The President of the Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar, has broken ranks with her other local government partners, claiming that if the Balearics wants more up-market tourists then more golf courses and yacht clubs need to be built. Now what Munar is saying makes sense. However, I would add a few footnotes, more five star hotels, more quality restaurants, more up-market nightclubs, more training for staff. The list goes on. Munar is also being slightly naive because plans by Sir Richard Branson to build a luxury five star hotel and resort in Banyalbufar were quashed by her council's planning department. Also, every holiday resort around the world is desperately trying to attract up-market tourism and Majorca will have to offer a bit more than a few more golf courses and marinas. I don't really understand why a change in direction for tourism policy is needed because after all the island has not done too badly with the industry as it is. If I was a hard-working holidaymaker from Britain or Germany who comes here every year to spend his or her hard-earned cash I wouldn't be particularly impressed by the local government's desire to snub the masses and attract the golf set. This tourism policy in its present form has some rather nasty undertones. So rather than building more golf courses (the ones we have are excellent) and more yacht clubs, it might be an idea if the local government and councils dedicated their efforts when it comes to tourism to making sure that the beaches are clean, that tourists are not being ripped off, and that postcards arrive on time. These are the issues which matter to the loyal public who have made this island a very rich place.