YOUR VIEWS

Over the years in your newspaper you have reported on the state of the tourist Industry which is of paramount importance to the economy of Majorca .
There is one Segment that receives very little attention from you which is also important to the economy of the island The Nautical Tourists (yachtmen and boaters) and they are currently getting a raw deal from the Authorities.

We as a group of people have been targeted on many occasions making our chosen hobby more difficult and expensive. We have a boat based in Puerto Pollensa and each year we have different rules to contend with for example:
At the Military area beyond MALPAS the cordon has been moved out from the nice little cala. There seems to be no good reason for this move as there are very few military personnel around on the beaches. And we are forced to anchor in deep water and suffer the swells and breezes. We cannot anchor in Formentor, we have to use a mooring buoy and for this we have to pay, for a 10 metre boat 29 euros (be it for 1 hour or 24) to a company supporting drug rehabilitation, although the cost of employing two people and the cost of running a rib must mean there is precious little money left for this work. Then there is PUNTO AVENZADA a nice mooring used by locals, visitors and those on a long passage. There are mooring buoys and last year we were all told that this was for the conservation of the Poseidon grass so don't anchor unless it is in sand. Now this year a charge has been levied by a private company. It is claimed that the European Union has stopped all monies for conservation projects and that it has to be raised locally, yet again the economics of employing a person and running a rib do not make sense and NAUTICAL TOURISTS are being hit again. There is a simple way to raise money for conservation, have a reasonable annual licence fee for each boat say 50 euros. This system exists in other EU Countries.

Question: Do you want to sustain nautical tourism?
Consider the annual amount of money that the sailors and boaters bring to the local and national economy in mooring fees, winter storage, servicing, repairs, purchases, from local supermarkets, restaurant meals and drinks, taxis , VAT, etc. Far more than the all-inclusive holiday makers If you want to keep this very lucrative trade then the local authorities should take stock of the situation and make the area more “friendly” for boaters otherwise they will fuel up and find an alternative country that will welcome them and their Nautical euros .

Yours sincerely. Mike Wilkinson