Open all hours

Shops in Madrid will soon be allowed to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to the government, the shorter shop opening hours have been cancelled as a direct result of the recession. Soon Madrid will become the city that never sleeps, which is a step in the right direction. How long is it going to take Majorca to follow its lead? There is limited Sunday opening in Palma at the moment but still the smaller shops have not joined the party. I don´t know why. A large number of cruise ships visit Palma every Sunday but their passengers find that the city is closed. I have seen a small army of cruise line passengers walk into Palma and return empty handed! This is a real opportunity lost for Palma retailers who have spent much of the winter complaining about a major drop in sales. It is time that retailers moved with the times and realised that during the summer months they can make a small fortune if they only work a bit harder. Can you imagine if for just the summer months everything was open in Palma seven days a week from museums to shops. It would be absolutely fantastic. If the shops opened at least on Sunday morning during the winter months, I am sure that the issue of winter flights could be partly solved. Palma is a great city which has so much to offer as long as it is open all hours. Perhaps the recession may finally mean that the city moves with the times and follows that great example set by Madrid.