At Wednesday's meeting to initiate what is hoped will be a pact for tourism sustainability, President Prohens said that measures cannot be introduced "in a rush", while recognising that "the vast majority of us share that we are late". "It will take time and residents will perhaps have to endure more saturation, but an historic lack of infrastructure cannot be resolved in two days."
One of those who attended the meeting, the president of the Pimem federation of small business associations, Jordi Mora, was of the view that there will not be a short-term impact. "But we'll begin to see it in two to three years."
A government hope is that intended measures and the announcement of a massive survey of residents' opinions regarding tourism will help to prevent protests and anti-tourism sentiment. As it is, there will be a protest in Palma on Saturday under the slogan of 'Mallorca not for Sale'.
But apart from launching a pilot scheme to obtain firm data for people at beaches and beauty spots, the measures themselves are unknown. The government has placed the technical director of the Fundació Impulsa, Antoni Riera, in charge of coordinating efforts. These will include various working parties that will be set up more or less immediately. Some results from these working parties are anticipated in the autumn.
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''but an historic lack of infrastructure cannot be resolved in two days." How is the cancellation of tram and train projects going to help with this?
Don't hold your breath. The Spanish have an inbuilt time clock that is out of kilter with all of Northern Europe and most of the south. The joke used to be what's the question? The answer is mañana. But even mañana would be acceptable if it were true. I've been waiting over 3 weeks for my lawyer to send over a cost for a one-off exercise. Probably no more than 10 minutes is needed for him to calculate his fee and call me. The managing agents of my apartment block have taken 18 months, and counting, to organise simple fixtures to the building's common parts. It's very frustrating for someone who knows how quickly things can get done. The Spanish approach wouldn't last 5 minutes in London or New York where getting things done is a way of life. And yes I know there's always a compromise as Mallorca isn't the UK or US but this super-tanker of a tourism overload problem to get resolved needs people with the ability to move quickly, decisively, work hard and with purpose. Will it happen? Not a chance.