PALMA
FORMER Balearic Minister for Tourism, Eduardo Gamero, is going to replace Pedro Iriondo as President of the Majorcan Tourist board at the beginning of next year.
The atmosphere inside the tourist board is understood to have been rather tense over the past few days ever since Iriondo accused low cost airlines of failing to bring quality tourists to the islands and the South American and African immigrants employed by the hotels of not being able to truly sell Majorca.
Speaking at a forum organised by the university's tourism department in Palma, he said: In times past, the waiters and all the people working in the tourism sector were from Majorca. How can South Americans and Africans sell Majorca?
He added that the image of Playa de Palma is one of card-tricksters, Romanians, prostitutes and masseurs.
His comments, which have been picked up by the travel media in the UK, caused outrage in the Balearics with the hotel federation quick to defend the hard work carried out by its immigrant employees while the President of the Balearics, Francesc Antich, made it clear that he would not let the matter drop until Iriondo stood down.
At a meeting of the tourist board directors on Monday, they stood by the President but it appears that, over the past few days, with the tourist industry clearly unhappy with Iriondo, many members of the board have changed their positions.
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