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Booze ban concerns

Humphrey CarterPalma19/02/2020 09:33

It's made headline news across the UK, and even other parts of the world, and today, the Balearics tourism minister Iago Negueruela, is going to have to go into the nitty gritty of his new law to stamp out antisocial behaviour in black spots areas of Magalluf, the Playa de Palma and San Antonio in Ibiza with industry and government chiefs in London.

Some say he may have left the trip too late and should have struck while the iron was hot and the law announced last month, and they may be right. It has been the best part of a month since the decree was unveiled and its reception in the United Kingdom has been mixed.

While few disagree with the ultimate goal, the minister is going to get a grilling over how it is being carried out.

Travel leaders in the UK are calling on the Balearic Government to rethink its new tough stance on all-inclusive hotels, describing the measures as “misdirected” and harmful to British couples and families.

And, while ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agencies, says it welcomes many of the proposals to clampdown on drunken tourism and balconing, tourism chiefs are concerned about the element of limiting drinks in all-inclusive hotels and are “encouraging the Balearic authorities to reconsider this”. This could be the minister’s first big test but he is determined to stand firm.