“Everybody is welcome in Calvia, we want everyone to live and holiday in harmony, respect the laws and have a wonderful experience”

Amengual, of the centre-right Partido Popular party, also has an extensive agenda for caring for and looking after the best interests of the large foreign community in Calvia.

“Of the 53,000 people who live in Calvia, 15 % are foreign and more than 55% of those are from the UK. Moving forward we want to make sure they feel part of the community and that they are well looked after by the Town Hall,” he said.

Amengual, who is in charge of numerous resorts including Magalluf and Santa Ponsa, has wasted no time since being elected at the end of May in getting to work on boosting Calvia’s profile. He is also tackling certain issues which he and the Balearic government in general believe to be unfair to visitors and local businesses such as the controversial Law of Excesses.

This was introduced by the previous left-wing coalition government to try and tackle antisocial behaviour in certain parts of Magalluf, Playa de Palma and Sant Antoni in Ibiza. It mainly affected British and Germans tourists.

“We are going to scrap the Law of Excesses as it stands and introduce a new, more practical model which will see the end of the so-called zoning; zoning will be eliminated,” he stressed.

“A new Law of Responsible Tourism will be introduced and it will apply to the whole of the Balearics because we all know that, apart from foreign tourists not being to blame for much of the antisocial behaviour, incidents flare up across the islands throughout the year. There are areas in Palma, for example, Cala Ratjada and of course during the local fiestas.

"So we need to take a more grounded and non-discriminatory approach which will also make it easier for businesses in the tourist sector to operate and flourish. We will eradicate illegal street trading and workers, for example, and we have applied to have more undercover police on the streets tackling prostitution and drugs, which proved very successful this year.

Penalising
“The emphasis of the new law will not be on penalising businesses but holding individuals responsible for their behaviour and making them pay the penalty for breaking the laws.
“When talking about Calvia and tourism, we are not singled out by an area or a street or a law.
“The transformation of Magalluf is being fought for both by the public and the business community. Excellent institutional harmony exists with both the government and the Council of Mallorca in synergies that will benefit the tourism sector and all economic activity.”

“Despite having taken over in midsummer, we, the PP in Calvia, in association with the British Foreign Office and hoteliers, quickly clamped down on ‘balconing’. I am pleased to say that we’ve had much fewer incidents than previous years because of our tough stance and determination to make sure that people come to Calvia, enjoy themselves, have fun and go home with wonderful memories and want to come back.

“We also took action against party boats to prevent them from causing a scandal along the coast and bothering residents and tourists. There will be zero tolerance to antisocial behaviour because we want residents and tourists to enjoy Calvia in harmony.

“The few individuals who were caught playing about on balconies and putting their lives at risk were fined and in some cases expelled from their hotels. This was in accordance with laws which have been in place for many years; they have just never been properly enforced.

“That’s all going to change because, as I’ve said, we welcome tourists will open arms and we want them to have fun and enjoy all the wonderful things Calvia has to offer.

“The beaches, the mountains, all the outdoor pursuits, our excellent sporting facilities, the gastronomy, the culture and all of the major events the municipality hosts every year from beach rugby tournaments to marathons, cycling challenges, tennis and golf tournaments, conferences and conventions, concerts, music festivals, theatre, international literary and film festivals. We have a highly active and attractive calendar of events throughout the year and we want to have Calvia open all year.

“And key to that is having the main beaches open all year providing complete services.
“The new concessions for sunbeds and parasols will be available for at least four years but on the grounds that they will be operational all-year and beach guards, which will be under the control of the council, will also be on patrol 365 on the main beaches.

“The beaches will be cleaned all year round with respect to the environment such as the Posidonia. It’s about investing in quality and having public spaces quite simply open to the public every day of the year.

“We obviously know people aren’t going to be sunbathing during the winter, but there are plenty of other activities which can be enjoyed on our wonderful beaches, even it it’s just sitting on a terrace reading a book or enjoying a stroll or sport.
“The opportunities and attractions are endless, plus Calvia, as a municipality, has the largest hotel occupancy in the Mediterranean.

Hotels opening longer
“Yes, we would like to see more hotels open longer or all year, but that also depends on flight connections, but we are working on that and we are talking to all those involved in order to make sure Calvia is open for business all-year round,” he said.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but it could and will month by month. We need to bend the curve in demand away from the peak summer months so that it stretches into and through the low season. This will be good for the economy and job creation and security. And all this is going to be promoted at the major international tourism fairs and also at the more specialist events. For example, Calvia has recently been present at one of the world’s most important golf fairs in Portugal and we also want to expand the convention sector.

“Furthermore, Calvia has teamed up with Spain’s eight largest municipalities, the majority of which depend to a great extent on tourism, to defend our own interests together on a united front,” the mayor explained.

“And there is further work and investment in Calvia’s infrastructure to come. The Magalluf sea front will be completed and important improvements will be carried out in Paguera and Santa Ponsa.
“Another of our star projects is to improve and revive the Galatzo Natural Park with tourist tax funding and make it a highlight location. The council bought it but it’s never been properly looked after. We are determined to correct that and the objective is long term and will have all parties involved so the project continues in the future and is not dependent on party politics. It’s an important project for future generations to enjoy.

“The Calvia 2004 foundation will become Calvia 365. Obviously, the council will be the main sponsor but we will be looking for more new sponsors to come on board and get actively involved, promoting Calvia and helping to change it for the better.

“To this we are going to add the promotion of Calvia as a cultural municipality of the Mediterranean, with a network of events with artists covering the different cultural branches, making us an international cultural reference.

“These actions will allow us to extend the season during the winter months, while at the same time we will offer our residents first-class sports facilities and access to first-class cultural events,” Amengual added. “While we want to engage more with the foreign population and visitors, we also have a large social and educational project for Calvia.

“We want to create and generate role models to give talks in schools and institutes in all fields and sectors. People that young people will respect and take notice of. I’m not talking about influencers or TikTokers, I’m talking about real people and they can be volunteers from the local community. We want to encourage leadership, healthy living, healthy eating and an approach to life which will benefit Calvia. We want each sector to help each other; the young have a lot to offer the elderly and visa versa.

"Plus, we will be earmarking an ambitious new housing project which will only be open to Calvia residents, mainly young people, on a rental option to buy basis. We don’t only want Calvia to be the best place to come on holiday, we also want the municipality to be the best place to live,” he stressed.

“Sizeable investments have already been made in Calvia, in particular upgrading the hotels in Magalluf, that is going to continue. And while there will always be the occasional spike during the very peak of the summer season, we don’t want a minority ruining all the hard work by misbehaving. We want everyone to live and holiday together, respect the laws and have a wonderful experience. We are a global brand and that needs to be respected and protected.”