Tourism 2024: The year of living responsibly

A question one might ask concerns the legislative impulse to deal with behaviours and activities which qualify as excessive or irresponsible - the semantics boil down to much the same thing. Where did this impulse come from? It was from the previous government which, to an extent, extended what had come from town halls and their municipal bylaws - Calvia and Palma, with Calvia having been the clearer case. These were town halls of the left, just like the last government.

The question is - had there not been a tourism of excesses law, would the current government be looking to introduce something similar? Hypothetical, I realise, but it is churlish to consistently characterise law from previous administrations as having been a failure when it has in fact had some success. José Marcial Rodríguez, the Council of Mallorca's tourism councillor, has himself admitted that Calvia's application of the law (allied to existing bylaws) worked pretty well under the PSOE mayor, Alfonso Rodríguez.

Calvia, let's not forget, introduced ordinance under Alfonso Rodríguez because there had been a failure on behalf of the Partido Popular. The PP, both in government and at the town hall, failed to address excesses until they reached a point where they were badly bitten by them. In 2014, we had the tourism minister, now mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, greatly regretting the infamous mamading video, while the then mayor of Calvia, Manuel Onieva, appeared to have been paralysed by excesses that were being given widespread publicity by the late Javier Pierotti.

While opposition parties may have been pushing for firmer action, let's not also overlook the key role played by Meliá. Their heavy investment in Magalluf was being undermined and they pretty much said so. We'll never know what went on behind closed doors, but it doesn't take much imagination to believe that the Escarrers were banging heads. And ultimately, once the left had legislated for excesses and for tourism circularity/sustainability, we had a Meliá CEO, Gabriel Escarrer the son, observing that he was very "comfortable" with the prime movers of these laws - Francina Armengol and Iago Negueruela.

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If ever there were concerns about a "negative image", then this had been well and truly served up in Magalluf. To criticise law because "excesses" implied stigma fails to appreciate the scale of excess that required action. Excesses were to the point, because that was exactly what they were and still are, as - yes - there has been failure; Playa de Palma offers all the evidence needed.

Whatever you wish to call it, you can't engineer a mentality change if there are individuals unprepared for and unwilling to take responsibility. Fining the life out of them, which appears to be a key element of the PP's responsibility drive, may work, but there will still be a hardcore who, regardless of the image conveyed by the title of legislation, contribute to a negative image, just as there will continue to be dubious business practices that do likewise.

The Bauzá responsible tourism plan is much broader than certain aspects of the existing excesses law. In this regard, and despite Negueruela having condemned his successor for not having "a project", he deserves some applause. Yes, the responsible tourism pledge may be largely drawn from a standard responsible tourism manual that has existed for several years. Yes, some of the text of this pledge leaves something to be desired, as it can come across a touch heavy-handed. But in general terms, this should be a goal to which everyone aspires.

The bigger picture is what matters, not some of the detail. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the bigger picture, and one hopes that there is no backtracking on detail such as drinks' offers. I very much doubt there will be, but concerns about, for example, holidaymakers departing Magalluf for other resorts where there are happy hours are as antediluvian as they are narrow. If this is an issue, then just ban happy hours and similar everywhere and have done with it.

The year of living responsibly should be the year when, and once and for all, there is a realisation that the future for the whole of Mallorca does not lie with an outdated booze-based touristic culture. If this offends some holidaymakers, some businesses, then so be it.

The year of living responsibly is going to mean more than just adhering to a set of principles, responsibility has to be demonstrated to the people of Mallorca crying out for social sustainability - every bit as much a buzz term - to be pursued. Jobs yes, but overcrowding, places to live as well. The question therefore becomes whether this government has the project or indeed the will to succeed.