No-one mentions trying to reduce or curb the number of flights at Palma Airport; in fact they are increasing. No-one is talking about trying to reduce the number of cars on the road in Mallorca when there is good reason to do so. So why did the Balearic government curb the number of cruise ships which could visit the port of Palma?
At the moment only three cruise ships are allowed into port on a daily basis in an effort to ease overcrowding. Nice idea but they forget to mention that many stores in Palma depend on cruise ship passengers and their takings have already fallen since the curb was introduced.
There is talk of a 10 percent fall. When you take into account that soon we will not be seeing a cruise ship until at least April, the limit is even more stupid. Instead of curbing cruise ships, we should be looking at ways to exploit the cruise ship market even further by allowing shops in the centre of Palma to open on a Sunday and even extending opening hours during the week.
Shop owners now face a long cold winter and not only are they competing against a squeeze in spending they face big competition from the online shopping sites.
If Palma is overcrowded a few days a year, then so be it. The money which cruise ship passengers are spending will keep businesses in profit when you can count on a single hand the number of customers on an average day. Also, Palma faces competition from other ports in the Mediterranean which encourage cruise ships rather than trying to turn them away.
If the local authorities want to get on their high horse over pollution and overcrowding then sort out the traffic situation which is becoming a nightmare. Limit the number of cars on the road...? Then they would be cruising for a bruising.