Magalluf, always reliable for news
As sure as night follows day and as soon as the tourist season really cranks into gear, you know that Magalluf is going to start dominating the news pages. We were not let down in this regard last week. Zero tolerance was the mantra, and Wednesday's cover highlighted it. Calvia will not be tolerating any anti-social behaviour or other activities which could damage the municipality's image (and specifically that of Magalluf, with Santa Ponsa not necessarily so far behind).
This latest declaration of intent followed news of a tourist who had downed 75 shots in a Magalluf bar and of course the news of another video. That video, we were to learn on Friday, was two years old and was designed, it was said, to damage both the bar in question and the resort as a whole. It had been distributed as a means of discrediting the bar and related businesses, while it was all a case of the British red tops hunting for sensationalist material about Magalluf.
A meeting with hoteliers and the British Vice-Consul (reported on Friday) sought to establish a process of communications with the UK tourism market in particular and to change the perception of Magalluf's image that is portrayed by elements of the British media. On Saturday, there was a more positive note. Meliá and the town hall were presenting the "New Magalluf" (again) and emphasising the level of investment that has gone into hotel redevelopment and market repositioning of the resort. Was everyone convinced? No. One reader observed: "The council and the hoteliers live a fantasy world, don't they?"
The sun loungers of Puerto Pollensa
You certainly wouldn't categorise Puerto Pollensa as a tourist trouble spot, but goodness it has had its share of well-publicised problems. A reader, under the moniker "Cookstours 2016", berated the lack of beach facilities and supplied a photo to emphasise this and the condition of a concrete bench on the beach road (a poor condition).
On the same day, Thursday, we reported on the fact that businesses of different kinds as well as residents were uniting in condemning the town hall. And then, almost out of the blue, the blue sun loungers suddenly started appearing on Friday, as yesterday's report and photos verified. Maybe all the pressure had worked. We noted that it had been understood that the tender for the beach services would not be confirmed until this week.
Murder in Pollensa
There was, however, some desperate news in Puerto Pollensa. A Romanian woman was stabbed to death in broad daylight by her husband. As reports came through during the week, the murder raised questions. Witnesses had seemed more intent on recording what was happening rather than coming to the woman's assistance, while the Guardia Civil in Puerto Pollensa was being investigated. The woman, Lucia Patrascu, had gone to the Guardia station only hours before with the intention of denouncing her husband, Ioan Ciotan. In the end she did not.
Horses and animal welfare
A Wednesday report said that the town hall in Capdepera will be banning horse carriages in the resort of Cala Ratjada. In fact, the town hall will not be renewing the licences when they come up for renewal in September. The mayor said that this had already been the intention, but the fact that a horse had been killed the previous week must surely have had some influence.
Horses, those which take part in fiesta events (predominantly in Minorca), were the focus of the reform of Balearic animal-welfare legislation. There had been an error in its drafting, we reported on Friday, as the original text implied a blanket ban on all animals if suffering is deemed to occur. The Partido Popular was not sure that rectifying the text would mean for certain that the horse fiestas will continue.
The reformed legislation has principally been sought in order to ban bullfighting. Another municipality, Sa Pobla, confirmed its opposition to bullfighting, while PSOE was coming under pressure not to backtrack and allow the Fornalutx bull-run to escape the ban.