Since last Friday, terraces in the centre of the Born avenue in Palma have been removed to make way for the book fair stalls to be set up. On Friday alone, say the bar/restaurant owners, takings were down 70%. Over the weekend the losses were greater - down 80%.
The owners are saying that customers are not going inside their establishments, while the normal pedestrian traffic has been stopped. The avenue, they maintain, has been "destroyed" and is "dead". And of the four establishments affected, one has had to close completely because it only has a terrace.
Though the percentages have been quoted, the owners can't fully quantify losses. But with the city packed with visitors and the weather fine, they would be expecting to be making high returns.
A key complaint that they have is that the town hall has enforced terrace exclusion for a total of twenty days, twice as long as the fair actually lasts. The town hall argues that it needs these additional days to put up and then bring down the stalls. The restaurants refute this and say that booksellers have confirmed that this time is not necessary.
The owners believe that there should be a model to integrate retailing, restaurants, residents and booksellers and point to the example of the Palma Boat Show where all interests co-exist. Instead, they complain, there has been a return to the past, when the Born had no life. "A lot of work has gone into making the Born emblematic," they conclude.
On other terraces news, the town hall has today announced that it will not be permitting any more terraces in Santa Catalina or the Blanquerna area. Respectively, there are currently 128 and 32 at present. Terraces have, for the current administration, become a major issue.