By Jason Moore
BIG-spending tourists who are willing to pay any tax which is thrown at them and who never complain. This is the sort of holidaymaker, I believe the Balearics wants to attract. Unfortunately, this sort of tourist doesn't really exist. I have read with interest the large number of letters we have received over the issue of all-inclusive holidays over recent weeks; they all make very good points. However, there is one thing which I would like to say; we should be thankful to every holidaymaker who comes to our shores, from those who sleep on the beach to those who stay in a five star hotel. At the end of the day they all put money into the local economy whether it be five euros or 500. Of course, the Balearics would love all holidaymakers to come here with thousands of euros in their pockets to spend while on holiday but so would every other holiday destination around the world (and there are plenty of them). Let's just be thankful that the hotels are busy in the summer. They will never be busy in the winter because, let's face it, it's too cold and in the Balearics if you can't go to the beach, well there is little left to do. A sizeable proportion of the local population are opposed to mass tourism; they want fewer tourists with far greater spending power. So, while we are in a fantasy world, may I say that I hope I will win the lottery this Christmas. Let's be grateful for what we have. Of course, the tourist industry can be improved, but the bottom-line is that this island has been built on mass tourism from Germany and Britain. My advice to the local authorities would be to travel around and see for themselves what other foreign holiday destinations are offering. I think they would be quite shocked.
Let us to grateful