Hoteliers are complaining that reservations for summer 2020 have plummeted by 25% and claim it’s because the beaches in Campos have deteriorated to such a dreadful state since the creation of the Es Trenc-Salobrar Natural Park three years ago.
“The beach at Es Trenc has gone from being a tourist attraction and the base of the economy to being a big problem,” according to the President of the Hotel Association of Colònia de Sant Jordi, Pau Bonet. “Tourists have complained repeatedly in recent years and now they ask about the state of the beach before they make a reservation. If this situation is not corrected, we will have serious problems,” he said.
The President of the Hotel Association also claims that the purchasing power of tourists has slumped by 50% because most of the holidaymakers are only interested in booking ‘all inclusive’ holidays.
The Mayor of ses Salines, Juan Rodríguez, says that’s hurting the economy.
“This situation is affecting bars and restaurants in Colònia de Sant Jordi,” he says, “we used to have quality, family oriented tourism, and now the situation has been reversed and much of that is because of the Management of the beach at Es Trenc.”
Both the Hotel Association and the City Council are urging the Ministry of Environment to provide Managementat Es Trenc-Salobrar Natural Park that will improve services for residents, tourists and swimmers.
"The natural park is a total nonsense," says Pau Bonet, who claims a large number of services have been eliminated.
“The management only offers services for about 1,000 people, when in reality around 12,000 go to es Trenc every summer. There are not enough bathrooms, the number of beach bars, hammocks and umbrellas has been drastically reduced and tons of garbage is accumulating,” he says.
"We are not against the Natural Park, Mayor Rodriguez points out, “but the management, has turned out to be a fiasco. We want sustainability, but at the same time we have to defend economic progress and we are totally against having dirty beaches.”
The Minister of Medi Ambient, Miquel Mir, disagrees with Mr Bonet and Mayor Rodriguez.
”The beach is managed better now than it ever was and nobody has contacted me to complain,” he insists. “The Government is obliged to guarantee the conservation of the beach and we are working to protect it because scientific studies show that the beach receded by 6 metres between 1956 and 2015.”