Playa de Palma gets the award for being the “bad boy holiday resort this summer...” Forget Magalluf it is Arenal where all the rowdy and drunken holidaymakers are to be found this year, according to local media. Not a word about Magalluf, the undisputed champion of bad behaviour of previous years, in the eyes of the local press.
I was in Arenal last weekend and there is cause for some alarm. The new rules introduced to curb bad behaviour appear to have been forgotten and the party is ongoing. Arenal is Germany's answer to Magalluf. I have always maintained (apart from this year of course) that Arenal was equal if not worse than Magalluf but it was the Calvia resort which got all the headlines (bad ones). In Magalluf it appears that the curbs on bad behaviour are being followed very closely but not in Arenal where it appears to be a free-for-all. From street vendors to drinking on the street, Arenal has good reason to be called the bad boy holiday destination.
What can the new city council do to try and bring the situation under control? What is needed is more police for a start. The new council has already said that an extra 300 officers are needed and at least half need to be sent to Playa de Palma. The previous administration had said that they wanted an end to booze tourism, so far the only thing which has gone is the previous administration.