Tourism

Hoteliers criticise lack of police in Playa de Palma

Isabel Vidal and José Antonio Fernández de Alarcón, who were speaking on Friday.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma17/07/2020 15:00

José Antonio Fernández de Alarcón, vice-president of the Playa de Palma Hoteliers Association, said on Friday that large gatherings of people in an area of 100 metres in the resort area could have been avoided if the authorities had foreseen what was likely to happen and had ensured that there was a greater police presence.

He stressed that the hoteliers support government decisions that have health as their priority. However, tourist "excesses" could have been avoided by applying available and sufficient legal means. In this regard, he identified the decree on tourism of excesses, the provision for the temporary closure of specific establishments which flout the decree, and Palma town hall's public order bylaw and ZEIT (zones of special touristic interest).

Fernández de Alarcón also highlighted the lack of police, both local and National. "If we want to sell Majorca as a safe destination, the public authorities have an obligation to guarantee this; this summer more than ever."

The president of the association, Isabel Vidal, echoed the point about police numbers. "The images that have been seen on television and in newspapers are due to a lack of security and police in the area. There aren't the police to prevent crowds and control those who infringe the law."

In her view, the closure of certain streets does not offer a "definitive solution" to the problem. Certain tourists, she suggested, "will go to the beach to drink or to the promenade; wherever there aren't police to monitor them". "The closure will do nothing. Crowds and problems with drunk and uncontrolled visitors will continue."