Dear Sir,
Editor Jason Moore’s editorial “The local authorities should remember that stories about Majorca are reported in the foreign media” (Bulletin, March 8) lifts the lid on a long-standing problem.
I think every reader would recognise that the scale and pace of the challenges facing the island’s tourism industry are not in its gift. Wedded together, COVID-19 and Brexit create a perfect storm.
Professionally and personally, I follow with first-hand interest all the stories about the island across print, broadcast and social media. Good and bad. And increasingly I wonder if Majorca is fast running out of feet to shoot.
The tourism authorities quite rightly invest in huge marketing campaigns to sell the island to the world. Whether they do so in a way that makes every Euro go as far as possible is open to question.
When The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unveiled plans to up sticks and reboot their lives in Canada, the UK television screens, newspaper pages and social media posts were awash with a blitz of Visit Canada stories and photos.
So a Mounties’ hat tip to those that grasped the initiative.
Compare and contrast with their Majorca counterparts - who time and again stay silent every time you turn on the TV, open the front pages, or check what’s trending when the media is awash with damaging and disruptive stories.
It’s time to flex a bit of Rafa Nadal muscle and fight back.
I fail to see why they don’t invest in a campaign where they rebut, challenge or turn on their head this avalanche of negative coverage at the earliest opportunity. They have the bullets to fire.
Two years ago, I evaluated the cost of the negative OTS (opportunities to see) coverage about our island compared to the positive pieces. The difference was jaw-dropping - the bad outweighed the good by just shy of £30m.
Perhaps the time has come for tourism bosses to divert more of the budget into “PR fire-fighting” - proactively tackling and managing the media crises and issues that seem to arise on a daily basis in the summer. You don’t have to be Mystic Meg to predict already what Majorca stories are going to fill the news this summer - I guess Fleet Street’s finest mischief-makers are already booked on flights to expose the all-inclusive alcohol ban.
They say a good reputation is hard won - and easily lost.
And Majorca needs to protect and safeguard its standing in this, the most competitive and challenging of years - whatever the cost.
Yours
Richard Chew
Calvia and Yorkshire
Dear Sir,
I have a complaint against the club and want to take it to the top. I am travelling to Majorca from Newcastle on Saturday with my two young sons, and the sole purpose of our trip is to watch Real Mallorca play Barcelona on Saturday. I emailed the club a few months ago to enquire about buying tickets for the match and when I eventually got a reply, it was just a short email saying the tickets would be on sale 2 - 3 weeks before the match.
I have just found out that the ticket prices are extortionate; the cheapest one being 140 Euros. By the time I pay for all three of us, the match tickets will cost more than our flights did. I am a single Dad and I can’t afford to pay this amount, so I am going to have to disappoint my children. The match was going to be a special treat for one of my sons for his forthcoming birthday. I am extremely disappointed but also angry because these prices are a disgrace. I am a Newcastle United fan and I can get the best seats in St. James’ Park for all three of us for less than ONE Real Mallorca ticket.
I feel very strongly about this and I would like the opportunity to share my feelings with one of the owners. I can’t cancel the trip because I won’t get a refund on the flights and apartment so I have two choices: 1. still go but let my children down by not going to the match. 2. don’t go on the trip and lose a lot of money which I can’t afford to lose. I have saved up for a long time to pay for this trip.
I would be very grateful if you could pass this onto the club’s owners.
Davey Brown
1 comment
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Davey Brown, I feel for you and your family. Why not go along to the stadium and watch the match in the sports bar in the stadium car park ? Go early to get a seat ! You may even see the teams arrive and leave. Or pop into a bar where I´m sure the match will be shown on TV. Not the perfect scenario buy you will at least see the match and catch some atmosphere.