tourism in the area; the development has received favourable environmental reports, and potentially harmful environmental issues have been addressed.
Despite the endless environmental points raised by GOB and the left, the environment is not, for many, the most important issue. What is, is whether the damn course is necessary or can be justified in terms of "adding dynamism". The pronouncements in the interviews have been vague, as has always been the case where the real value of the course is concerned. The PR problem for the developers is two-fold: the environment and a persuasive business argument. They have singularly failed to be persuasive. No assessment is ever made, at least publicly, as to how many additional tourists the course will generate or as to how much value it will bring to the local economy, except in creating a small number of jobs.
There is an inherent lack of logic to the business case. Firstly, the developers cannot count on a return from the sale of real estate, which is often a core feature of golf developments; there will be no residential construction. Secondly, while making his case for the course, the director of the company pointed out that the Muro course will have advantages over other local courses - unlike Pollensa, it will have eighteen holes, and unlike Alcanada, it will not be a luxury course. However, though this hints at a course for everyone, is a "luxury" aspect not part of a course's attraction, especially to hotel groups with four- and five-star hotels in their portfolio? Moreover, whatever might be designed in Muro can surely not benefit from the landscapes of Pollensa and Alcanada or the demanding links-style nature of the latter course. Thirdly, there are several hotel groups represented in Playa de Muro which are involved in the development. How can they all benefit, especially as there is seemingly an unknown, and a very important one - the number of tourists?
The course would add to the intangibility of the "quality" of Playa de Muro as a resort. This shouldn't be underestimated, but it is - once again - a somewhat vague concept, just as the real benefits of the course remain vague. Rather like the so-called "active well-being" branding of the area that is now to be initiated seems like an exercise in sucking it and seeing, with no hard numbers being given and any number of hotels which would be most unlikely to gain any benefit, so it is with the golf course. In business terms, the Muro course has all the feel of being product-led. Here's a course, now here come the tourists. It doesn't work like that.
As ever though, the business case for the course might still be redundant if GOB and the left were to finally have their way, and given the tortuous nature of the arguments and challenges over the years, one really shouldn't rule that out.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Source Of Inspiration: On popular tourist destinations
I have a problem with journalists and writers who do not cite sources. It is a problem that has been exacerbated ever since the lazy writer or one desperate to knock off a few hundred words in order to meet a fast-approaching deadline took to using Wikipedia and other sites as get-out-of-jail cards, sometimes using verbatim what can be found on the internet with not a mention of or an acknowledgement as to the source.
Easy it may be to cobble something together with the aid of Google and the cut and paste commands, but it is short-changing not only the reader but also the writer him or herself. Some while ago, I drew attention to the apparent lifting of text from the home page of puertopollensa.com by a journalist writing in "The Sun". It was bad form and it was also a derogation of the journalistic art. For the journalist or other writers, words - his or her own - are the stock-in-trade. Even paraphrasing shows some attempt at originality, but what amounts to plagiarism is nothing of the sort and "in journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics". Where does this quote come from? Wikipedia of course.
One might argue that recourse to using chunks of text from websites is a way of working "smart". Really? I'm not sure that there's anything particularly smart about it. It's not smart, it's not big and it's not clever (and I think Steve Wright was the one who popularised the not big and not clever line, or rather popliarised, as he would have said - I can cite sources till the cows come home; and no, I don't know who came up with that saying. Look it up if you wish; on Wikipedia).
There is another type of non-acknowledgement, which is the unnamed or vague source. Sometimes this can be understandable, when someone prefers not to be named. Fair enough, and it happens all the time, as in, for example, "government sources said". But there are times when it is far less understandable, which brings me to where I really want to be today. In "The Bulletin" yesterday, the editorial referred to "an article in a top British newspaper over the weekend". Apparently this article revealed that Mallorca has slumped to the number eight spot of the "most popular destination(s) with British tourists". The editorial went on to use this as a means of beating the island's tourism. It may well indeed need a beating, but this is not the point. What is, is that because the source is not named, there is no way that the reader, myself in this instance, can check where the article came from or, as importantly, the context and rigour of the results. Well, I suppose one could by spending ages going through Google in the hope of unearthing it, which is in fact what I started to do, but to no avail.
Without being able to identify the source, the reader is left with an incomplete and potentially unreliable picture. There are, it may not have escaped your attention, any number of these "top ten" or "top one hundred"-style articles knocking around in the press. Some have a basis in research, e.g. that which is offered by the likes of ABTA, the tour operators and market research companies; others don't necessarily.
All I did manage to find when a-googling was an article from "The Daily Record", dated 14 July. This made the observation that western Mediterranean destinations are losing ground to those in the eastern Med and north Africa. But we know this anyway. What the article also revealed, seemingly based on what Co-operative Travel had to say and possibly contrary to the trend, was that the "predicted holiday destination hotspots" for 2011-2012 will be Turkey at number one and at number two ... The Balearic Islands. So much for a lack of popularity.
Maybe Mallorca is at number eight, and if so it is less than heartening news, but there can be all sorts of explanations as to why. If one doesn't know the source or the context, one cannot make a full judgement or at least be given the opportunity to make such a judgement. This is just one reason why sources should be acknowledged.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Easy it may be to cobble something together with the aid of Google and the cut and paste commands, but it is short-changing not only the reader but also the writer him or herself. Some while ago, I drew attention to the apparent lifting of text from the home page of puertopollensa.com by a journalist writing in "The Sun". It was bad form and it was also a derogation of the journalistic art. For the journalist or other writers, words - his or her own - are the stock-in-trade. Even paraphrasing shows some attempt at originality, but what amounts to plagiarism is nothing of the sort and "in journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics". Where does this quote come from? Wikipedia of course.
One might argue that recourse to using chunks of text from websites is a way of working "smart". Really? I'm not sure that there's anything particularly smart about it. It's not smart, it's not big and it's not clever (and I think Steve Wright was the one who popularised the not big and not clever line, or rather popliarised, as he would have said - I can cite sources till the cows come home; and no, I don't know who came up with that saying. Look it up if you wish; on Wikipedia).
There is another type of non-acknowledgement, which is the unnamed or vague source. Sometimes this can be understandable, when someone prefers not to be named. Fair enough, and it happens all the time, as in, for example, "government sources said". But there are times when it is far less understandable, which brings me to where I really want to be today. In "The Bulletin" yesterday, the editorial referred to "an article in a top British newspaper over the weekend". Apparently this article revealed that Mallorca has slumped to the number eight spot of the "most popular destination(s) with British tourists". The editorial went on to use this as a means of beating the island's tourism. It may well indeed need a beating, but this is not the point. What is, is that because the source is not named, there is no way that the reader, myself in this instance, can check where the article came from or, as importantly, the context and rigour of the results. Well, I suppose one could by spending ages going through Google in the hope of unearthing it, which is in fact what I started to do, but to no avail.
Without being able to identify the source, the reader is left with an incomplete and potentially unreliable picture. There are, it may not have escaped your attention, any number of these "top ten" or "top one hundred"-style articles knocking around in the press. Some have a basis in research, e.g. that which is offered by the likes of ABTA, the tour operators and market research companies; others don't necessarily.
All I did manage to find when a-googling was an article from "The Daily Record", dated 14 July. This made the observation that western Mediterranean destinations are losing ground to those in the eastern Med and north Africa. But we know this anyway. What the article also revealed, seemingly based on what Co-operative Travel had to say and possibly contrary to the trend, was that the "predicted holiday destination hotspots" for 2011-2012 will be Turkey at number one and at number two ... The Balearic Islands. So much for a lack of popularity.
Maybe Mallorca is at number eight, and if so it is less than heartening news, but there can be all sorts of explanations as to why. If one doesn't know the source or the context, one cannot make a full judgement or at least be given the opportunity to make such a judgement. This is just one reason why sources should be acknowledged.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Pirates Are Here - Again: Fiesta elections
The annual voting season has been and gone. Did you miss it? Had you been in the old town of Pollensa last Friday you wouldn't have. Had you been in Santa Margalida on Sunday at the Augustine nuns' convent you wouldn't have.
The people of the two towns have had their votes. In Pollensa, some 3,500 of them took part in the election. Joan Mas and Dragut in Pollensa; Santa Catalina in Santa Margalida - Christian and Moor; la Beata. The Patrona battle between Moors and Christians will kick off, as normal, on 2 August; the procession of Beata will take place on the first Sunday of September. One Joan Ramon Armengual will be Joan (which seems appropriate - a Joan as a Joan): one Joan, there's only one Joan. Oh not there isn't; there are thousands of them, even in a small town like Pollensa. A Jaume Oliver will be the pirate Dragut, and Antònia Socies, la Beata. So now you know.
As usual, the victors can't quite believe it. It's the stuff of dreams, as usual. And not just for those heading the cast lists. Joan has his mates, Dragut his co-invaders, Beata her attendants. In Pollensa, there is even voting for members of the "old" town hall. There are any number of jobs for the boys and girls in the two towns, all part of the street theatre that is the battle and the Beata.
One of the unsuccesful Draguts was our old friend Toni, he of the Store Formentor at the Bellesreguard complex in Puerto Pollensa. He and his compatriots came halfway in the voting. He didn't seem too unhappy with the result. Not that fearsome though. If you're going to be part of some street theatre, you have, I suppose, to look the part. But simply racing around the old town, engaging in a bit of a bundle is not all there is to it. Joans have some lines to learn. One hopes they never fluff them: "Mare de Déu dels Àngels, assistiu-mos. Pollencins, aixecau-vos, que els pirates ja són aquí." How many times will the latest Joan be reciting these words over the next few days, in advance of the big moment? One trusts there'll be no stage fright.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The people of the two towns have had their votes. In Pollensa, some 3,500 of them took part in the election. Joan Mas and Dragut in Pollensa; Santa Catalina in Santa Margalida - Christian and Moor; la Beata. The Patrona battle between Moors and Christians will kick off, as normal, on 2 August; the procession of Beata will take place on the first Sunday of September. One Joan Ramon Armengual will be Joan (which seems appropriate - a Joan as a Joan): one Joan, there's only one Joan. Oh not there isn't; there are thousands of them, even in a small town like Pollensa. A Jaume Oliver will be the pirate Dragut, and Antònia Socies, la Beata. So now you know.
As usual, the victors can't quite believe it. It's the stuff of dreams, as usual. And not just for those heading the cast lists. Joan has his mates, Dragut his co-invaders, Beata her attendants. In Pollensa, there is even voting for members of the "old" town hall. There are any number of jobs for the boys and girls in the two towns, all part of the street theatre that is the battle and the Beata.
One of the unsuccesful Draguts was our old friend Toni, he of the Store Formentor at the Bellesreguard complex in Puerto Pollensa. He and his compatriots came halfway in the voting. He didn't seem too unhappy with the result. Not that fearsome though. If you're going to be part of some street theatre, you have, I suppose, to look the part. But simply racing around the old town, engaging in a bit of a bundle is not all there is to it. Joans have some lines to learn. One hopes they never fluff them: "Mare de Déu dels Àngels, assistiu-mos. Pollencins, aixecau-vos, que els pirates ja són aquí." How many times will the latest Joan be reciting these words over the next few days, in advance of the big moment? One trusts there'll be no stage fright.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, July 19, 2010
All That Gas: Butane in Mallorca
The "butanero" delivered the other day. He does so only infrequently in summer, as there is only limited demand for gas. It was red hot, around two in the afternoon. How was he? "Bad," he replied, with a laugh. Well, you try driving a butane-gas truck around in the heat, getting in and out of the cab, lugging a heavy bottle onto the kerb. Just shifting one bottle will induce a sweat, and he's doing this time and time again.
One of these days, the butanero may well be no more, as there will be no more the chaps who try and come and check gas installations and who are always frauds. The butanero and butane may still rule the energy roost, but natural gas has now arrived (in Palma at any rate), and oil, solar and (expensive) straightforward mains supply electricity are alternatives. The demand for butane has been falling. A report from "The Diario" yesterday stated that sales have fallen by 20% since 2005. Even the cold winter past saw only a slight increase in sales over the norm.
Nevertheless, Mallorca and the Balearics form one of the most significant markets for butane in Spain. Demand may have fallen, but it is high compared with other regions, a reason being that, despite what can sometimes be very cold spells during the winter, the climate is such that it doesn't justify the costs of installing other systems of heating. The cost, though, of the gas itself has generally risen over the past decade. It does sometimes go down, but at a current price of 12.50 euros it is at least a third more expensive than it was seven or eight years ago. Only when you go into the inner sanctums of some larger restaurants and see the lines of bottles hooked up, do you begin to appreciate how much the whole economy and not just homes rely on a mode of energy supply that seems ridiculously outdated.
"The Diario" also spoke to one of the chaps who attends the butane collection points. He's been doing it for 15 years. Like the chap in Puerto Alcúdia, he is well known in his local community in Palma. Everyone knows the butane man, and he knows everyone and the inside of their car boots or the backs of their vans. For anyone who doesn't know him, he resides, together with his truck of orangey-red bottles, on a road near to the commercial port. In summer he is quiet, but in winter he can attend to whole lines of cars which have to turn around on a road unsuited for such a manoeuvre in order to park up by the truck.
Butane supply is a relic, as is the method of distribution. For all the sophistication of Mallorca, an important part of its energy provision is via something that most Brits will only ever encounter if they go camping. One day it will surely cease to be, but there is something satisfyingly old-fashioned in having such community figures as the butane delivery man and the chap at his collection point.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
One of these days, the butanero may well be no more, as there will be no more the chaps who try and come and check gas installations and who are always frauds. The butanero and butane may still rule the energy roost, but natural gas has now arrived (in Palma at any rate), and oil, solar and (expensive) straightforward mains supply electricity are alternatives. The demand for butane has been falling. A report from "The Diario" yesterday stated that sales have fallen by 20% since 2005. Even the cold winter past saw only a slight increase in sales over the norm.
Nevertheless, Mallorca and the Balearics form one of the most significant markets for butane in Spain. Demand may have fallen, but it is high compared with other regions, a reason being that, despite what can sometimes be very cold spells during the winter, the climate is such that it doesn't justify the costs of installing other systems of heating. The cost, though, of the gas itself has generally risen over the past decade. It does sometimes go down, but at a current price of 12.50 euros it is at least a third more expensive than it was seven or eight years ago. Only when you go into the inner sanctums of some larger restaurants and see the lines of bottles hooked up, do you begin to appreciate how much the whole economy and not just homes rely on a mode of energy supply that seems ridiculously outdated.
"The Diario" also spoke to one of the chaps who attends the butane collection points. He's been doing it for 15 years. Like the chap in Puerto Alcúdia, he is well known in his local community in Palma. Everyone knows the butane man, and he knows everyone and the inside of their car boots or the backs of their vans. For anyone who doesn't know him, he resides, together with his truck of orangey-red bottles, on a road near to the commercial port. In summer he is quiet, but in winter he can attend to whole lines of cars which have to turn around on a road unsuited for such a manoeuvre in order to park up by the truck.
Butane supply is a relic, as is the method of distribution. For all the sophistication of Mallorca, an important part of its energy provision is via something that most Brits will only ever encounter if they go camping. One day it will surely cease to be, but there is something satisfyingly old-fashioned in having such community figures as the butane delivery man and the chap at his collection point.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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