There will not be sunloungers on Manacor beaches this summer. Mayor Miquel Oliver told hoteliers and other businesspeople on Thursday that the town hall will not be organising this service, although it will be responsible for lifeguards and beach cleaning.
When the town hall first indicated that there wouldn't be sunloungers, hotelier reaction was one of anger. They said that they wouldn't open. At Thursday's meeting the response was different. Retailers and others explained that if the hotels didn't open, then they would be unable to open. The hoteliers, says Oliver, will now be turning the situation into a positive, publicising the beaches as 'virus-free zones'. The town hall will be producing posters and undertaking an information campaign in support of this labelling of beaches as virus-free.
Oliver adds that the town hall appreciates hotelier decisions to open. He accepts that hotels face making losses by doing so, as resorts in and around Palma are likely to be the ones which attract most of the tourists who end up coming to Majorca this summer. He insists that "we will be by their side".
The beach services concessionaire withdrew at the start of last month. An offer to continue to provide services under altered conditions showed "good intentions but could not be accepted legally". By not organising the sunloungers and parasols, the town hall will save the 400,000 euros that would normally be paid to the Costas Authority for having these facilities.