General view of the port in Cala Ratjada

General view of the port in Cala Ratjada. | Archives

Humphrey CarterPalma19/07/2024 11:39
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A few weekends ago I made the annual trip to Cala Ratjada and, as usual, we made restaurant reservations in advance because, in the past without one, you’d be lucky to get a table. However, despite there being a live reggae band playing in the port, and a very good one, and a correfoc fire run, we were shocked by the amount of empty tables on front line terraces. Apart from being extremely popular with tourists, Cala Ratjada, especially the port, has always been a honey trap for the Spanish and local residents.

What is more, we dined on a sea front terrace which had ten tables and only one other table was eating; all of the others were taken by people drinking and slowly. The couple next to us looked relatively wealthy but they sat on a glass of red wine each for the best part of an hour.

And that is one of the comments I am hearing from friends of mine who own bars and restaurants in various parts of the island. Yes, there are people about, not as many as last year, but if they are spending, they are spending a lot less. One restaurateur told me his takings this year are 50 percent down on last year and has had to lay off most of his staff.

As he said, he does not care about the airport figures, he needs tourists spending money.
He even caught a group of clients trying to slip in their own drinks so they only had to pay for the food. So, is it me or is this an odd season?