The new Balearic minister for Tourism, Jaume Bauza, rather put the cat amongst the pigeons when he hinted that he would scrap the Law of Excesses which aims to curb bad behaviour and excessive drinking in Magalluf, Arenal and San Antonio (Ibiza). He told parliament that the Law of Excesses had failed and promised to introduce new tough legislation to combat anti-social behaviour.
Once again Magalluf is in limbo and it will mean that tour firms are in the dark over whether to sell the resort as the party town of Mallorca next season or the town which used to be the party town of Mallorca where you can only have eight drinks. The Law of Excesses limits the number of alcoholic drinks which are available to tourist on All Inclusive Packages.
This is rather a nonsence because the law is only in force in Arenal and Magalluf so tourists have been heading to other resorts to escape the curb. The problem, I believe, is that Magalluf hasn´t had a great season this year as a result of the Law of Excesses. It was a fear which many Magalluf business owners mentioned at the start of the season. Some went even further and said that the local government had taken the fun out of Magalluf.
No-one is too sure what Jaume Bauza is planning to do. Could he introduce a watered-down version of the Law of Excesses which penalises bad behaviour by the person rather than giving strict instructions to businesses?
What is clear is that the one of the key pieces of legislation from the previous socialist led Balearic government is destined to be changed, overhauled or even scrapped completely. What no-one says in public is that Magalluf is a cash-cow for the local economy and part of this revenue will be missing this year as a result of tougher rules on the sale of alcohol thanks to the Law of Excesses.