Restaurants in tourist areas are doing fine; in non-tourist areas they are not. | J. Gilabert
Palma18/06/2023 08:36
Alfonso Robledo, president of the CAEB restaurants association, says that bars and restaurants away from the tourist areas of Mallorca are having a hard time. Spending by residents in May and so far this month has fallen by around 20%. Inflation is blamed for this, while the bars and restaurants - also affected by an increase in costs - can only raise their prices so much, if at all.
10 comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Zoltan TeglasMedia ? Don’t you mean the voters ? Or don’t you lefties believe in democracy when the results don’t suit you ?. Why are you ignoring my question ? Were you telling a fib ?
Morgan WilliamsBad news sells newspapers it seems, as the MDM is full of them, even when there is none. You would think there was some sort of financial crisis the way things have been reported in the last year or so, not record numbers of people in work, record low unemployment figures and low inflation. But the media obviously wanted a change in government as that is what they have achieved. A shame really as the last lot did a fairly good job under difficult circumstances. Now watch the new lot undo it just for the sake of it, Trump style
Morgan WilliamsYes inflation has dropped because fuel and energy prices have dropped. Not so long ago Spain’s were extremely high so any decrease in same will make a big difference to the overall figure. You, like many others, seem to confuse people with profits. Ask any restauranter (or bar/cafeteria) if they are making the same amount of money this year than those before Covid and they will say no, definitely not. The prices of their supplies, staff, taxes, social costs, plus other general costs have gone through the roof, whilst the general public/tourist is spending quite a lot less per person. More credit card spending as well which doesn’t help cash flow. As I said before, let’s see who is still in or just in business, with the same amount of staff, at the end of the year before you claim victory.
Zoltan, are you afraid to answer my question or are you talking with heresay ?
Zoltan TeglasApparently we've been doomed for some years now. This piece claims inflation is the cause. Didn't the author discover that inflation in Spain has now dropped to amongst the lowest in Europe? Isn't it 3.something now? Again, the evidence doesn't really support the narrative. And the restaurants are obviously busy, so it's not that either. The MDB recently pointed out in another victory piece, that Brits account for 18% of Spanish tourism (apparently the overwhelming majority, when calculated using special alternative maths). Though oddly, last year it was 23% (also according to the MDB) yet, tourism is still booming. So it seems the decline in British tourism has had no perceptible impact. So that might explain the wishful thinking.
And where, may we ask, is your area of Palma ?
Morgan WilliamsAll the restaurants in my area of Palma are as busy as ever. I think this is equivalent to the 'we're doomed, they're all going to Turkey' story.
Richard PearsonI still haven't a clue what you're talking about. But apparently, neither do you.
Sorry Morgan, this only confirms what I have been saying for quite some time now, to be told by you and others that I have no idea about what I am talking about. Anyway, let’s wait until the end of the season to come to an appropriate conclusion. Meanwhile, in Arenal ……..
Funny, if you visit any of the restaurants around the center of the island, they appear just as busy or busier than usual. It's difficult to get a table, particularly at peak times. Given that observation, if this isn't just another exaggeration, I'd be more inclined to suspect that the unsettled May weather played a bigger role. Some of these places experienced flooding and other damages in April and May and had to shut down for a few days.