We are led to believe that all is being done to encourage more winter tourists to Mallorca. I left a “tourist-free” Mallorca on Friday and headed to Malaga. While Palma airport was very quiet, Malaga was busy and the majority of people were tourists. It was also nice to see that British tour firms have winter programmes to the Malaga area, unlike Mallorca.
I was heading to Ronda, a lovely place which is also gaining in popularity. In fact, a London cab driver told me recently that it was his favourite part of Spain. It is easy to be critical but I do find that Mallorcans are not as welcoming as they once were. In fact, you could say that many take tourists for granted.
Not so in Ronda. Pleasant, polite and prices for drink and food were 30 percent less than Mallorca. It was a service with a smile. It makes a lot of difference and adds to your experience. Once again Ronda was busy with tourists, from Asia, Europe and even South America. There are few “glitzy” restaurants but there are many which serve good traditional Spanish food.
Mallorca, I am afraid to say, can learn plenty from this part of Spain. Price is key but so is service. Here, it is a question of a tourist, a friend in Mallorca I no longer know what to think!