To some extent it is rather embarrassing. Over the last few weeks I have been interviewing the leading local authorities. The key comments always...we want British tourists to come here, we want them to have a great time, we want them to discover the island but we want them to behave themselves.
Obviously, these words are aimed at a very small minority who usually go on holiday to Magalluf and the more popular party resorts. It shouldn’t really fall to the local authorities to tell British tourists how to behave on holiday. The new rules to curb alcohol abuse and bad behaviour have come about because the local authorities have had enough. Mallorca no longer wants so-called “drunken tourists”.
It is not just that. Mallorcans don’t want to share their island with a group of people they feel have just come here to get drunk and cause havoc. Obviously, Mallorca relies on tourism and all tourists are welcome. But the local authorities are not messing around with their new code of conduct. They are supported by the majority of the local population. Most Mallorcans would like to see fewer tourists spending more. It is becoming evidently clear that the local authorities are no longer willing to turn a blind eye to the antics of a few in Magalluf, Playa de Palma and San Antonio in Ibiza. The party is over. The message is clear. If you are coming to Mallorca just to get drunk, then we kindly invite you to go elsewhere. We don’t want you.