No place for German binge drinking

Palma.—Last month, German media heavily criticised the type of holidays promoted in the Playa de Palma, condemning the constant “binge drinking” by tourists in the resort, particularly in “Balneario 6,” but now they seem to have changed their opinion, after learning that the Palma Councillor for Tourism, Alvaro Gijon, is planning to turn the resort into an luxury destination for rich tourists. “Is this the end of our favourite island?” and “will there be a place for the typical German party goers?” were some of the questions posed by the German media, which now seems sad about the plans to improve the area. Gijon, replied, saying the papers misinterpreted his message. “German tourism is and it will always be a priority for us,” adding that he never mentioned luxury tourism, but spoke only about “improving its quality”, altough not so long ago Gijon was also quoted saying “booze tourism is out of date. When people get drunk they should do so in discos, not on the beach in public... There are other places in the world for them.” Majorca has implemented a ban on drinking alcohol in public and plans to replace its budget hotels with upmarket luxury resorts in a bid to discourage binge-drinking European holidaymakers and replace them with high spending, wealthy tourists from countries like Dubai, for example.