DOOM AND GLOOM

By Jason Moore THIS week I have been talking with many people involved with the tourist industry on the island and I have come to the conclusion that things are very bad. Infact, some bar owners are thinking about closing down because they are losing so much money. It is proving to be a nightmare and for once the tour firms were not crying wolf. We are now in mid June and the summer season has still not started. But what surprises me is that while everyone was ready for a major drop in British tourism, everyone expected the Germans to come to Majorca in even greater numbers. Unfortunately, they were all mistaken and the German market is suffering as much as the British market. What worries me is if we have a terrible summer season, this winter is going to be very hard indeed. So what can we do? Well, it is time the local authorities admitted there was a major problem and that everything will not be alright on the night. The time has come for Majorca and the other Balearic Islands to be rebranded and relaunched. This will cost money but I think you could almost say that the future of the Balearics is at stake. There is a need also for price control. We can´t continue to offer the same thing and expect the tourists to come every year. Sadly, this year they are staying away.