Only two businesses in various parts of Calvia have taken up grants for modernising and renovating their premises. Under the regional government's declarations of mature (outdated) tourist zones for Palmanova, Magalluf, Paguera and Santa Ponsa, the town hall adopted a bylaw for providing financial assistance for the renovation of shops, bars, restaurants in order to improve overall quality.
For the first round of subsidies, the town hall made available a total of 110,000 euros. Thirty businesses expressed an interest, but only two - one in Palmanova and the other in Paguera - took the offer up. There were also seven applications for assistance with renovating buildings (as opposed to just commercial units). Three of these were in Palmanova, three more were in Santa Ponsa and there was one in Magalluf.
There is a clear concern that modernisation of the non-hotel complementary sector is lagging way behind that of the hotel sector. Yet the mature zones declarations were supposed to address this.
The town hall is planning a second round, but this is unlikely to be until autumn next year at the earliest. Meanwhile, deputy mayor for tourism and trade, Antonio García Moles, says that the town hall will make all the necessary efforts to help the complementary sector and to encourage the take-up of grants.