No regulation of all inclusive sector

Joan Collins THE Balearic MP for the Partido Popular (PP), Antoni Mari, yesterday repeated that the Balearic Government will not regulate “all-inclusive” deals on the islands. This is because they consider that the Government should not interfere “directly” in private business, in spite of the objections of those who provide complementary services (bars, restaurants etc.). Mari made this statement during the debating of a motion tabled by the Socialist/Green party alliance urging the Government to increase the level of quality required from the “all-inclusive” sector and to restrict it to areas where there are not many complementary services. During the debate on the motion, which was rejected, Mari maintained that the “all-inclusive” deals were demanded by the source markets to combat the fall in bookings. On the other hand, he confirmed that the Government had acted “where it could”, demanding the “greatest possible quality” from the hotels which offer this service and starting awareness campaigns about the rights of the tourist. In spite of this, the opposition groups highlighted the “injurious” effects of this sector on complementary businesses on the islands and said they considered it “very dangerous” to leave the regulation of this activity to the mercy of supply and demand. The Balearic MP for the Socialist/Green Party alliance, Miquel Rossello, accused the Government of not having “courage” and of “lack of political leadership” for not confronting this problem. Finally, the Socialist Balearic MP, Celesti Alomar, said that the figures for reservations obtained in the various tourist fairs confirmed a rise in bookings for all-inclusive, although he did recognise that this increase was less than in previous years.