Your weekly news catch up in Mallorca

The latest census of empty homes in the Balearics has set more alarm bells ringing about the housing crisis on the islands. The figures released by the National Statistics Institute showed that almost one-sixth of all the 652,123 dwellings were empty.

This census, which relates to 2021, does come with a caveat because of the pandemic. The data obtained were from electricity bills for a twelve-month period. Even so, an increase of almost 50% over ten years from 71,255 to 105,434 was an eye-catching leap, especially as the number of new homes built over the same period rose by only eleven per cent and the population of the Balearics grew by another 100,000.

... And a housing law making matters worse

The Balearic government intends passing an emergency housing decree, one aspect of which will be tax incentives to rent out properties. The government also plans an appeal against the national housing law that was passed some three months ago. Citing potential unconstitutionality, the law would appear to be having a negative impact that many warned it would have. New rules regarding rental contracts will guarantee up to six years' tenancy or seven in the case of large, multiple property owners (e.g. banks).

The president of the API estate agencies association in the Balearics, José Miguel Artieda, is highlighting a reduction in the supply of properties to rent, which is said to be attributable to the new law. He estimates a reduction of up to ten per cent in the Balearics and argues that while some owners may decide to sell their properties, others will prefer to keep them empty. Consequently, the stock of empty homes will rise, thus deepening the housing crisis.

On population, meanwhile, the latest figures from July this year show that the number of children to the age of four has fallen almost 20% since 2013. The age range up to the age of 14 has dropped from 15.67% of the total population to 14.02%. The percentage of the over-65s has increased from 15.23% to 17.12%. An ageing population and a falling birth rate bring their own concerns, the latter being partly attributed to an immigration profile which is now predominantly over the age of 40.

Tourist saturation and alleged humour

An increasing resident population - now almost 950,000 in Mallorca - clearly contributes to a feeling of overcrowding in summer because of the number of holidaymakers. And this 'saturation' has in turn been a contributory factor in anti-tourism campaigns. The latest of these emerged in Manacor last weekend. Tinged with "humour", according to the group behind posters at beaches, messages in English included 'beware of dangerous jellyfish'. Below these messages, the posters stated in Catalan that beaches were open and that there were no risks.

Saturation may have been a reason for Mallorcans' choice of destination for the August holiday (Tuesday was the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a national holiday). The Aviba association of travel agencies reported that northern Europe, e.g. the UK and Sweden, were particularly popular as also were the coastal regions of northern Spain, such as the Basque Country. Might an escape from the heat also have been a factor? Possibly, although Aviba noted that Mediterranean cruises, Morocco and Tunisia were in demand as well.

The heat is on in the mountains

When the Aemet met agency issues its long-range predictions for the summer, it unfailingly states that unsettled and stormy conditions can be expected from the second fortnight in August. If Assumption marks an absolute peak in terms of holidaymaking, it also implies the start to a change in the weather. As yet, however, there is no real sign of a change. Over recent days the temperatures have been high enough to provoke regular heat alerts. Heading into next week the pattern looks to be much the same with maximums of 38 or 39C; hot but not extreme.

Having confirmed that this July in the Balearics was the hottest on record, Aemet has drawn attention to specific anomalies in average temperatures. The most striking were in the Tramuntana Mountains. At the weather station in Lluc, the average temperature was almost four degrees higher than normal; +3.8 degrees to be precise. In Bunyola at the Serra Alfabia station the anomaly was +3.2.

The hot summer and the awful experiences elsewhere have placed Mallorca and the Balearics on high alert for fires. Pyromania is therefore the last thing that we want. Unfortunately, it occurs. On Monday, the Guardia Civil arrested a 61-year-old former firefighter with the environment ministry's Ibanat agency. He was caught in the act by a camera on a drone, having been under suspicion for a spate of fires in the municipality of Selva. None of these fires, as luck would have it, have caused significant damage.

Airport passenger numbers continue to increase

Returning to overcrowding, the airports authority published figures which indicated that July passenger numbers at Palma Son Sant Joan Airport were up 5.9% compared with last year. Of the 4,378,210 passengers (arriving and departing), 3,490,792 were international, an increase of 6.9%. They would obviously not all have been tourists, but the figures were enough to suggest that July's tourism was up and therefore continued the trend since the start of the year, one which suggests a record year in terms of tourist numbers. The official figures for July's tourism won't be known for a couple of weeks yet.

The airport numbers appeared to be at variance with a report that allowed the Turkey and stuffing headline to be wheeled out once more. Mallorca was being given a stuffing. Or was it? The report concerned one online travel agency - On the Beach - who said that its bookings to Turkey and Egypt this summer are double what they were before the pandemic. The fall in the value of the respective currencies against the pound was cited as the reason.

But On the Beach didn't say anything about Mallorca specifically, and as a spokesperson stated that the Canaries are its top destination in Spain this summer, one can ask where it focuses its attention. The Canaries are typically the third most popular summer holiday region in Spain after the Balearics and Catalonia.

Irresponsible on land, in the air and at sea

While overcrowding is something which can bring about islander negative perceptions of tourism, so also do examples of anti-social or irresponsible behaviour. Much has been said about excesses in Playa de Palma this summer, and the latest report placed much of the blame on the illegal sale of alcohol and on a lack of police. "There is street drinking at all hours of the day and night. All of us who live around here know that alcohol is sold illegally. There aren't enough police," said one resident.

In Magalluf, however, and on C. Punta Ballena specifically, flouting the tourism of excesses law regulations on the sale of alcohol has proved very costly for a tourist supermarket. It has been closed and a fine of 100,000 euros has been imposed for selling alcohol out of hours (8am to 9.30pm). The alcohol was in a basement and so was out of sight from anyone looking in, but police discovered that selling was taking place at a time when it should have been and found the basement supplies.

The irresponsibility can come in different forms, an unusual one having been the arrival of four helicopters at a finca in Colonia Sant Jordi that is a holiday rental property. These helicopters, it turned out, had come from Ibiza with fifteen Americans who were "drinking champagne" when the police arrived. They were in Mallorca to eye up properties, but they and the helicopters left within 24 hours after all the fuss that was generated.

An investigation has been launched by AESA, Spain's Air Safety and Security Agency. Owners' permission for the helicopters to land wasn't sufficient, local residents having pointed out that this was a built-up area with overhead power lines.

At sea, an issue can be anchoring boats on posidonia sea grass meadows, which is against the law. The environment ministry's Posidonia Surveillance Service will refer cases that it comes across. So far this summer, environment agents have processed 38 such cases in Mallorca, the most having been off the coast of Calvia. There again, this coast attracts the most boats, the service having this summer handed a third of all its information documents about posidonia to boat users off Calvia.