Editorial: Going nowhere

Great news that the Palma Convention Centre is finally taking shape and should open later this year. Initially, I thought that this massive, unfinished building would be like a monument to the recession and the incredibly difficult five years which we have undergone. But there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel and the funding has now been secured to complete the project. Great news....but there is  one important question. The centre has a capacity for at least 2,000 people and the theory is that it will be open all year round and bringing badly needed winter tourists. However, as we all know there are no winter flights so will the convention centre be effectively closed from October  to April? If this is the case then the project is one huge waste of money. In other-words it will only be operating at half its capacity and the dream of  reviving winter tourism through convention will be just that, a dream. I sincerely hope that someone, somewhere has thought of  this rather big problem. Now, the people behind the project are confident that it will be a question of supply and demand,  if there is demand there will be flights. But I am not convinced. Imagine if a major Scottish company was planning to hold a convention in Palma in November. Well, it would be a non.-starter because there are no flights. Until this situation is resolved it is a complete waste of money to embark on such ambitious projects.