The Council of Mallorca is doing the rounds of tourist municipalities in spreading its tourism strategic plan gospel and in “actively listening” to the tourism sector in developing tourism promotion for this year. It is also discussing the reactivation of tourism, as was the case in Pollensa earlier this week and in Alcudia last week.
In Puerto Pollensa, the mayor, Tomeu Cifre, showed Council president, Catalina Cladera, and her entourage the work being done on returning the tourist information office to more or less where it used to be. It is an “emblematic area”, the mayor said proudly - by the yacht club roundabout and opposite where the emblematic Gelats Valls ice-cream kiosk once stood.
The party moved on to another area of Puerto Pollensa which might be considered to be “emblematic” - La Gola. They were shown inside the information centre and were then able to stand at the water’s edge listening to some ducks quack.
What a pity that they should turn up at the same time as residents have been denouncing the filth and debris. Again. The winter sea admittedly hasn’t helped, but the complaints about poor maintenance are hardly new.
I had thought that this was meant to have been resolved once and for all, with clear lines of responsibility for the environment ministry and town hall. The green heart (or lung) of Puerto Pollensa has never been treated as it should be.
But back to tourism reactivation, and the mayor observed that Pollensa wished to be pioneers of this. The first to reactivate, so let’s hope they can sort out some sunloungers and parasols this time, Alcudia’s pioneering in this regard already having been pencilled in for the first of May.
“We have to start looking forward to the season with optimism,“ noted the mayor, “but it doesn’t matter if we start a little later, as the most important thing is safety”. Indeed; pioneering, but with a caveat.
Meanwhile, and now safely back in Pollensa and in the town hall building, there was discussion of the Council of Majorca funding aid to extend the pedestrianised areas of the historic centre. It is twenty years since the pedestrianisation started, said Tomeu Cifre.
This produced “very good results”. The new project will be for streets around the Plaça Major. There is to be a budget of 1.6 million euros, 20% of this from the Council.