Problems in paradise

The manager of the Singala Hotel also complained, the police were called all to no avail. So much for the Mayor wanting to take action.

Dear Sir,
I read most days, with great interest, your paper on the Internet.
I lived and worked for many years in Alcudia, Pto Pollensa and Cala San Vicente.
I still have an apartment in Alcudia and visit about six times a year. I was last on the island last month. I visited Pto Pollensa last winter and was able to see for myself the devastation of the storms.

In the summer we often spend days on Pollensa beach and evenings eating in the local restaurants. We are very fond of Pollensa town and the Port. On a positive note, I do think that in the beginning of this summer, the Council worked hard to get the Port into shape and ready for the oncoming season. I certainly saw a big difference between December, February and April. I do feel that the local Council ought to accept some praise here. On a negative point, I only spent a day last month in Port Pollensa as it was far too noisy and dirty with all the construction etc. It is very true what the Mayor of Pollensa told the Daily Bulletin – there are many litter bins provided along the promenade, but people choose to throw their litter on the pavement and leave it behind on the beach. It is the same for the dog dirt, owners take their dogs along the promenade and let them foul the pavements.

It's the people that need educating. The Council could, for example, erect small notices over the litter bins asking people to use the bins, if not a fine of say 300 euros would be imposed (a little hard to prove, I know – but at least it shows the Council are taking the matter of litter seriously).

Why not ban all dogs from the public beach/promenades and the local area.
There are plenty of places around to run the dogs.
Again, a hefty fine would be imposed to the owners.
At least the Council are taking all matters seriously and do seem genuinely concerned – they have shown this by taking the steps to talk to the DB.
Hopefully with your help and intervention Pto Pollensa will be restored to the resort and charm that we all love and brings us back time and time again.

Waste: an annual disgrace

Sir,
Steve Riches' article in Tuesday's Bulletin has highlighted what can only now be described as an annual disgrace with the ever increasing amount of domestic waste, together with garden waste such as grass cuttings, leaves and trimmings from shrubs, etc, that is being dumped in the sea each summer season, presenting a health hazard to bathers and an annoyance to small boat owners by way of fouled propellors from plastic bags.

I have been a resident at Edificio El Pelicano, Cala Mayor, for 14 years, and year on year have seen the problem escalating. Each afternoon as the prevailing summer south westerly winds increase, we experience a build-up of unimaginable rubbish obviously dumped further up the coast from private dwellings, and I suspect some hotels, with grassed areas reaching to the sea.

Were it not for a large rock outcrop between us and the beach at Cala Mayor that forms a catchment area, the beach would be unfit for use.
Once it becomes lodged in that area, as the sun beats on it odours begin to rise.
It is now the time for this to be investigated before we lose our credibility and ability to offer not only tourists, but residents alike, clean seas, and environment.

Siesta time is the time to carry this out.

Tourist industry: time for a reality check

Dear Sir,
Let's have a bit of common sense here. After 25 years in the hospitality trade ranging from hotels through to bars, you get to tell how well a business is doing. And in Majorca the hospitality trade is suffering – badly.

Leaving aside the many and varied stories about the tourists coming or not to the island, and the confusion that reigns when a 20% reduction in flights booked into Palma is put against trying to book a flight at a sensible price, we need a reality check here and let's deal in facts.

Ask any bar owner or restaurant owner how the season is going, and they will shrug their shoulders and say that business is “down” on last year, press on to ask how much and you'll eventually get a muttered reference to “about 30 percent”.

Get a grip - business is not down by 30%, it's closer to 70%, only most do not want to admit to their neighbouring colleagues how bad they are suffering. After all who wants to be associated with failure and remember, success has many fathers, failure has none.

The industry needs to let the Authorities know how they are suffering, and truthfully. It's a bit like been a first time member of AA, admit it, then address the problem.

There are key indicators that reinforce these facts and figures, and the most common is a panic syndrome that leads to a business strategy that eventually implodes. One obvious trait of this is the temptation to extract sales in anyway possible, overcharge on the bill under the presumption that the punter does not know how much a Euro is, add 20 percent onto the round of drinks in a bar late in the evening, serve a “giant” breakfast portion on a smaller plate, short–change the client and so on.

These are not suppositions, I have seen each of these transactions happen in front of me over the last few weeks, but being in the industry I have the ability to spot what is going on. Time for another reality check here - guess what, most of the punters know what is going on and protest in the only effective way they can, they don't come back. It is noticeable to me that those bars and restaurants that I know treat the punter with courtesy and fairness (even though they may be a little more expensive than others) continue to get the little business that is available in the area.

I also wonder if the Government did the maths in their mind about the Eco–Tax.
Whilst I, like most punters morally support the ethos behind the tax, maybe its introduction could have been packaged a little better. Since the last figures I saw show that the average tourist spends in the area of 86 euros each on “incidentals” my maths tells me that the government was collecting nearly 14 euros of this. Since they now charge 1 euro per day, and the punter still has the same money to spend as he/she had last year, they now over two weeks spend 14 euros less thereby indicating a reduction in the market for all those restaurants and bars of circa 110 million euro. Little wonder business is struggling.

Of course this brings me back to the beginning, with a 20 percent reduction in numbers of tourists spending 70 percent less than they did, who can possibly win?

Well, there is one group of winners those brokers who specialise in selling businesses, and boy, are they in.for a bumper year