In Pollensa, which is considered to have been the "cradle" of holiday rental accommodation in Majorca, there is some concern that the main economic activity in the municipality is being affected by the holiday rentals legislation. There are signs of fewer people being employed.
The town hall wants the Council of Majorca to reconsider the classification of Pollensa town as "saturated" and to therefore enable all-year rental of all types of property. This submission from the town hall comes from the ruling Junts Avançam and UMP (Unió Mollera Pollencina) as well as from the opposition Tots per Pollença and Partido Popular. Only the Alternativa per Pollença disagrees.
The town hall accepts that Pollensa has a problem with a shortage of residential accommodation for rent. This has led to young people and others with limited resources moving elsewhere. Nevertheless, holiday rentals have become the main economic activity in the municipality and many families depend on them.
In January last year, it was revealed that in Pollensa there were 7,134 hotel places and 8,999 registered holiday rentals places (to say nothing of those which were not registered). Pollensa is not unique in having this type of balance between accommodation places, but it is among the main coastal tourism municipalities. Both Arta and Campos have significantly more rentals places than hotel places, but neither falls into the category of main coastal municipality. The same report last year showed that both Arta and Campos had around 2,700 places in total.
9 comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
I love Spain
alas I feel that they have mucked things up already for this year and I genuinely feel sorry for the people who travel into and live in the resort for employment the resort is unique in that it employs a lot of young people and I speak to many who are happy to use their study breaks from uni to work in the resort long hard hours to pay for their education, as well as the many families who rely on tourism jobs
I love spain/Mallorca, so dont get me wrong. I have been traveling to Mallorca for the last 10 years, counting this year to come, and over these last 10 years, the prizes have only gone up. But keep reading that we are NOT welcome there Can be hard. I could at some point wish, that all tourists Would stay away for a couple of seasons, just to show how hard it Would be for spain without the income from all of us. As a tourist it's hard to see all this tax going up, hotels getting more Stars, then more expensive, fewer Apt To rent, wich is cheaper, but no, spain really show that we are NOT welcome, what a shame, they earn to much or it's the wrong people at the wrong post's.
Mirrored concerns through out all resorts and small businesses...... What gives these backwards politicians the right to ruin people's businesses for a backhander from the hoteliers ? The less spenders = less wages, less jobs, less tax revenue, less need for accomadation and that's just the tip of the ice berge !
Well I had a place in Mallorca for 10 years but finally got fed up with the threat of fines so sold up. I spent a fortune on many trips per year as well as looking after apt eating out etc. This is the first time in 10 years I have gone anywhere else and that’s because I don’t want to stay in a hotel and can’t find a decent apt to rent. I am gutted for me and the many Spanish/English friends I made that depend on tourism. I’m sure the wheel will go around but will it be too late for many? I’m not the only one who won’t be coming this year!!
I live in a multi-family tourist block, and the owner next door used to have some lovely mature couples staying for their holidays there. I got to know a lot of them as the returned every year and I now miss them. Thanks to the new laws I now have a single worker who has a series of different partners and a dog that's left barking when she goes to work every day. A nightmare, bring back the tourists I say .....
"many families depend on them" are these the families who's young can't find affordable housing??
Yet another sign that the recent tourist law changes were a fundamentally flawed cocept. All that was required was inspections on the apartments for quality, sell them licences and clamp down on tax evasion. So simple a remedy if the politicions weren't rotten with corruption. As for any problems arising from unruly tenants, simply call the police as usual, that's what they're there for.
Well well - didn't we all see that one coming. Ban the tourists and the money isn't there to support the local economy. So now the penny is finally dropping buy will probably be far too late now