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By Humphrey Carter

“IMAGE” has been the buzz word in the Bulletin this week and tens of thousands of Britons, not to mention those flying in from other parts of the world for a well earned holiday, would have had a shock in the early hours of yesterday morning at Balearic airports.

All of the British arriving in the Balearics would have breathed a sigh of relief as they boarded their planes knowing that they were leaving a riot-hit England behind for the sun.

Some of them may have been caught up in the riots and spent the past week surrounded by police.

Well, what would they have thought on arrival in the Balearics to find scores of police guarding their coaches and making sure they boarded them safely? “Not another strike” was the reaction from the Association of British Travel Agents when they called the Bulletin to confirm rumours of the coach strike on Thursday. “We're all confused here because we thought there was going to be a baggage handling strike this week, what's going on?” the Abta press officer added.

The Balearic tourist industry has been warning about the damage these strikes are doing to the Balearics' image and one would think that, considering the current situation of the local employment market, coach drivers would be content to have a job instead of ruining people's holidays. A tourist was once considered a friend.