Palma24/05/2018 00:00
The British tabloids are full of reports about so-called anti-tourism sentiment on the island. I would just like to tell my redtop and non-redtop colleagues that I haven't witnessed any of this sentiment at all. Reading some of the reports in the British press you get the impression that tourists are almost under siege. It is complete nonsense and really the local authorities should complain. The slight backlash against tourism is not against tourism at all, more a case of anger at how overcrowded the island becomes during the summer months.
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As someone who visits Mallorca on a regular basis, I have no complaints regarding paying the tourists tax. From what I have read and discussed the money is being used to elevate the negative and practical affects of tourism which is a commendable strategy. TG.
Fiona mentions Venice, Florence and Rome. These are places that people generally don’t go back to once they have been crossed off their bucket list, so having to pay a eco tax for a few days is of no great importance. The Balearics, though, is a place that people i.e. families tend to return to year after year so they have a good idea of what they were being charged the previous year and years, so they obviously get annoyed when some things are doubled with no apparent reason at all. This annoyance may translate into a more heartfelt decision to not to return.
This was always the inevitable PR fallout from introducing a tourist tax. If the regional government couldn't see that coming then they have no idea how the real world works. Tourists come here for two weeks with a year's savings and go home having spent the lot in the local economy. Mallorca should be swimming in money. The fact that they plead poverty and are 'forced' to add additional tax to a holiday bill smacks of mismanagement, or central government swiping most of it.
I still say that tourism here is nothing compared to Florence, Venice and Rome. Every expat commenting on this page is also adding to the problem as they have chosen to relocate, live and work on this tiny island.The worlds population is forever increasing. I honestly have no idea why you all complain.
You must walk around with your eyes and ears closed but then,you do work for a Spanish-owned newspaper so you can't go against your owners views. Affordable rent houses should have been built years ago and stopping tourists rentals in the vain hope that cheaper rentals will become available for local is pie-in-the-sky because most of those apartments will go up for sale in the next year or two rather than rent them out to locals at much lower prices on a legal contract with all it's ramifications.