PALMA TO BE UK´S TOP COMMUTER DESTINATION

By Joan Collins PALMA will become during the next decade one of the preferred destinations for British employees to live without losing contact with their original place of work in Great Britain, as they can travel there frequently because of the improved air services due to the expansion of “low cost” airlines. This is the main conclusion of the report “Holiday 2016”, a study done by the British tour operator Thomson which aims to predict the tourist and social scene in Great Britain in 10 years time. Sociologists, demographers and architects took part in the study, which predicts “radical changes” in the way people will manage their leisure time over the next decade. In accordance with the classification given by the tour operator, only Barcelona exceeds Palma as the town most suitable for the British who want to work from outside of Britain. Other potential places are Marrakesh (Morocco), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Faro (Portugal), Alicante, Verona (Italy), Tallin (Estonia), Pula (Croatia) and Valencia in that order. These areas have “cultural interest and various attractions” in addition to economic dynamism, which are attractive qualities for the million and a half British who, according to the report, will work from outside the United Kingdom in 2020. Some of the factors which explain this tendency are the great spending power which the British have, the overcrowding of residential areas, as well as the changes which British society is experiencing. The Thomson experts consider that the way in which the British will live and work within 10 years will be different because of the rise in the average age at which women become mothers, the population getting older and the reduction in family life. These are all factors which will contribute to the fact that “life outside of work will be less predictable” and that the line between working life and leisure time “will be blurred”. Working from a foreign country will have various consequences. The airports will review their check in systems so that the whole process will be automatic and save time for regular passengers. The report predicts the installation of biometric scanners which will use the passenger's fingerprint to confirm their identity. As a consequence of this, it will be possible to go through the whole process “without talking to anyone or showing any documents”. According to Thomson's predictions, the exodus of British workers in search of foreign homes will also cause a property “boom” in the chosen destinations, in addition to forcing British companies to review their strategy. “Businesses will have to put up buildings of studio flats in British towns to house their employees during their visits to Great Britain”, says the report.