Seven Days

The Big Exit    
The number of foreigners living in Spain is declining with significant reductions in the country as a whole and in the Balearics among foreign communities. The official figures are a little confusing since they include 2014 when the statistical year cannot have been more than three months old.
Nonetheless the trend is clear and across the board. In the Balearics some 22,000 foreign residents have left in the last twelve months -- including approximately four thousand British and about twice as many Germans -- although proportionately its foreign community remains the largest in Spain.     
The Bulletin  analyses the reasons for this decline focussed on the aftermath of the economic recession and the limited employment opportunities, the increasing cost of living, restrictive financial regulations and, for the British, the weakness of the pound against the euro.
(It would be interesting to know what reasons apply for the German exodus.) Another aspect of the smaller foreign population considered was its effect on voting in local elections in May.
The “foreign vote” accounted for about one-quarter of votes at the last council elections but in areas such as Calvia , Pollensa and Alcudia is likely to have less impact this year. 
In a rather different approach a Bulletin front page headline asked “Are you happy with your life in sun?” over a report of research showing that northern Europeans who had settled in sunnier climes were actually less happy than those who remained in their homeland, perhaps because “migration itself can be disruptive to other dimensions of people’s lives such as social ties and sense of belonging.”

More on Cycling
The large number of tourist cyclists on Majorca’s roads continued to be a matter of concern in the Bulletin which was intensified by the death of a German cyclist and injuries to another from Denmark during the week.
 In a Viewpoint, Humphrey Carter wrote about “ the cycling divide” between, on the one hand, the benefits of the cycling boom for Majorca and, on the other, the duty that cyclists have to behave themselves, obeying the laws and using common sense.
The divide was illustrated by a letter to the editor comparing those who object to the cycling boom to those who “objected to hotels being built on the coast in the 60s and 70s and to the Soller tunnel and motorways in the 80s and 90s.” A further letter to the editor suggested that “All cyclists need to do to stay safe and not incur the wrath of other road users is for them to obey the law, use their common sense and to have consideration for others -- be they motorists or pedestrians...All we want is a level playing field -- all should be law-abiding. There are severe penalties for motorists who break the law but none it seems for cyclists.”

How to Behave in Palma
A new “code of conduct” for tourists and residents was published by the Palma council. It ranged from the need to cover up beach clothes when in town to using the service of prostitutes or drinking alcohol in the streets. “Bogus beggars” will face a fine or even arrest if they are aggressive and “any sort of street or beach selling” is banned while dog owners are warned of penalties if their pet foul the public footpath.
The Palma Council is responsible for the resorts of Arenal and Ca’n Pastilla where tourist behaviour and illegal street selling in recent seasons has worsened and stretched police resources.
The city council has said it will hold talks about its conduct guide with “residents, associations, charities, business groups and tour firms”.
However, in a Viewpoint welcoming the “Good Citizens Plan” in principle Jason Moore asked whether the resources exist to implement it and how holidaymakers are going to be made aware of it.

Pirates Adventure
A wide-ranging interview by Frank Leavers covered many aspects of tourism entertainment and activities in the Balearics, especially the “iconic” Pirates Adventure show and its remarkable fund-raising for the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)) for sick children in London. The interview was with Richie Prior, Commercial Director of Globo Balear Entertainment, and Johanna Lane, Director of Globo Events. The annual Pirates Adventure Charity Premiere which held its tenth show last year has raised more than seven hundred thousand euros for the hospital but despite that success the 2014 premiere on 10 May will have several new features to respond to the changes which Richie Prior and Johanna Lane see in their potential audiences: “We want to streamline the whole evening and to make it much more child and family friendly with a lot more audience participation and interaction between the cast and audience.” (Tickets for the Charity Premiere on 10 May are available from 29 to 69 euros, children 19.90 to 39 euros.)

Easter Traditions
Throughout the week the Bulletin has featured photographs of the many Easter events that take place on Majorca every year. The Good Friday procession in Pollensa down the 365 steps from the Church of Calvari is well-known and is thought to have taken place since 1650 but photographs of others in Sa Pobla and Alcudia were less familiar. They were part of an article by Andrew Ede on the day of “pancaritat” (“bread charity”) which takes place in several Majorcan towns and has it origins in the Knights Templar but over the centuries has become more of “a picnic with religious overtones” and has variations in different places including, for instance, a climb to Bellver Castle.
The article ended: “ These are just a small selection of Majorca’s pancaritats. They are very much a Majorcan tradition and Majorca only....one of the very oldest traditions on the island.”

In Brief
Palma’s Son San Juan airport handled 98.000 passengers on Easter Saturday, the busiest day of the year to date and “a taste of what is to come” if forecasts for the summer prove to be accurate.

The M&S Bank in the UK named Majorca as the most affordable and convenient Easter holiday destination, quoting a week’s holiday at 253 pounds per person, compared to Cyprus at 417 pounds and Tenerife at 429 pounds.