12/07/2014 00:00
TW
0

Dear Sir,
I have always admired and respected Mr Trelford’s opinions in his excellent articles.
I also admit that, for a journalist, writing about the present situation in the UK is, but shouldn’t be, full of minefields.
Where I must disagree with him in this instance is when he writes, quote “if Britain fudges on upcoming decisions”.
Mr Trelford, Britain has been “fudging” for more than 30 years, and, sadly, in my opinion, it is now too late to try to attempt to rectify past mistakes.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Tow

Magalluf - be careful, there are free sweets!
Dear Sir,
Majorca is very close to my heart. My grandparents bought a flat in Santa Ponsa in the 1960’s and I have enjoyed regular trips to the Calvia area since I was born in 1975.
I have just returned from two weeks at the wonderful Hotel Cala Fornells. I had a terrific time as usual but it is concerning to hear about what is happening in Magalluf. Locals describe it as being like Sodom and Gomorrah. More concerning is the reaction of the local authorities.
Who knows the true cause of the problems? Brits behaving badly is the obvious mantra. There are probably many contributing factors. Some of them are controllable, others are not.
It seems clear that a major factor is the availability of deals explicitly offering people as much as they can drink for a cheap and fixed price, particularly in organised bar crawls. Cut this out and the situation would be much more manageable. For those who “behave badly” this is not a problem at all. On the contrary, this is a major part of the reason they come. If there is a will to start fixing it, eradicating these crazy deals is the way.
I read with dismay that the Balearic Government is planning a campaign in the British tabloids designed to tell people to act responsibly and behave themselves when they come to Magalluf. In my humble opinion, this will have no chance of fixing the problem and a high chance of making it worse by fanning the flames. It will effectively advertise what many see as the key selling points of a holiday in Magalluf. It will be like the church standing outside a cinema “warning” people not to see a certain film. What better advertising?
I can understand why the organisers of bar crawls would pay for this kind of advertising but not the local government.
Local authorities ought to be honest about the causes of the problems and realistic about the things they can and cannot control. They should focus on the things which will fix the problems and which are under their control.
It feels like a make or break moment.
I hope the local powers decide to fix the problem and not to make it worse.
Thanks to the Majorca Daily Bulletin for shining a light on all this.
Best Regards,
Oli Rayner