Last week I visited Playa de Palma; it’s not a bad place and in fact it does have some nice areas. Playa de Palma or at least Arenal is the German answer to Magalluf and it suffers from the same problems. Palma council, which is responsible for most of the massive resort, has frequently announced crackdowns on everything from illegal street vendors to the dress code of tourists. In fact, if you look at the bylaws which have been passed by the council, most things which could be considered illegal have been banned, but you will not be surprised to discover that the new bylaws are being openly flouted; there are so-called illegal street vendors everywhere, tourists are drinking from bottles on the beach, drinks are being taken out from all-inclusive hotels, the list goes on.
So there is not much point passing all these bylaws if they are not going to be enforced. What I would say is that there needs to be greater visible presence of police officers in Playa de Palma. Why can't officers be on permanent patrol at all times of the day walking up and down the promenade because this is where most of the illicit activity takes place? As you will read today, Playa de Palma is key for the local economy but it could be so much nicer if the council enforced its own regulations. It makes me wonder whether all these bylaws are just a smokescreen because no one appears to take any notice of them at all.