It has seemed as if negative images of a different kind - road congestion - have been the principal motivation for the Balearic government now wishing to create a pact for sustainability. There has unquestionably been a change of tone on behalf of the Partido Popular, brought about, to no small extent, by the congestion in Soller, a municipality it governs and where residents have protested and have issued an ultimatum to the town hall to sort out the parking.
It was the earliness of this congestion that attracted so much attention; early in the season, that is. In Soller, as with other parts of Mallorca subject to congestion, there is nothing new about overcrowding, just that it appears to be increasingly intense.
The government doesn't wish to rely on appearance or perception. Quite the contrary, which is why it is placing such emphasis on objective data. No measures will be announced until there are data, key to which are carrying capacities. Roads, beaches, beauty spots - they are to be analysed, starting with Es Trenc, which the Menys Turisme, Més Vida association has threatened to "collapse" (whatever this may entail) by way of protest.
Caló des Moro in Santanyi is another potential target for a collapse protest, the popularity of this cove and beach owing a great deal to Instagrammers and influencers of recent years; the same can be said for the Foradada mirador in Deya.
Formentor, Sa Calobra, Cala Varques in Manacor, Palma when the weather's iffy. All of these have had their negative images of congestion. There are others that generate less publicity, e.g. Es Comú/Capellans in Playa de Muro. And in certain cases there have been measures, such as traffic restrictions from June to September in Formentor and parking arrangements for excursions coaches in Sa Calobra.
Es Comú is an example of a beach about which there was talk of measures that never came to pass. A park and ride scheme with a shuttle bus was mentioned. It was all very well, but where would the park have been? For Es Trenc and for Cala Llombards in Santanyi, there were once such schemes. Only the Formentor shuttle bus has proved to be in any way successful.
There were no studies of carrying capacity prior to these bus schemes being introduced. Perhaps there should have been, and several participants at Wednesday's gathering for the pact for sustainability emphasised the need for data. Othman Ktiri of OK Mobility and president of Baleval car-hire association was one: "Congratulations on the initiative. It is a brave proposal and will be welcomed by residents. The process has to be calm, not rushed, and with data. The rental vehicle sector regulates itself according to the law of supply and demand."
Margalida Ramis of the environmentalists GOB took a different view: "We are surprised that they want to start from scratch with analysis and diagnosis, as this already exists."
While specific studies of capacity are welcome and make sense, there is a far broader capacity issue - that of the island as a whole. There have been calls for such a study to assess how many people and vehicles Mallorca can support at any given time. It would be a massive task, and it would take a great deal of time, and time is not on Mallorca's side.
Where is this all going? Maybe José Luis Zoreda, vice president of the Exceltur alliance of leading tourism and travel companies, summed it up: "You must have relevant data and rigorous information. We cannot grow any more in volume. It's a case of less is more, with empathy between residents and tourists. Islands that are more attractive to residents are more attractive to tourists."
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Charles Dalrymple-ChumleyI think that rebranding is well underway. The pain you refer to is precisely what Mallorca is going through now. It's complex and nuanced. Just shutting off the hosepipe isn't going to stop the flood. For those who knew Mallorca 10 or 20 years ago, it would be difficult to claim that things haven't changed. The quality of offerings and infrastructure today are light years beyond that which was offered 10 or 20 years ago. Even Magaluf is undergoing a fundamental change (to the dismay of the old guard). But that may also be a prime factor in Mallorca's increasing popularity today. It's certainly been rebranded away from the 3*-ish cheapness that it used to be (though some haven't yet gotten the message). Yet that elevation also has the effect of making it even more attractive. There's no sense in denying we're at capacity now, but as you point out, there's no simple solution. Some places are overcrowded, others are still quite comfortable. But even the areas that aren't over-indulged are seeing more and more tourism - and that's actually a good thing, because it helps balance things out (and brings that money to areas that weren't previously benefitting). This is something that needs to be considered in any strategy. The facts can tell us a lot. And yes, some seasoned branding advice may help as well. Still, there's more work to be done, and now more than ever, it's important to operate on facts, not emotion. The potential here is quite promising. It would be irresponsible to engage in over-reaction based on exaggeration and fabricated fury and outrage. We all should know rather well by now how that turns out.
Since the 1960s when commercial air travel became widely available to the masses, Mallorca has developed and sustained a reputation for cheapo sun, sea and sangria. Any consumer brand that incrementally dumbs down its offering is long term on a hiding to nothing (think Ratners, Woolworths, Wilco and others). Mallorca needs what us marketers call brand re-positioning. It's not a quick fix and it comes with pain and challenges but long term it saves a brand from oblivion. Mallorca needs to call in the experts and get the tourism offering re-valued, re-thought and re-positioned.
There goes another couple of years while they get their act together to make the study. Nothing ever changes.
This sounds much more pragmatic and sensible than the rants of the extremists. Get qualified data. Think through effective plans based on that, and avoid blunt instrument solutions that appear easy at first, but will be woefully regretted later. And don't give sensationalist media any fodder for imaginary fury and outrage (ok, they will anyway, but try to keep them inside the realm of sanity). We'll see...