DEAR SIR
WELL done to John Lance for his brilliant letter about legalizing apartment and villa holiday letting.
Tourism has changed and Joana Barcelo and the large hotel chains need to recognise this. They have enjoyed profiteering from the tourist industry building and offering poor standard accommodation highlighting their GREED. Using the profits to enhance even greater profits in their expansion in the Caribbean and Mexico, offering the all inclusive phenomenon which they believe Majorca should be!!
THIS IS A TOTALLY WRONG CONCEPT FOR THIS ISLAND.
Tourists WANT MORE. They want lounges, satellite television, kitchens HOME FROM HOME feelings from their holidays.
Independent guests that book their own flights and apartments/villas, eat out in restaurants, hire cars and visit the entire island, also they are the ones that ultimately buy properties, driving the construction industry !!! which now is non existent.
Majorca is suffering from the recession, poor sterling exchange rate, inflexible employment laws for businesses which is making them collapse, but I strongly BELIEVE IT IS SUFFERING GREATER FROM THE BAD GOVERNMENT ATTITUDE of the last 2 years that we have had to put up with. Well done to Mike Lillico for his letter on the 9th May the problem with our government was summed up beautifully.
On a holiday rental website in 2004 - 11'000 properties worldwide. Now on the same site there are 210'000!!! Growing weekly.
So which MARKET IS THE GROWING MARKET!!! There are 15'800 properties on this site alone in Spain.
John Lance is right, tourists need to have a lot of choice and the Majorcan Government need to recognise this. They WILL GO TO OTHER COUNTRIES I love Majorca, but there are plenty of other places in the world more beautiful and also that welcome tourists with a SMILE. Do we get a smile and a warm welcome when we locals visit the shops!!!
We all need to take a leaf out of the Hospitality Book from the USA and Thailand.
The Majorcans love of their language is admirable. BUT by not recognising that the islands economy is ONLY tourism (as every persons job has an indirect or direct link to tourism) they will suffer more.
Embracing visitors languages with signs to help, to make a visit to the island EASY for the holiday maker, will make tourists feel welcome. They will wish to return and some may be encouraged to buy holiday homes on the island thus improving the islands economy.
Join JOHN LANCE'S campaign if you wish for the island to be promoted to tourism more effectively and to recognise the changing needs, desires, and wants of all our tourists.
If you work on this island, own a home and wish for the equity to grow in your property You need to take action now as sadly we all know that 2010 and 2011 will be much harder for Majorca.
JOIN TODAY:-
www.majorcanholidayhomes.com
Alex Maguire
Santa Ponsa