Viewpoint

I read with interest a report over the weekend which said that Majorcan hoteliers are some of the biggest overseas investors and sizeable parts of the Caribbean have been developed by them into holiday resorts which are now in direct competition with the Balearics. Now, we are talking about the large hotel chains but it is interesting to note that thousands of millions of pesetas are rushing out of the Balearics every year. What difference would this money make to the Balearics? Well, it would naturally make a big difference with many of the older hotels in need of a revamp. I understand that many hoteliers want to diversify but it is rather ironic that, if the tales of tourist tax doom and gloom are to be believed, resorts where Majorcan hoteliers have a big stake will actually benefit. I understand that hoteliers believe that they must find new markets but really they should be putting most of their efforts into boosting tourism to Majorca not elsewhere. We have an interesting state of affairs on our hands at the moment. We have a local government, which has nationalist trends that wants to protect Majorca to some extent from the forces of mass tourism, and we have a group of hoteliers very much opposed to the tourist tax but, in the case of some, have massive investments elsewhere. There is a third force, the tour operators who naturally want to get the best value for their customers and who, at the same time, are also watching their bottom-line. A curious state of affairs but that is the state of the industry at the moment. We are heading for an important showdown, and taking all the above into account, it will be interesting to see who comes out as the winner.