Where tourists are concerned, they are of course most welcome to go and buy. But the problem has been that they don't. One stallholder at the Mercat del Olivar, Fatima, has put up a notice asking that no photos are taken. She has had enough of tourists who walk through the market, filling the aisles, taking pictures and hindering the normal functioning of the market. The manager, Juan Carlos Moll, says that guides with their groups of tourists "have become a real headache".
But more than this, there was the discernible change that started some eight or so years ago. The markets were moving away from being traditional places to do the week's shopping to becoming gastronomic areas for sampling the latest dishes.
The trend was influenced by the fact that fruit and vegetable, fish and meat stalls were closing, mainly because there weren't new generations to carry on. In their place came food stalls with a wide variety of dishes from all corners of the world. The change was so rapid that both markets decided to put the brakes on. Now, it is impossible for similar new businesses to enter; only existing ones are allowed to expand.
Of the 102 businesses in the Mercat del Olivar, there are now five bars, a restaurant and ten places that offer tastings as well as five takeaway stalls. Moll admits that Olivar had a "clearly oversized offer for the likes of fish stalls, so we decided to open ourselves up to the possibility of catering establishments, until there came a time when this trend threatened to 'eat us', which was when we put the brakes on".
Aina Moyà, president of the Santa Catalina market, says that although consumption habits are changing and people are cooking less, there is still "life for the market". She is pleased that, like the Olivar market, action was taken.
"We now have 49 open stalls - there's just the one with the shutters down - and six catering stalls. But what now worries us is the Palma general urban plan. Pedestrianisation could mean death for this market. We have lifelong Palma clients and foreign residents of the neighbourhood, but it's the groups of residents from Calvia who save the weeks for us. If they can no longer park, they won't come."
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The markets in Palma are simply delightful and worth driving from Pto Andratx to find the freshest produce. The burden of iPhone shopping tourists requires some sensible and proportionate action. For people like me who are keen cooks, but have faltering Spanish, we don’t want to be labelled or worse, shunned as a tourist when we are there to buy and support the market. The pedestrianisation undrrway in Palma is a massive threat to not just business owners but the very DNA of Mallorca.
I was standing at a fish counter with 12 other people once who were all gawping and pointing, turns out only 2 of us were buying, the rest were touristas. This is a problem as hotel guests don't buy meat or fish as they can't cook them. Simple answer, for non residents charge €10 entry redeemable in its entirety if they spend at least that amount of money in the market.