Your weekly news catch up in Mallorca

Tragic events

Bit by bit we learned about a tragic incident in Porto Cristo. On Thursday evening last week, a woman had seen someone get out of a car and dump something in a rubbish container. She was suspicious. When the car was driven off, she took a look inside the container. She had the shock of her life. There was a baby girl, born prematurely, covered in towels and blood.

So started a story that led to court appearances in Manacor, three people charged with possible murder, one of them the mother of the baby. Following the discovery in the container, the baby was rushed to Manacor Hospital, where she was certified dead. A preliminary coroner's report suggested that the baby had been alive when she was born, but the court is seeking conclusive proof from analysis of organs at the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Barcelona.

The mother and a brother-in-law were remanded in custody. One other person was released on charges. But what had led the mother to act in this way? She and the others are members of a gypsy family. It was reported that she had a very tense relationship with some of the family. This had formed her motive.

There was a reminder of tragic events that had occurred in Llubi on October 18. A mother and her four-year-old daughter were knocked from their bicycle by a car. Both subsequently died. The driver initially tested positive for drugs, but a second test proved negative, the Guardia Civil having noted at the time that the driver didn't display signs of being under the influence of drugs.

The court in Inca in charge of the case requested an analysis of the mother. She was found to have been positive for cannabis. The driver's lawyer was blunt: "What has become clear is that the driver was not drugged and that the one who did consume narcotic substances was the mother."

In Palma, meanwhile, there was a fire in an apartment in the Son Cotoner district. Two sisters lived in the apartment. One, aged 66, passed away 24 hours after the fire. The second sister, 55, died on Saturday. Police believe that the fire was deliberate. The women had intended to take their own lives. Both exhibited signs of cuts to their bodies.

Fine for having slashed a friend's throat

Still in the courts, a British woman who was 19 in April 2019, was handed a fine of 900 euros for an incident at a club in Magalluf. She had slashed the throat of a friend during an argument. The friend, aged 22 and like her attacker a member of the army from Scotland, was admitted to intensive care. But she didn't press charges or seek compensation.

The Prosecutor's Office pursued the case nonetheless, originally having sought three years in prison for the attacker, named as Sydney Cole. She pleaded guilty, the sentence having been downgraded significantly.

London messages

Magalluf was naturally a focus of attention at the World Travel Market in London, where the Council of Mallorca unveiled its responsible tourism manifesto, something to which tourists are to be invited to make a commitment. As ever with such fairs, there were the positive noises but which fell short of adequate explanation or weren't necessarily what they seemed

One message, from the president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, was that more British tourists are visiting Mallorca outside the peak season. The response to this on Facebook was to discuss the absence of a winter season. But Frontera had specifically referred to July and August. More British tourists, she said were increasingly opting for Mallorca "in the months before and after the summer". Really? Have June and September, for instance, not been very popular in the past?

The president of the Balearics, Marga Prohens, stated that British tourism had performed "exceptionally well" this season - an increase of ten per cent. But what was she comparing? British tourism did indeed rise compared with summer 2022, when tourism from the two foreign main markets, Germany being the other one, hadn't got back to pre-Covid levels. A pre-pandemic comparison was, or should have been, a different matter. For instance, the August number this year was 30,000 lower than in 2019, although July was 20,000 higher. Just about quits then.

Human pressures in summer

We do know that overall there have been more tourists this year, and the publication of the Human Pressure Index for August indicated a record for the Balearics. On August 9, there were 2,106,209 people on the islands, which beat the previous maximum for an August day that was set in 2017 (2,071,124). That record, for the most people on one day for the whole year, had itself been beaten in July this year (2,079,756).

The Balearic emergencies directorate issued its report for beach safety over the summer and observed that many beaches had been at capacity - up to 550,000 people on beaches at times. A consequence of this particular human pressure is one which does perhaps tend to be overlooked by the general public, but not by the emergency services. There is greater risk at the beaches. This said, the number of drownings was down by ten from 34 in 2022 while there was also a fall in the number of serious incidents, which can be caused, for example, by boats.

Coveting high-spending tourist markets

Will there be more tourists from so-called emerging markets? It became clear why Mallorca covets the US market. A report from Spain's tourism agency Turespaña stated that there were 204,000 US tourists in the Balearics up to August this year, an increase of 20% compared with 2022. But just as important was their spend. An analysis showed that a US tourist on average spends 2,528 euros during a stay, more than twice as much as a UK tourist (1,155 euros) and a German tourist (1,135 euros).

Other high-spending markets that are of interest are in Asia and the Middle East. It was recently reported that two Chinese airlines were studying the feasibility of direct flights to Palma. And it is now also the case that discussions have taken place with Saudi and Qatari authorities regarding direct connections with both Mallorca and Ibiza.

It has been said that the United Airlines New York-Palma route has led to increased American property-buying interest in the Balearics. Perhaps so, but latest figures from the College of Registrars point to the US market occupying a very low percentage of the total foreign-buying market.

The College confirmed that a trend this year continued in August - foreign home buying has fallen. This August it was at its lowest level for eight years, there having been decreases of 31% in the first quarter and 28% in the second quarter.

No tram in the 2024 budget

A fall in home-buying activity in general is reflected among provisional items for the Balearics 2024 budget. Revenue from the property transfer tax is calculated to drop from 978 million euros in 2023 to 844 million next year. Despite this and some anticipated downward adjustment to income tax rates, the government anticipates that specific tax revenues will increase.

The spending ceiling for 2024 has been set at around 6.3 billion euros (almost 7.3 when factoring in borrowing to meet debt payments due in 2024), but investment won't include the Palma tram or the Manacor-Arta railway. The reason, it is said, is because there are no guarantees that the Spanish government will provide its contributions for these two projects.

The Sánchez investiture deal

When it comes to the debt, the government can anticipate part of it being "pardoned". The deal between PSOE and the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya for securing the investiture of Pedro Sánchez as prime minister includes pardons for debt that relate to when Mariano Rajoy of the Partido Popular was prime minister. Catalonia is hopeful that 20% of what it owes the state will be wiped off. The percentage for the Balearics is likely to be less. President Prohens has insisted that it should be the same and that there is no "preferential treatment" for Catalonia.

Sufficient support for a Sánchez investiture has still to be gained, although it is highly likely, another aspect of the agreement being an amnesty for Catalan separatists involved with the illegal declaration of independence six years ago. The possibility of this amnesty has led to some unrest. In Palma, PSOE have felt it necessary to close their headquarters for the time being.