Jason MoorePalma27/07/2017 00:00
TW
1

Palma taxi drivers are baffled. Until recently the majority of tourists they would pick up would be heading for Magalluf, Palmanova or Playa de Palma. Now, tourists catch a cab to places which they would never be able to find on a map, including some of the more unfashionable parts of Palma. One cabbie joked that he had recently taken a couple of tourists to Son Gotleu, one of the more notorious neighbourhoods in the city. So why the big change?

The growth in private rental accomodation has meant that tourists are now reaching parts of Palma they would never have reached before. One taxi driver told me that he had initially been rather concerned when two tourists with suitcases got in his vehicle and wanted to go to Genova. He asked them three times, and the answer was the same. Obviously, they were staying in a rental home.

Up until recently the majority of tourists would stay in resort and few would even venture into the heart of the city of Palma, let alone places on the outskirts. And of course there have been horror stores. One Italian couple asked to be taken straight back home when they saw their rental accommodation in the red light district of Palma. They complained that the online brochure had said that it was just five minutes from the beach with great views!

Tourism is changing and this transformation will mean that all of Palma will benefit not just the city centre and the major tourist resorts.