Tourism complaints up by 7.1 percent in 2006

PALMA
THE Balearic Ministry of Tourism last year received 2'311 complaints (7.1 percent more than in 2005), of which 1'092 were complaints about companies which have their headquarters on Majorca failing to fulfil their contracts, and 110 for shortcomings in hotels advertising their services as “all inclusive”.

The fact that nearly half of the complaints were about failure to fulfil the contract, according to the Ministry, is because the Balearic Government feels obliged to register and analyse, one by one, all the complaints from other autonomous regions where these companies operate, among them Iberojet, Solplan, Viva Tours, Soltour and Travelplan.

The Inspection department also intervened directly in the case of hotels offering “all inclusive” deals. Complaints about these hotels have risen by 57 percent from 2005 to 2006, going from 26 to 41, in spite of a reduction in the number of hotels offering this service.

The investigation of more than 200 websites and all the tour operators brochures last year to detect illegal accommodation resulted in 184 establishments being investigated for irregularity on Majorca, of which 116 were illegal.

The Inspection department, part of the Balearic Ministry of Tourism, has spent years doing a good job of identifying illegal accommodation and controlling the modernisation of complementary tourist accommodation (to date they have visited 9'761 establishments on Majorca) and hotels.

The Tourism Inspection department was set up to ensure that all establishments offering tourist services are being well run. They have the power to investigate all complaints put forward by the consumers. Thanks to these inspections many illegal establishments have been closed down and the legal accommodation has been modernised.

The Balearic Ministry for Tourism now has the power to control all commercialisation via the internet, both packages and individual bookings, to protect the consumer.