Cruising ahead

The local business community says that cruise ship passengers are needed because otherwise they will be unable to pay the rent. There is a solution which would mean that cruise ships would not have to be turned away and the island would still benefit from the revenue.

Puerto Alcudia has a first class cruise ship terminal which was built at considerable expensive but is hardly used. Cruise ships which were due to dock in Palma could be given the option of going to Alcudia instead. It would ease overcrowding in Palma and give the Alcudia business community a lift.

Now, I am not saying that scores of vessels would take up the Port Authority on their offer but I am sure that some would, especially if Alcudia rolled out the red carpet for them. This could be a solution to the cruise ship crisis which has effectively split Majorca.

The Balearic government and many people agree that Palma can’t cope with the sheer number of visitors. Others claim that it is good for business and overcrowding is a small sacrifice to make in the interests of economic growth and wellbeing. I am quite amazed that the Alcudia option hasn’t been mentioned before. Alcudia wants cruise ships but Palma doesn’t...so the local authorities to have a solution.