On Wednesday, the pro-cruise ships lobby, 'Plataforma Sí a los Cruceros', called on the Balearic Government not to renew the agreement with cruise operators for limiting the number of ships that can stop over in Palma.
Spokesperson Alex Fraile told tourism minister Jaume Bauzá that the agreement should not be renewed "because it has been strictly adhered to and has really served no purpose; the cruise companies have continued to be in the eye of the storm".
"It has been the only sector that has self-regulated, yet it continues to be demonised. What we need to do is ask other tourism sectors to follow its example. We will of course support a memorandum of understanding, but if it only serves as a reason for criticism, why renew it?"
At the meeting on Wednesday, the minister didn't provide any details of the government's plans, though government spokesperson Toni Costa said recently that there was an intention to renew the agreement within the current limits.
Fraile expressed concern about what the anti-cruise ships lobby, the Platform Against Mega-Cruise Ships, might send to the government with its "alternative report" on air quality in the port. "We don't know where their data come from, where the sensors are installed, or if the data have been manipulated." She also questioned recent figures from the Balearic Statistics Institute regarding spending by cruise passengers.
In reference to last Sunday's protest, Fraile insisted that "cruise ships have nothing to do with overcrowding", with the housing problem or with road congestion. "We may find that some operators withdraw from the Balearics, that some stop coming to Palma because of the image we are sending globally."
The Pimeco retailers association, a member of the platform, argued there should be no further reduction in the number of stopovers. "They help local business throughout Mallorca enormously. We are very concerned about the image of our islands that is being projected. If tourists stop coming because they feel they are not welcome, they will choose other destinations, and that will impact our well-being and our future," said the president, Carolina Domingo.
Fraile had words for Mayor Jaime Martínez's demand for a national strategy to address cruise tourism. The town hall is also advocating smaller ships that target a higher-income passenger base. "The mayor doesn't have the authority to regulate cruises, so he needs to make an effort to organise flows of people. And if we want to commit to sustainability, smaller ships are sometimes much more obsolete."
Town hall spokesperson, Mercedes Celeste, insisted that no cruise operator was being "demonised". "But we've said that we have to talk about everything. We don't have authority, but this is Palma; it's one thing not to have authority and another to have a voice. If the mayor says we have to talk about cruises and find out which ones are more or less interesting, he should say so."