Shoppers are now spoilt for choice in Majorca. In Palma you don't just have the typical out-of-town shopping centres, you also have your high streets stores as well. But there is a problem. Successive governments continue to try and stop shops opening. The authorities have introduced legislation which governs when and how shops can open. This is clearly stupid and short-sighted. Shops should be able to open when they want and not when the government tells them. Take Palma: it has now become a cruise ship capital but only a small number of stores can open on a Sunday. It would surely be a better idea, especially during the summer months, to allow stores to open far earlier than normal and close later. This island survives thanks to tourism and the season gets shorter and shorter so every penny counts. If a small shop owner wants to survive the long cold winter, then he or she needs to open as much as possible during the summer. There is little point being open all hours during the winter when trade is thin. The larger stores, which have more staff, obviously want to open more hours. Well, they should be allowed to do so. The smaller shops are always going to have a problem competing but they must find a way, either with more quality service or opening longer. It must be remembered that tourism is king in Majorca. If this island had to live from the resident population, it would have serious problems.