Palma shopping

Last Sunday I attempted to go shopping in Palma. I say attempted because, despite the new flexible opening hours for stores around Jaime III, only a handful were open. El Corte Ingles was open but little else and officially the summer season is still underway. So I put myself in the position of a holidaymaker on a getaway weekend to Majorca. Obviously, day one (Saturday) would be spent exploring the city or going to the beach and the all important day two is spent on doing some shopping in Palma before you go home. So day one no problem, but day two is a big problem. Everyone now agrees that Palma is a perfect weekend break destination during the winter months. There are some flights (granted mostly from London), there are some hotels which are open but unfortunately the shops close on a Sunday. Imagine all the revenue which is being lost with this short-sighted policy? Cruise ships are still calling in Palma on a Sunday, the tour firms are still operating their summer programmes, but the Palma shopkeepers are still maintaining their outdated trading hours. As I have said before this is not the way forward if this island is ever to claw back some winter tourism. I do not have a problem with shopkeepers who say that it is too costly for them to open on a Sunday. But I do have a problem with those who start moaning about a lack of trade during the winter months. Palma is a great city, the best place to live in the world, it would be even better if the shops opened on a Sunday.