The meeting attended by Pilar Carbonell, the tourism director-general.

The meeting attended by Pilar Carbonell, the tourism director-general. | A.E.

Andrew EdeAlcudia25/10/2015 00:00
TW
1

A commission of half-a-dozen business owners in the Bellevue-Magic main tourism centre of Alcudia is to meet with the town's mayor, Toni Mir, next month to discuss issues raised at the latest gathering of these owners. On Friday, Pilar Carbonell, the regional government's director-general for tourism, effectively the number two to tourism minister Biel Barceló, attended the meeting at the All Star Bar on Pedro Mas y Reus to hear complaints that the owners have, which principally focused on the impact of the all-inclusive offer.

Carbonell heard about how short the season has become for most owners - three months at best - and how they have to contend with all-inclusive, with Bellevue the main target of their concerns. She heard about the fact that, come the first of November, the whole of the zone shuts down (with the exception of a couple of bars), and the apparent lack of attention the area receives by comparison with the port or the old town. She was also told about the ways in which the "clandestine" all-inclusive offer works, with the check-in upgrades to AI (described by the president of the Acotur tourist businesses' association, Pepe Tirado, as a means of obtaining revenue "en negro"), with publicity that is distributed inviting holidaymakers to take advantage of day rates for AI, and with the additional practice of the offer of AI for drink alone. On this latter issue, she seemed genuinely surprised.