Miguel Pérez-Marsá is the CEO of the Cursach Group, which operates Magaluf's BCM and Tito's among other establishments. He is also the president of the ABONE nightlife association. Taking an overview of the sector, he says forecasts for the season hadn't been very good because of the Middle East conflict and the economic situations in Germany and the UK. However, he is now mildly optimistic that the season will be much like last year's or even a bit better.
Tourist spending is the big worry, as it has been for Mallorca's complementary sector of bars, restaurants, clubs, etc. since 2024. "We're the last link in the chain," he observes. "Tourists pay for the plane, then the hotel, then restaurants, and finally, they go out for drinks. All the money lost along the way means less money for nightlife. Hotels keep raising prices, and that ends up having an impact. Average spending per person is down, although many people are still coming. That partially compensates for the loss of profitability. Obviously, the problem will come the day that many tourists stop coming because prices become unaffordable."
It's not just tourists who are the concern. Mallorca's residents are as well. "Young people have very different consumption habits to those of 20 years ago. And venues in Palma are disappearing due to a lack of support and unfair competition.
"There are the illegal 'tardeo' parties - restaurants that have DJs without the proper licence - villas where private parties are held, party boats, and the proliferation of concerts every other day with municipal licences. From our point of view, these are also illegal, as demonstrated by the cases of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid and the bullring in Palma. Many people go to the concert or the tardeo and then don't go out at night."
In Pérez-Marsá's opinion, local authorities apply double standards. "They are extremely demanding with legal establishments in ensuring compliance with regulations - noise inspections, capacity limits, opening hours and so on. That's only right, but with certain illegal or semi-legally tolerated activities, they turn a blind eye and even promote them.
"For instance, there are free concerts organised by town halls. You can't give away free drinks, but a town hall can organise three days of free concerts with thousands of people, and that's where the noise levels are exceeded. You can't compete with that. Meanwhile, we're held to account for absolutely everything."
On prices, he says the economic reality means that clubs can't raise them. "Customers have little money. If you raise the prices of drinks even more, you lose even more customers. We prefer to maintain prices and be more efficient in management and cost control. Nightlife depends more and more on tourists. As long as there are tourists, you can open every day. When they disappear, many venues are forced to open only on weekends or simply close for the winter.
"The peak nightlife season has always run roughly from June 20 to August 20. That's nothing new. What is happening, however, is that many areas have been losing nightlife options and, consequently, are also losing their ability to attract that type of clientele. It's a vicious circle. Less nightlife means fewer people, and fewer people mean less nightlife."
Playa de Palma, he points out, is something of an exception and is able to maintains longer seasons. Then there's the Paseo Marítimo in Palma. Pérez-Marsá has been highly critical of the car parking that has disappeared as a result of the redevelopment. "I don't expect much anymore. The problem is that some 1,200 parking spaces have been eliminated, and it's now very difficult to reverse that situation. But I am hopeful that new investment in venues and restaurants will help regenerate the area and breathe new life into the Paseo Marítimo."
For all this, he remains optimistic. "Mallorca's nightlife is spectacular, and many young Europeans are aware of this. The important thing is that there are courageous businesspeople who invest in and commit to offering quality. The sector has hit a rough patch, especially in Palma, but I believe there are some very good entrepreneurs and important projects that can revive the nightlife scene in a short period of time."