Dear Sir,
My husband and I have just returned from another holiday in Majorca, we have over the last 20 years enjoyed many holidays on this beautiful island. This time, however, we were saddened to see the vast amount of building of new roads, villas and complexes in once lovely rural countryside areas. It seems to us this so called green tax the tourist is made to pay isn't going towards cleaning up the resorts and beaches but for more new roads etc. Several of the resorts and beaches we visited were extremely scruffy and dirty even the small bay at Calas Viñas, where we were staying was very dirty and the sea, well, after snorkelling and seeing what was in there and on the sea bed, let us just say I won't be swimming in the Med again.
Perhaps the people who are more than happy to take our money for sun-beds and shades etc might find time to also help clean away the piles of dried sea-weed and rubbish washed because afterall if people see rubbish already on the beach then they are less likely to take there's away too. Majorca promotes itself as an ideal destination for all, even the so-called rich and famous, but for us this time it certainly wasn't. In the past we have visited most parts of the island and always loved it, but this once very beautiful place is in danger of becoming much much less so. We will be thinking twice before visiting again.
Striking out
Dear Sir,
Regarding the letter from Mr McIntosh making reference to my earlier letter on the pending general strike and its effect on flights and tourists. On the same day as his letter was published on Sunday June 6 there was a headline in the Bulletin which read Tour operators consider delaying flights and in yesterday's I read that TUI (the German holiday giant) was planning to alter its flights to avoid the conflictive day. Better late than never and hopefully all tour operators will consider their customers first as in the best rule of business.
The comments of Mr McIntosh, not least his reference to naïvety and stupid comments show a total lack of appreciation of how events out of the control of, for instance, tour operators, ie strikes, are something they would not be liable for, but effort on their part to alleviate the discomfort of their clients would be appreciated rather than condemned.
The example I gave, that if an airport was fogbound, or others like a lightning action by French air controllers, airport closed for security/bomb warning, etc, planes do not fly and provision is made for the next day. So, idle aircraft is not unheard of, it's just that with prior knowledge, plans can be made, so thank goodness some tour operators are taking heed; the ones that do not can stand up and be counted on June 21. Unfortunately, strikes are all too common, in most areas of many countries, the intelligent response is to anticipate and prepare - Mr McIntosh would do well to think on this in future, before putting pen to paper.
Yours sincerely
A nightmare
Dear Sir,
I felt very sad to have read the pathetic letter from Dr. Gary Bonsall (letters, Saturday). I was an immigrant or should I say expatriate in Britain and Switzerland. I was a cook and to get inside these countries with my valied work contract I had to pass through a humiliating sanitary check-up (did you Dr. Bonsall?). Every time I changed job I duly informed the police with my new address which was recorded in my residence book. I am asking myself Dr. Bonsall before you came to Spain did you do your homework about such a relocation. By the way when you need your wheels counted, call me, I can do it much cheaper!