The Habtur holiday rentals association has quit the Pimem federation of small to medium sized business associations. Part of Pimem since 2016, Habtur has walked away because it doesn't feel that Pimem has been defending its interests sufficiently.
Pimem is one of two large employers organisations that have dealings with the Balearic government; the CAEB Confederation of Balearic Business Associations is the other. These two organisations were, for example, part of the 'social dialogue' table of government, unions and business during the pandemic.
This closeness to the government has made Habtur feel that the president of Pimem, Jordi Mora, has turned the federation into a "branch of the government". But the relatlonship with Pimem has never been that positive. "Since Habtur has been part of Pimem, we have not felt comfortable or represented in our interests as a business sector by the president."
Habtur, one of three organisations for the holiday rentals sector (and the largest), now has to decide if it goes it alone or perhaps joins the CAEB; the other two are under the CAEB umbrella.
The decision to leave Pimem comes at a time when holiday rentals are very much part of the conversation about tourist overcrowding. The sector has been highly critical of the government's moratorium on new tourist accommodation places, having claimed that this could contribute to the loss of up to 90,000 places.