Editorial: Action now

IN the space of twelve hours on Thursday I visited Majorca’s two most famous holiday resorts;Magalluf and Arenal. Now, whatever you may think about these two holiday destinations they account for a sizeable share of all the tourists who come to Majorca. Unfortunately, both have the same problem;muggers masquerading as prostitutes, illegal street vendors, the list goes on. And Magalluf and Arenal also share something else;sooner or later their problems will be splashed across the front pages of the German and British media.  Now, as many people have pointed out there are many beautiful and fantastic resorts on the island such as Pollensa for the British and Paguera for the Germans. But I don’t think the local government can turn a blind eye to what is happening in Arenal and Magalluf. I thought that  Palma City Council (which is reponsible for most of Arenal) was getting some teeth when they passed their good citizen plan which aimed to penalise many of the ills of Arenal. But the plan has been watered down and I suspect that it will soon be quietly forgotten. I know that Arenal and Magalluf are “party resorts” but Iwould say that they are getting out of control. The message has to filter through to Majorca, its people and the government. It is not the tourists who are causing the problems, it is the “prostitutes” and the street vendors and much more. Clean-up the resorts because otherwise the consequences could be massive. Majorca is a beautiful and fantastic place but we can’t have two of our principal resorts becoming no-go areas for tourists.