Sirs,
I read the Daily Bulletin daily on line and am watching with interest the fall in tourism on the island.
Having been visiting the island for more years to recall and my mother still does and also we now have family living there, I find Majorca a fabulous place to go.
But I find the Local Government seems hell bent to destroy what it has.
I read with interest in today's paper about how the tourist tax will make tourism drop by at least 5 per cent, surely this would be a bad idea?
The numbers are dropping already.
Don't they realise they have to court the tourist and give them good value for money and not stand on their laurels as they seem to be doing?
This summer has been the first in a long time I have not been on the island. Quite simply I had left it too late to book and anything last minute seemed quite expensive, and in desperation for sunshine we went to Cyprus.
This turned out to be cheap, and very reminiscent of a Majorca many moons ago in the area where we were (Paphos). The Rui hotel chain are busy building their second hotel in that area alone. They are cottoning onto tourism and it's not just the places like Ayia Napa for the clubbers but for families and there is something for everyone.
There was a large portion of German/Dutch/French tourists there and also tourists from their neighbouring countries, but most of all they seem to be getting a lot of people that would normally go to places like Majorca and now find they can get a week on Cyprus for half what they would pay for Majorca, I assume this is why there was such a large selection of Germans there as well.
Majorca is a fabulous place but it has to see that there is competition out there and they can't just sit back and do nothing about the drop.
There seem more negative aspects about holidaying on Majorca this year than positive, WAKE UP & do something positive!
IRA wants concession after concession without giving anything in return
Sir,
I was sorry you did not publish my letter of Sunday August 12 in answer to Ray Fleming's article on the 11th about the latest situation in Northern Ireland. Today, after reading his Viewpoint, I could have said I told you so!
The fact that the IRA withdrew its proposal on decommissioning such a short time after it was issued, when a time for starting it was demanded by David Trimble shows only too clearly that it was more or less a repetition of similar occasions over the last few years.
There was obviously no serious intention on the part of the IRA to commence decommissioning otherwise a statement would have been issued with a firm programme, including the all-important time factor.
If this had been done the IRA would have made a gigantic scoop. It would have shown a genuine desire to put an end to military conflict. But no, the IRA wants concession after concession without giving anything in return as has been the case all the way through.
The fact that three suspected members of the IRA, involved in training guerillas, have been arrested in Colombia might also have had an influence on the IRA's action.
Ray Fleming asks who is to blame. He says, firstly, David Trimble! Nonsense! Trimble did not spurn the proposal, he quite rightly said that without a date being given for commencement it meant nothing and he was absolutely correct as the IRA's response proved.
The responsibility for the whole impasse is squarely on the shoulders of the IRA.