Cruising nowhere

THE Balearic Port Authority and even the local ministry for tourism is busy trumpeting the success of the summer season indicating that a record number of cruise ships have come to Palma this year. Now obviously it is absolutely brilliant for the Port of Palma but who else benefits? I am reliably informed that in some cases only half of all cruise line passengers actually come ashore. They prefer to stay aboard their all inclusive cruise ship rather than visiting Palma. I know this sounds amazing but it is true. Also, I have been told that one cruise ship captain, whose ship visited Palma on a Sunday, told its 2,000 passengers that there was little point in going ashore because all the shops were closed. One Palm taxi driver told me that passengers aboard one vessel which visits Palma every week barely spent a Euro between them when they came ashore. The local authorities have done a very good job in convincing the public that cruise ship passengers equal big spending tourists. Obviously they do spend when they come to Palma but if the city used abit more imagination I suspect that they would spend much more. Free coaches to the main shopping centres, wouldn´t be a bad idea surely? Shops could also offer some incentives. The most important thing is that shops open on a Sunday during the peak summer months because a large proportion of cruise ships visit Palma on a Sunday. It is not rocket science but it is quite incredible that more businesses have not seen the light.