A merry Palma Christmas, but not for everyone
One of Mallorca's Christmas traditions is to consider how much or how little tourism there is. This year is no different and nor is a general prognosis which reveals that this tourism is mostly confined to Palma. The resorts may have only a few hotels open, but other than Palma the island's Christmas business is to be found in the interior - not hugely by any extent, but it can tend to be overlooked, such is the attention paid to the resorts.
Palma is in fact expecting a bumper Christmas. Javier Vich, the president of the hoteliers association and confirmed this week as the new president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, is pointing to 80% occupancy at Christmas and up to 90% at New Year. He has previously explained that mostly all the hotels will be open over the low season. And leading the way is the German market, which has been so buoyant for much of 2024 and is set to establish a new record for tourist arrivals in Mallorca this low season. Apart from the Spanish mainland, flights to and from German airports far outstrip other markets.
But what can visitors to Palma expect this Christmas? On the Paseo Marítimo, at any rate, an apparent lack of the festive spirit. No Christmas lights and decorations, the redevelopment work is continuing. The president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, Juanmi Ferrer, says there is a significant drop in bookings for the Christmas period. He had hoped that businesses in the area could have been given a break this Christmas. It might be recalled that the work was originally scheduled to have finished in October.
A new service to address "chaotic" transport
Maria Frontera, who has stepped down as president of the hoteliers federation after two terms that started in early 2018, was doing the interview rounds last weekend. Among other things, she emphasised the need for thinking to be geared to 365 days a year. Too many public authorities, she opined, "are content with having services open for six or seven months a year, even though we pay with our taxes for them throughout the year". One of these services was public transport.
In this regard there was some positive news. Expansion of the bus network will involve making the Aerotib routes to and from the airport available all year. The first route to be upgraded to 365 days is the one that links Calvia resorts such as Magalluf and Santa Ponsa to the airport. Friday, December 20 was the launch day.
For Frontera this will doubtless be welcome. In her view, "mobility is chaotic". She made the point that the federation has been drawing attention to this for some time. Improved public transport will help to lessen the perception of tourist saturation, the protests against overtourism having coincided with the final year of her tenure, which has otherwise been marked by the crises caused by the pandemic and the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Attracting workers and attracting businesses
Ever since the pandemic, sectors of the island's tourism industry have consistently highlighted issues with recruitment. The hospitality sectors of hotels and bars/restaurants aren't the only ones. There are also travel agencies. The president of the Aviba association, Pedro Fiol, says that young people in the Balearics "see tourism as a last resort for work".
He was perhaps rather overstating the situation, as the last resort appears to be working for travel agencies and not hotels. Nine out of ten tourism studies graduates choose to work in the hotel sector, he points out. Those who show an interest in agencies aim for higher-level roles than face-to-face customer service in agencies' offices. Graduates that are taken on are overqualified and typically move on to something else after a year.
Other business news this week concerns the apparent problems caused by traffic congestion in Palma. Businesses are reported as deciding to leave Palma and establish centres of operations elsewhere on the island. Inca is a main beneficiary of this, the mayor, Virgilio Moreno, explaining that transport improvements are making Inca a "true hub" in Mallorca. These improvements are of benefit to residents and they are also playing a part in Inca's economic and industrial growth.
Prices for land and industrial properties are, it has to be said, much lower than in Palma. Sites in Inca typically cost 650 euros per square metre, less than a quarter for equivalents on Palma's Son Castelló industrial estate. Businesses said to have been relocating to Inca include those in the logistics, agri-food and high-tech sectors.
Palma fines delayed and not delivered
Still in Palma there is some potentially good news for the unfortunate people who have found they have no other alternative than to live in motorhomes and caravans. Under new civic ordinance, these people could face fines of up to 1,500 euros for spending a night in a motorhome. Measures to prevent motorhome living have been harshly criticised by opposition parties - "persecution of citizens" - and one of these parties, PSOE, has tabled thirteen specific amendments to the ordinance, several of which are being given consideration by the governing Partido Popular.
The ordinance, which also covers issues such as street betting and drinking, vandalism and guided tours, was due to have been approved at this month's full meeting of the council. This has now been delayed by at least one month.
Two years ago, Palma Town Hall found itself at the centre of a row about non-notification of traffic fines. People hadn't received them and were ultimately being given a nasty shock because the fines had increased because of non-payment. The spotlight fell on the company contracted to deliver the notifications. In October 2022, thousands of letters, including bills and notifications of fines, were found dumped in a torrent and by the Son Pardo hippodrome. Overstretched employees who were under pressure to deliver more than 1,000 items per day had thrown them away.
Arrangements have since changed, but are the delivery problems all a thing of the past? The experience of a pensioner in Sant Jordi suggests they may not be. In August he received notification of a traffic fine (1,200 euros) without the option of a 50% discount for early payment (within 20 days). This was because the notification had originally gone out in April. Joan Ferrer insists he never received anything and that the delivery company did not, as it maintains, knock on his door or leave a note. He has been fighting to be able to pay with the 50% discount, the appeal stage having all but come to an end.
Following its implementation in January there will be a three-month period during which fines will not be issued for contravening Palma's new Low Emission Zone. The town hall is preparing for the launch of the LEZ next month - putting up signs, installing number plate recognition devices. The LEZ essentially conforms to the area of the city's historic centre.
New use for an historic building
For one historic building in Palma, a new life beckons. It is currently Bingo Balear but has been closed for the past ten years. A Swedish company now wants to convert it into a spa with thalassotherapy, gym and holistic treatments, a previous attempt at conversion - into a casino - having been blocked by the planning department in 2015 and definitively having been ruled out by a Balearic High Court judgement in 2022.
The building near the Olivar market dates back to 1909. At various times it has been a theatre and a cinema, while it has staged zarzuela productions and variety shows and even circuses. There will of course have to be town hall permission for the conversion. Under Palma's revised general urban plan, a change of use for the building will be allowed.
Planning was on the agenda in parliament on Tuesday. The government's administrative simplification decree, approved in May, had opened the way to building in areas prone to flooding and to the legalisation of buildings in these areas. A combination of the government (the Partido Popular) and the opposition amended this during a parliamentary session when the PP's rupture with the far-right Vox was fully exposed. It now remains to be seen if the PP can negotiate approval of the 2025 budget with the opposition.