Your weekly news catch up in Mallorca

There was a diversion from the chaos with parking in the arrivals area of the airport on Tuesday when a moving walkway motor overheated and a small fire broke out. There was a good deal of smoke and there was naturally enough a certain amount of alarm. The Palma Fire Brigade had to ventilate the area; fortunately, no one was affected by the smoke.

This incident apart, the airport continues to attract attention because of how drivers are avoiding the use of the express car park or the main car park when picking up people. The barriers in the outside lane have merely meant that drivers are stopping on the inside lane or the hard shoulder instead. It has become a frankly farcical situation, the airports authority Aena and Palma town hall engaged in a war of words over the absence of any control.

The National Police have made it abundantly clear that security personnel can do nothing more than ask drivers to move. They have no other powers, the only authority which does being the Palma police force. The town hall has been restating its position. It will not send police to control traffic and possibly fine drivers who are not using facilities which generate revenue for Aena; the town hall receives no payment for police service at the airport. The police will go to the airport if there is an emergency, as also will the Palma Fire Brigade, as was demonstrated on Tuesday. Oh, and firefighters were also called to an unusual incident at Son Fusteret in Palma on Saturday. The last day but one of the Fira del Ram Easter funfair, and people were trapped and left suspended in midair when a ride - the Rocket - broke down.

A record tourism year or not?

On a more positive note, Spain's tourism agency Turespaña released figures on Tuesday which indicated that international passenger arrivals in Palma were up by almost 24% in March compared with the same month of 2022. There was still some Covid effect in March last year, but the increase was nevertheless a further confirmation of what is expected to be a very good tourism season and quite possibly a record season.

The Dingus Data Hotel analytics platform has projected a 24 to 28% increase in foreign bookings for Mallorca this summer. This is by comparison with 2019, a year which registered the second highest number of foreign tourists behind 2018, the absolute record year. This level of increase would suggest a huge rise in tourist numbers, but it has to be balanced against cancellations. Even so, a rise is most definitely on the cards.

Meanwhile, there was a news item which suggested that the Costa del Sol had stolen a march over Mallorca in March in terms of British tourists and passenger numbers at Malaga Airport, which was the third busiest airport in Spain. The British passenger numbers were 330,000 (Malaga) and 129,000 (Palma). But then, Malaga is usually the third busiest in low-season months. This is because much of the Costa del Sol is open for business whereas Mallorca isn't. Where the British are concerned, there is also the fact that the resident population on the Costa del Sol is some seven times the size of the population in Mallorca. This in itself is a reason for there being more flights to and from UK airports.

The American interest

The foreign tourism ranks are being swelled by visitors from North America. The numbers may not be huge, but this is a market, as the Council of Mallorca said earlier this week, which is of particular interest because of its high spending power and its "commitment to the sustainability of holiday destinations".

In Palma, representatives of seventy-five North American tour operators and travel agencies gathered for the Spain Tourism Summit 2023. This event, organised by Turespaña, was not just about promoting Mallorca, but there were clear advantages for the island. It was held a month ahead of the United Airlines direct route from New York to Palma restarting, this service having most certainly contributed to a growing American interest in Mallorca.

Tax, vehicles and number plates

Regardless of where they come from and their spending power, tourists have to pay the same rate of tourist tax. The elections coming up and the main opposition party, the Partido Popular, have said that they won't scrap the tax if they win; they did away with the old ecotax when they won the 2003 election. The PP also want to try and end the requirement for residents of the islands having to pay the tax, something that Brussels insists on for non-discrimination reasons.

Another pledge from the PP is to look at ways of limiting the numbers of vehicles that come onto the islands, a policy that would have hire cars most in mind. As such, this isn't different to what the current government would like to do.

Cars from overseas should be re-registered with Spanish plates after six months if foreign residents live in Spain permanently. Nationality makes no difference, but police are said to be cracking down on British-plated vehicles now that they have more access to the DVLA database; this was part of the agreement for the UK driving licence deal.

How hot will it be this summer?

For tourists and for everyone else, constant attention is paid to the weather. Mallorca has been enjoying a fine April of settled weather and pleasant temperatures, but the temperatures will rise. The question is by how much. The Eltiempo website has predicted that Spain could face an unusually hot summer, with temperatures in the Balearics above normal.

The met agency Aemet has also suggested that the Balearics will be hotter than normal - perhaps by 0.5C or 1C on average - but it doesn't believe that the summer will be as hot as last year. In 2022, the average was up by two degrees, which was particularly anomalous, and this was despite the influence of La Niña, the phenomenon which means that the Pacific is cooler than usual. The likelihood is that El Niño will occur this summer - the Pacific will be warmer than usual. Even so, Aemet reckons 2023 will not be as hot as last year.

Well, we'll find out soon enough.

The cost of accommodation

Much attention has been given to the difficulties that seasonal workers in the hospitality industry have in finding somewhere to rent and at an affordable price. Because of these difficulties, workers are being dissuaded from coming to Mallorca and the Balearics. It may also be the case that they are being deterred because there is less tipping. Admittedly not an issue confined to the Balearics, there is nonetheless a debate going on as to how to get round the fact that customers aren't tipping as much because 80% of payments are by card or phone. One approach is to suggest an amount for a tip with the bill.

But hospitality isn't alone in having the problem with accommodation. It also applies to the public sector and not just to temporary postings for the summer. The Guardia Civil's association has called for a pay rise for officers who come to the islands, saying that a transfer to the Balearics should not represent "a punishment". The association has highlighted the case of an officer in Ibiza who lives in a van and showers at a gym because he can't find somewhere affordable to live. In Mallorca, there are "exorbitant prices" for rented accommodation in the summer.

Rent caps and 'bad bank' properties

Addressing affordable housing in general, the Spanish government has finally agreed the text for the new housing bill, one aspect of which concerns rent caps. Regional governments and town halls are to be given powers to declare so-called 'stressed areas', ones where, for example, the cost to rent is more than 30% of average incomes. There has been much comment about the effectiveness of this, an argument being that it will result in less accommodation to rent.

The government has also announced that properties which came under the ownership of the state's 'bad bank' Sareb (formed when some banks were nationalised during the financial crisis) will be made available to regional governments for social housing. Initially, it appeared as if these properties would just be handed over, but it was clarified that governments will have to pay for them. The Balearic government has said that it is willing to do this, but the number of properties isn't great. The first reports referred to 447, but this became 120, which equate to properties that are habitable. The majority are not, as they are now in a poor condition. Nevertheless, the government has said that it will also pay for rehabilitation.