A bit of a shocker ended the year with the resignation of the minister for tourism and vice-president, Biel Barceló. Compared with what politicians have not stood down for in the not so distant past, I think the whole issue was rather harsh and only served to drive another wedge in the postmodern left-wing coalition trying to govern the Balearics.
The trouble is that too many problems are being overlooked. For a region which relies so heavily on tourism, not enough is being done and, with so many parties of varying extreme left-wing ideas in power, consensus is hard to find. Yes, we have had years of campaigning for winter flights and yes, action was going to be taken. No. So, outside of Palma, a smattering of hotels, resorts and businesses are open.
We have the chaos surrounding holiday rentals. Every month it is a different story and always one which only serves into frightening people into thinking twice about letting out their property which, at the time, may well have been a very good investment for the owners and the local real estate industry, not to mention supermarkets, car hire, restaurants. etc. And now, visitors are complaining about the high rate of taxi fares and that they have increased significantly since they were on the island previously.
Millions of people love the Balearics, but I get the feeling that the relationship is becoming strained.