At a meeting last week, the president of the Afedeco retailers association, Antoni Gayà, proposed that market stalls should have designs that are in keeping with the Mediterranean - its culture and its traditions. He stressed that typical Mallorcan products should be sold and not "seedy ones" like those peddled by illegal street sellers.
The city should have a "lively and traditional" atmosphere with emphasis on, for example, island food and drink. "What we don't want are imported products made in China."
Gayà explained that work has been done over several years to promote shopping tourism as a way of tackling tourism seasonality, referring to how cities in northern Europe have been transforming their Christmas offer. "They are changing but Palma isn't. We need to make the city attractive for people to wish to come."
The retailers now have a close ally at the town hall. The new director for trade is Antoni Fuster, a former president of Pimeco, the other main retailers association. He says that while the proposals aren't new, they are welcome. It may be too late to have specifications for improving the image of stalls in place for this Christmas, but they certainly will be for 2024 along with the necessary atmosphere and
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When I lived in Mallorca I soon realised Christmas was rubbish there. Half hearted attempts at lights, many restaurants and bars closed and generally not a Christmassy feel to the place. Much rather be in the UK or Northern Europe generally for Christmas.
Need to offer them something new other than the stalls selling tat at exorbitant prices.
They could start by cleaning all the city centre graffiti as on my last visit it was embarrassing. My Majorcan hosts seemed oblivious to the mess and graffiti everywhere until they visited us in southern England and saw what a Christmas Market should be like, clean and graffiti free. Even the upmarket shop shutters were covered in graffiti. Hopefully the new PP group can get to grips with this problem?