The following letter was received by the Bulletin news-desk.
MAJORCA SHINES IN LONDON
My coffee and croissant today were perfect as always. Then I picked up this morning’s copy of the Majorca Daily Bulletin – Tuesday 2nd November. How I smiled!
‘Majorca shines in London’, read the headline. Fantastic! My first reaction, as I truly love this island where I live and champion it’s image whenever possible. Of course I do, my companies bring many sports tourists here. Apart from last year of course, for obvious reasons. Then I turned the page. Oh, how I laughed!
A lined up picture of the vacuous morons who allegedly run the show here in Mallorca, off on their jolly to the World Travel Market. I wonder why they have their photo call? I guess to prove they were in London. This is the only evidence we have, because when they return they will have done nothing. Not a new concept. I have attended WTM ever since it started, apart from last year, because it didn’t take place. I should have been there this year, but decided against. My company would invest in promoting our wonderful island at any opportunity, but understand that we are going in to battle with no meaningful or enduring support.
So, Mallorca (Majorca) is being positioned and promoted, with the help of Sir Chris Hoy, as a premier winter sports tourism destination. One question. When all these sports teams, groups, participants visit for their warm weather winter training, where will they stay? I cycled round all of the resorts in the south west of the island this morning and pretty well every hotel has closed. For sure, my research tells me one or two will stay open, but nowhere near enough. On a beautiful sunny morning, I was amazed to see all the sun shades and loungers being removed from the beaches. It is almost is if they can’t wait to shut down and end the season. I am told this wasn’t always the case.
Before I came to Mallorca, I worked in the Caribbean for 14 years. Even those little islands stay open all year, without anything like the airlift Mallorca has. In all my 35 years in the tourism industry, I have never seen anything like what is going on here. Mallorca is amazing and has so much to offer all year round. However, the aforementioned vacuous fools that like nothing more than a photo call, let everyone, not least their long- suffering populace, endure their mediocrity. Sorry, that’s actually too generous for them.
Talk and more talk. Empty headed delusions and a complete lack of empathy for what they have here is the reality of self- promoting politicians and greedy hoteliers. Hard words, but true. I make no apology as I believe in this island and it’s people who want to make a fair living from tourism. Let’s face it, there’s little else. Unless of course, you have a job photographing politicians. Perhaps the electorate might wake up next time round. I hope so.
Name and address supplied