“Stop alienating the tourist, encourage the tourist....”

I'd like to ask her a question myself:
This Tourist Tax is now being hailed as an Eco Tax, why?
We know the storms destroyed a lot of environment on Majorca and these do need help for the areas to recover. But, will ALL the tax money be spent just on ecological things? Or is this just a smoke screen? Majorca is one of the few places where the economy is booming, but soon it won't.

Pensioners who come to the island to escape a long lonely winter in the UK could be charged as much as 1 Euro per day for staying here. This is ludicrous as many pensioners if not the bulk of them come to Majorca to escape to a better way of life for a few months per year, its supposedly cheaper to come to the island than stay at home for some.

1 Euro may not seen much but if you are on an extended holiday which can last from 21 - 48 days then it becomes a lot, especially if the money would have been spent in bars/ eateries/ transport/ shops on the island anyway.

There are now many destinations available for the extended tourist, I once saw 48 days in Malta for less money than a few weeks here. Also your ordinary tourist in the summer can go further afield. Cyprus has begun to attract more than your Ayia Napa brigade, it's a Majorca of 20 years ago, cheap, unspoilt and as yet not greedily taking money off the tourists.

The German market is being slowly chased away, and now the British contingent will be too.
Stop alienating the tourist, encourage the tourist. Calvia, thanks to the lowly tourist is VERY wealthy, do not kill off the goose that laid the golden egg.

Gone are the days in my child hood on the island, where the clientele was rich and wealthy, we can choose who we have come to the island, and really who minds as long as they spend their money there.

I think the islands' government has ceased seeing the real issue here and may not learn until it's too late.

Yours faithfully,

Dear Sir, Still more platitudes from Tiffany Blackman, (Saturday's Bulletin).
Can she state what the Tourist Tax will be spent on, no fudge please.
Also does she realise that her reply to Dave Pelinor will probably lead to a huge reduction in the number of pensioners who holiday over long periods in winter in Majorca, thus helping the slow economy of that period.

Add that to the downturn in holiday bookings from Germany and 2003 could see a disaster for tourism, no doubt Tiffany's answer would be to raise the tourist tax.

Dear Sir,
I have been a visitor to your wonderful island for over 30 years, I do not object to your new tax as long as it is spent to good advantage to all concerned, however the airlines at this end are not doing you any favours, cutting down on in-flight meals and offering cheese sandwiches at £3 a shot, charging for all and sundry along the way, ie, £7 security charges, £5 taxes, etc. the airlines are doing you a major injustice and something should be done about it...

Regards,

Dear Sir,
I must take you to task on your editorial yesterday (Viewpoint, Tuesday) regarding the crime wave.
You advocate more police as the only answer to the rise in delinquency. Surely you must see that the idea of a policeman on every corner is an impossible dream.

More so, it would have hardly any effect on delinquency.
At the present time the problem facing us all is the absurdity of the legal system. Are you not aware that, for instance, there are two juveniles in Pollensa who have each been detained more than sixty times and yet are repeatedly freed to continue their local crime wave. (Ed's note: Yes, I am, see Bulletin frontpage, January).

In Madrid there are more than 100 people who have been detained 100 times and yet are still free to rob, mug and generally attack society.
Many of these hundred are illegal aliens.
The police are demoralised by this situation as they literally spend more time filling in useless paperwork than the delinquents spend in custody.
In Arenal and other tourist areas, where the victims are foreigners, they are quite safe in attacking them as they know that they are not going to return for the court hearing and that the case will be dismissed.

The problem is ours, useless politicians who seem to be able to rush through a doubtful law to illegalise Batasuna (the political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA) yet are unable to produce a law to do away with the multi-reincident delinquents, even when they are foreigners.

This despite knowing that the populace in general is more worried about petty crime than terrorism as it affects a greater proportion of the public.
Petty in police terms, but to the poor old lady who is mugged it is anything but petty.
It only goes to show the disdain generally evinced by all politicians to the real problems of the electorate, not only in Spain but in all countries. The Dutch government, resigning en-masse as a result of a damning enquiry report, seem to be the exception. Would that all governments took such an ethical stance, but I am afraid that is pie in the sky. You only have to look at how our present Majorcan government spends all their time slanging each other instead of actually doing anything.

Yours faithfully