Your seven days news round-up in Mallorca

The Son Banya shanty town in Palma regularly features in the news. Dubbed 'Mallorca's supermarket', this settlement from the early 1970s was due to have been demolished and its residents rehoused. The failure of this elimination is one reason why we hear so much about Son Banya. The antics of the drugs' clans, when not experiencing a huge police raid, are another.

Last year, a fortification consisting of burned-out cars, scrap metal and general debris was built by the clans. They also installed a wire fence plus a barricade of wooden panels as well as some LED lighting. This lighting was designed to facilitate the movement of 'customers' to and from drugs' sales points. The town hall moved in and dismantled the fortification. It now faces another challenge presented by the clans. A road of some 90 metres has been built and includes a roundabout with a boat on it. This leads to the sales area along an avenue of LED lights to where a large neon sign announcing 'Las Vegas' has appeared.

All of this is of course illegal. The police say the clans contacted a number of companies to see if they would be interested in laying the road (it's made of concrete rather than tarmac). They all refused, knowing full well there wasn't planning permission. But one agreed to carry out the work, and the money was no object. It never is in Son Banya. There's always plenty of cash.

When this was all brought to the attention of the town hall by the police, the mayor, Jaime Martínez, said that if it had been up to him, he would have sent the bulldozers in immediately. A problem for the town hall, though, is that it has to go through inspection and sanctioning procedures. These can take time, while identifying who should be fined is another problem.

Meanwhile, the clans just act with apparent impunity, careful not to store too many drugs in Son Banya itself because of the likelihood of raids. As to the demolitions, town hall's contract with the company that is carrying these out has been extended. Eviction court rulings create obstacles to the demolitions, and even when there are demolitions, some new dwellings get built.

The story of Son Banya is never-ending.

Palma's latest shanty settlement

Son Banya was a response to homelessness in the 1960s. The nature of Palma's homelessness has changed greatly over the decades. There is far more of it and it affects way more profiles than the Romani community, which was the case in the sixties. The latest example of a settlement for the homeless is right by the Via Cintura close to the Germans Escalas sports centre. This has grown over the months. There are, for example, vegetable allotments that the dwellers look after. There are families, and the presence of children just emphasises the potential risk of being next to the busiest road in Mallorca.

Stories about the homeless inevitably have to be considered in the context of the general housing situation. In this regard, the latest figures from the College of Notaries offer no comfort. In 2024 there was a 15.2% increase in the Balearics. The average price of a property went up by 46,560 euros. For Spain as a whole there was a 6.9% rise. The increase in the Balearics was unmatched anywhere else, so further widening the price gap between the Balearics and other regions and of course further increasing the difficulties of accessing affordable housing.

Tackling overtourism

The housing situation, as we know, feeds into the whole debate about overtourism and overcrowding. The message from the Balearic Government ahead of this week's ITB fair in Berlin and indeed during it was one of the importance of containment measures. The government's talk was of "more ambitious" proposals as a consequence of the report from the sustainability pact's working parties that was presented last week. Limitations on holiday rentals appeared to be among these proposals. Another concerned low-cost flights; limits to these and a possible environmental tax applied to tourist flights.

The working parties will have been fully aware of the fact that the Balearic Government has no authority when it comes to air transport and that it is debatable whether it could levy such a tax. Air transport is a state responsibility. This will have been known, so short of twisting Madrid's arm into giving the Balearics authority, it was hard to see how this could be a goer. And then there are also EU regulations. The president of the Aviba association of travel agents, Pedro Fiol, was meanwhile asking where all the people on an increasing number of low-cost flights were staying. "Illegal lets" was his suggestion.

The government faces a big problem in getting approval for measures. There will be some for which there is agreement, but there are others that pose a difficulty. The main opposition party, PSOE, has called for a doubling of the tourist tax and prohibition of holiday lets in apartments. The government could, for instance, well agree with the latter, but its plans for the tourist tax don't envisage a doubling.

Cyclists crowding the roads

Critics of the Mallorca 312 cycling event, which takes place at the end of April each year, argue that it intensifies overcrowding in the spring. Attracting 8,000 cyclists, the event clearly does affect the roads in the lead-up and on the day, a dozen groups having issued a joint statement calling for this year's 312 not to be given authorisation. These groups, which include the environmentalists GOB, pointed to disruption on the day that can mean road restrictions for up to seven hours. They maintain it has a negative environmental impact and only serves to "enrich certain businesspeople through the abusive use of common assets, such as the roads". The organisers are said to be looking at making adjustments to the route in order to try and minimise the inconvenience.

A beach to avoid

Caló des Moro in Santanyi was the location for one of last year's protests. The Mallorca Platja Tour staged a demonstration on the beach in June. A research project by a member of the demographic and tourism studies group at the University of the Balearic Islands has found that Caló des Moro is one of four beaches or coves that Mallorca residents are most likely to avoid in summer. The other three are Es Trenc, Sa Calobra and Magalluf. Traffic congestion and overcrowding at the first two were the reasons - the research was after all into the effect of overcrowding on mobility - but there was another reason to explain Magalluf. Basically this was because it is, well, Magalluf. Despite the transformation of the resort and a more up-market positioning, it still suffers from the old reputation.

Playa de Muro consistently features in lists of best beaches. A number of hotels are right on the beach, one of them being the five-star Grupotel Parc Natural & Spa, which takes its name from the Albufera Nature Park; the entrance to the park is opposite the hotel. At the TUI Global Hotel Awards 2025, which were made on the eve of the Berlin fair, this hotel won the best in Spain, Portugal and Western Africa, as chosen by TUI holidaymakers.

Altogether less pleasant was the news that the body of a man had been found on Cala Ratjada's Son Moll beach on Tuesday morning. Decomposition indicated he had been dead for several days. The Guardia Civil are attempting to identify him. No identification documentation was found on the body, which had a life jacket, suggesting it was highly likely that the man had been a migrant who had fallen into the sea from a small boat.

Fall in UK January tourism

The figures for January's tourism were released and showed an increase of almost six per cent to a total of 276,644 tourists, of whom 147,620 were foreign. The percentage increase was less than half what it was in 2024, perhaps moderating the hopes for tackling seasonality. But as January is the lowest month of the year, it may not be possible to read too much into the figures. This said, a UK decrease of 22.5% to 10,895 might just be a concern if it is at all an indication for later months of the year. In January 2024, UK tourism had risen almost 30%.

By the start of the main season, it will be hoped that employers and unions have arrived at a new collective bargaining agreement for the hospitality industry. Affecting some 180,000 workers in the hotel, restaurant and nightlife sectors, this is the single most important agreement in the Balearics. The initial omens don't look good. At the first meeting, the two sides were said to be far apart. The employers accept the need for a decent pay increase, but 19% over three years - as demanded by the UGT, the biggest union - is well above what they appear to be prepared to accept. While the negotiations are due to run until May 22, the unions are already warning of potential protests from the first of May.