The incidents have all occurred at establishments in Magalluf, and each of the five has been fined 36,000 euros. They were all expelled from their respective hotels, the sanctions having been in accordance with the tourism of excesses law, provisions of which are also enshrined in Calvia municipal ordinance.
Juan Feliu, the town hall's director-general with responsibility for offences and sanctions, stresses that these penalties have a "powerful deterrent effect". "Balconing is not tolerated in our municipality. It is an irresponsible practice that can cause serious, irreversible injuries and even death."
Feliu emphasises the town hall's zero tolerance of anti-social behaviour and excesses and an intensification of police efforts to control balconing since the new administration took over in June. The most recent case, he explains, was at six in the morning last Monday.
There have been no balconing fatalities in Calvia this year, the new mayor, Juan Antonio Amengual, having maintained the close contacts of his predecessor with the British Consulate and the tourism sector in communicating the risks and the sanctions.
Attempts to eradicate balconing are in line with promoting a better image of Magalluf, there being some satisfaction in the resort that hotel occupancy in high summer has been running at an average of 90%.
In its report, the town hall hasn't stated if these fines have been paid, are being paid or how it intends pursuing them.
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SIMPLE AS THIS….. upon leaving Mallorca, stamp the passport “ NO FUTURE VISITS INTO SPAIN AND ASSOCIATED ISLANDS PERMITTED “…. End of…
Mister TMaybe they have to ask family and relatives to help out
Well....in short..THEY NEW WHAT THEY WHERE DOING...FULL STOP....and they will have KNOW about these OFFENCES they where comitting...IF and i SAY A BIG FAT IF...they pay the FINES Great....THEN DEPORT THEM....at least they will be going home ALIVE...AND NOT IN A COFFIN.....!!!!
36000 euros fine for each one !!! I think a holidaymaker who visits Magalluf cannot afford to pay this huge amount.
Getting the fines paid will be key. In most cases the offenders won't have that amount of cash in their accounts so varying means of extraction need to be devised by the authorities. Signs in the rooms will also be helpful, along the lines of - "The management of this hotel have provided a door with your room which you can use to enter and depart thereby avoiding the necessity of jumping the balcony to reach other rooms or the ground floor. Please avail yourself of this door facility as you will find it a much safer and more convenient means of leaving your room than crashing to the concrete floor below and splitting your head open. Thank you."
Yes fine them, yes deport them, all of which involves administrative time that could possibly be better employed on other municipal matters. But at that stage when potential offences have committed we already have the problem which financially impacts on all of us who live here (we pay taxes to employ public representatives and the judiciary)... To address the problem(s) in the longer term put some responsibility on the Tour Operators who bring us these troublemakers (the nicest possible way to describe them) - The tour operators (and we) know who they are!!.... Penalise them severely if one of their customers causes any trouble. If it starts to hurt them financially or reputationally they will find ways of re-defining their terms and conditions to make sure that they offer their products to more responsible customers, and if one event occurs they can at least refuse their business at future times.... Will it happen probably not because there is still an inbuilt ethos of quantity over quality by many educated in the tourism sector!!
And ensure that the fine is paid before they leave the island even if it means friends and families maxing out their credit cards for these idiots.
As well as the Fines. Deport them. Show the rest of these idiots, that they will be dealt with in this severe manner.