OPENING HOURS

REGULAR readers of this column will be well aware that I am not too impressed at shop opening hours in Majorca. The fact that a large number of shops close their doors on Saturday afternoon and do not re-open again until the Monday is a nightmare and effectively means that Majorca can never be an important get-away holiday weekend destination during the winter. But there is more. To my horror I discovered that some shops and restaurants have decided to close down for their summer holidays. Now I haven´t got a problem with people taking a summer holiday (far from it) but surely if you have your own business and then close during the peak summer months your takings are going to fall dramatically. Let us remember (because I sometimes get the impression that people have forgotten) this island lives from tourism. Unfortunately, the summer season gets shorter every year and August is a make or break month. So, to all those businesses who decided to take a nice holiday during the summer I wish them luck; you are certainly going to need it especially in these difficult times when everyone is counting their pennies.

And continuing with this theme I did get the impression that Majorca was more expensive than ever. I know transport costs have risen but I did get the impression that prices had been nicely rounded off. And it does pay to shop in local markets. I saw one item priced at 10 euros in Andratx market and saw exactly the same item priced at 29 euros in a shop in one of the resorts. Come-on Majorca, now is not the time for such price increases. Value for money is what is needed, not more price increases which make things much worse

AS a result of the economic problem I have noticed that more people are renting out their homes for the summer. This is all very well, a rental income is good news if you are saddled with a large mortgage. But remember to legally rent out your home you must have the necessary paperwork and inform the taxman of all your earnings. The local authorities have been turning a blind eye to illegal holiday rentals for many years. However, now they are demanding that people have all their paperwork in order which at the end of the day is only right. Imagine if you are a local hotelier who has to pay staff, taxes and lots more and then he or she finds that clients are being taken away by someone who is just renting out their property and then just pocketing the money.

It is rather unfair and ofcourse it is illegal.