Tourism

Opposition to more tourist accommodation in Portocolom

Many residents, the group claims, are leaving Portocolom because they can no longer pay rents that are demanded or afford to buy. | Ultima Hora

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterFelanitx10/09/2019 14:51

The Salvem Portocolom (Save Portocolom) pressure group has registered some 2,000 submissions with Felanitx town hall that relate to amendment of the municipality's general urban plan. Specifically, this has to do with planning modifications that will allow more tourist accommodation places in the historic centre of Portocolom.

Salvem Portocolom says that it is "very satisfied" with the response and trusts that the town hall will consider the submissions. The group wants the town hall to maintain the current "tourist intensity index". This allows one accommodation place for every sixty square metres in buildings dating from before 1940.

The amendment to the plan had originally been for the old centre in Felanitx itself. The town hall then decided to apply it to Portocolom as well. The sixty square metres provision would be reduced to thirty. Salvem Portocolom maintains that the change would affect a minimum of fifteen buildings and could result in 300 more accommodation places. This would mean "more tourism pressure for a saturated area". The group adds that there would be implications for water supplies, sewage, parking and access to housing.

Many residents, the group claims, are leaving Portocolom because they can no longer pay rents that are demanded or afford to buy. Residents are being replaced by "foreigners with high spending power" and by property agencies which deal in holiday rentals and "speculation".

Salvem Portocolom notes that there are 10,729 legal tourist accommodation places in the whole of Felanitx, which has a population of 17,319. In addition, the group says, there are 2,000 illegal holiday rental places.