Lifted wholesale from the Mallorca Daily Bulletin...

https://majorcadailybulletin.com/

Off there in a couple of weeks.

My daughter should have been there for a week recently,but was worried about the press coverage so went to Centre Parcs instead. Their loss!!

I really can't see a huge amount of people being put off by the small amount of violence. Higher prices though may put some families off. I think The Sun and the Daily Mail are just making a mountain out of a molehill. I have just asked a friend who is a travel agent if bookings for next year are down and has she had many cancellations for this year she said not that she has noticed, so the Germans are still visiting the island in their normal numbers.
There have been some protests against tourists in Barcelona but it's still pretty much packed with visitors.

I think that a lot of visitors, especially families, shop for their holidays mainly on price and whilst higher prices in Mallorca might put them off, much will probably depend on what happens to rpices elsewhere. I suspect one of the things that contributes to the problem will also ensure it continues, namely the big AI resort hotels aimed at families. I think that if people can still get a good deal at a family friendly AI hotel then they'll still go, reasoning that as they will hardly leave the hotel grounds anyway what difference will it make to their holiday? And meanwhile, the locals continue to be bitter about the effect the AI hotels are having on the small locally owned businesses such as bars and cafés etc.

And, the other big question is - just where else will they go instead? A number of the other destinations that might have attracted them in the past are also being affected by some off-putting factors as a result of either rising prices because of the falling value of the £ against the € or the threat of potential violence etc.

I think come next year, everyone will have forgotten the demonstrations. As has been already said, where else will they go when so many places are now seen as potentially dangerous?
I suppose the taxes are being raised as they don't want so many young folks there.
AIs- will always be popular with those with young families. But they do have a huge impact on local businesses. Air Bnb will also have an impact on hotels - especially smaller ones. How does Majorca move forward and take the locals onside?

We were in Mallorca our usual first two weeks in Sept and saw no evidence whatsoever of anti-tourism. Already booked for May and Sept next year. Only downside is Mallorca is becoming expensive, what with tourist tax, accommodation and restaurant costs. Still it remains among the best locations in the Med for a safe and enjoyable holiday. In my humble opinion the best.

There's a lot to be taken into account when choosing a holiday. With the Balearics & mainland Spain travel time comes into play. It's a short flight, quick getaway destination.

Regarding board basis, it appears AI gets a lot of flack regarding local businesses. Years ago most people went self catering. To many people, hotels offering B&B were expensive, half board was very expensive. I remember thinking it was posh if you stayed in a hotel 😁

Time moved on & hotels became more affordable, maybe the hotels started to cater for the majority of working class folk & made their prices more affordable.

This too would have impacted on local businesses. All the cafes that made a living from serving breakfasts, supermarkets that sold the bacon & eggs, all would have felt the losses.

When tourists could afford half board packages, restaurants & bars would have noticed a drop in income. Supermarkets too.

Then came AI. All the food, plus now the drinks as well, which would have hit the bars & cafes the most.

Not everyone likes AI. I certainly don't, unless it's in the one & only accommodation in the middle of nowhere. I don't want to live for 2 weeks with hundreds of kids or gangs of teenagers, as, imo that's who AI attract.

There's a couple of things about HB I'm not 100% keen on. Strict meal times, wandering about with my plate from counter to counter, dodging other people with plates of food & for hubby, having a trousers dress code for evening meal.

B&B I don't mind too much, at least you are up, fed & out & don't have to dash back to get showered & changed for evening meal. 😁

Self catering we like. We usually get a private apartment & just do our own thing. Eat out, eat in. Plus when your hungry at whatever time you can help yourself to something. But, maybe we are the ones upsetting some locals, but not the businesses. We are the cause of their rents rising & them being priced out of accommodation in their view.

So what's the answer? All go AI so there's lots of cheaper accommodation but bars, restaurants & cafes etc close?

There are in every resort apartment complexes which are designed for, and used exclusively by, tourists. These are not suitable for permanent occupation by locals so by staying there you are not depriving anyone of reasonable priced accommodation. We stay in one of these and eat out/eat in. Support and money for local labour servicing these apartments and for local markets and restaurants.

Why aren't they suitable, just curious? Is it because the complex isn't residential? Because a couple we have stayed in are on complexes that don't appear to have permanent residents, but a certain amount have been bought for letting, & others are either via tour operators, or direct bookings.

We usually plump for private rental as you receive more homely comforts. Comfortable sofas, quality beds & linens etc plus little extras. 👍

Why aren't they suitable? Because they are built and equipped as short term holiday lets. They would need significant changes and upgrades to make them suitable for long term rent. They are clean, well maintained and well managed, the management are friendly and attentive to the guests needs, and since you spend most of your time outdoors then the lack of "comfortable sofas, quality beds & linens etc plus little extras" while nice to have are not a major negative. What happened to going to the beach, cycling, walking, swimming, eating out, meeting local friends, idling time away drinking and watching the world go by. That's why my wife and I go. Little extras LOL! Believe me, the owners of these complexes and many other businesses are positively raging at the headbangers who are running the Mallorcan government now. Please don't turn this forum into an action group for the poor, distraught Mallorcans overwelmed by tourism, which BTW has taken them from a third world 1960's dump (yes I was there, I know) to a modern, wealthy first world comfortable living for most of the inhabitants.

Why aren't they suitable? Because they are built and equipped as short term holiday lets. They would need significant changes and upgrades to make them suitable for long term rent. They are clean, well maintained and well managed, the management are friendly and attentive to the guests needs, and since you spend most of your time outdoors then the lack of "comfortable sofas, quality beds & linens etc plus little extras" while nice to have are not a major negative.

I was referring to holiday complexes in general, not being suitable for residential living, not particularly the one you stay in. Sorry for any confusion. We've stayed in both. Mixed, with residential apartments, & private let's & also holiday only complexes. We prefer private lets.

Whathappened to going to the beach, cycling, walking, swimming, eating out, meeting local friends, idling time away drinking and watching the world go by. That's why my wife and I go.

We are out most of the day after breakfast & don't return until early evening. We walk around the resort, drive around to various off the beaten track beaches, small villages etc , sitting by the sea with a coffee & lunch. Sometimes we like to have nights in as we've tired ourselves out 😁 It's each to their own on holiday. One thing we rarely do is sit by the pool all day as we get bored 😉

Little extras LOL!

We love our little extra comforts 😁

Believe me, the owners of these complexes and many other businesses are positively raging at the headbangers who are running the Mallorcan government now. Please don't turn this forum into an action group for the poor, distraught Mallorcans overwelmed by tourism, which BTW has taken them from a third world 1960's dump (yes I was there, I know) to a modern, wealthy first world comfortable living for most of the inhabitants.

Please don't turn this forum into an action group for the poor, distraught Mallorcans overwelmed by tourism, which BTW has taken them from a third world 1960's dump (yes I was there, I know) to a modern, wealthy first world comfortable living for most of the inhabitants.

I agree to a certain extent, any wealth they have is down to tourism. Gone are the donkeys to be replaced with top notch cars, but when you have economies fashioned on a pyramid structure, the wealth very rarely filters down to the base level. So whilst those at the top are filthy rich, the wealth gap is enormous for those stuck on the bottom rung. It's not exclusively a Mallorcan problem, we see it in other countries, as well as our own.

The reason why I mention this is because the workers (140,000) in the hospitality industry in Mallorca were awarded an historic pay rise this week of 17%, spread over four years (5%, 5%, 3.5%, 3.5%)

That's a pay rise way above Spain's inflation, and to negotiate and be awarded this amount must prove that these workers who are the backbone of tourism (chamber maids, cooks and general dogs bodies) they have been working for 'peanuts'.

It wasn't just the poor pay, it was also recognition of the industrial injuries (bad backs) which affects many of the chamber maids in later life due to making low beds everyday, some as many as 48 beds each day.
Ibiza and Menorca are expected to agree to the same pay structure for these workers.

Sanji x

From a recent OECD report on the Spanish economy...

" It is important to note that while Spain has been growing for the past two years and unemployment is also decreasing, the recipe chosen by the Spanish government, flexibility of the labour market in the form of temporary jobs, has exacerbated income inequality: the OECD points out that temporary jobs are low-productivity and thus earn low wages; the precariousness of the job prevents improvements in productivity, thus improvement in wages. The poor remain poor, while the rich gets richer and the gap widens."

So the root problem is the Spanish government's chosen recipe to address the austerity imposed on them by the EU (to meet the requirements of the Euro currency). Driving out tourists and their contribution to the economy will only make the position of the workers in the tourist industry worse. With regard to the pay rise, it is the case that increased tourists means increased demand for services and with a finite resource to provide services wages should quite naturally go up. So again, reducing tourism will simply deflate the market and make things worse for the workers in that industry.