Humphrey CarterPalma19/08/2018 00:00
TW

Majorca may not have any gold deposits to live off, but the tourism industry has made billions off the island’s golden beaches. So why has the so-called ‘Jewel of the Mediterranean’ not been properly looked after in recent years?

I know there is a concerted effort to take the emphasis off sun and beach holidays, but let’s be realistic, that is what has been the island’s attraction to the vast majority of visitors and always will be. So the authorities need to be paying proper care and attention to looking after the beaches and marine environment.

The Balearics maintained its quota of Blue Flags for quality beaches this year, but a few beaches continue to fail to make the grade and when it all goes a bit Pete Tong, all hell breaks loose, and rightly so. No one, be they residents or visitors, wants to suddenly be confronted with red flags closing beaches because of sewage spills onto the beach and into the sea every time a few drops of rain fall.

This has constantly happened on the beaches which have been closed around Palma this week and nothing has been done to resolve the problem. Palma wants to be crowned a Smart City. One of the criteria is the environment and environmental protection. If the jury took a look at the municipality’s beaches right now, I don’t think Palma would make the grade.

I don’t understand why there has been such an oversight of this serious problem.