Mallorca was once again “conquered” by party-tourists. That island is burdened with people who come to consume alcohol excessively. Guests are particularly active in the Playa de Palma area.
Source: Profimedia
Miguel Canjelas is worried about the development of the situation in Playa de Palma. “The situation is worse than in previous years,” says the president of the Association of Residents of the neighborhood of Las Maravillas, which includes most of Majorca’s most important tourist zone. “Of course we live here from tourism,” he says. “But we still have to be able to live in peace.” And that, he adds, has not been the case for a long time. People don’t leave the house at all in the evening. They are in fear”.
Party-zone by the sea
The infamous party zone, located a few kilometers outside the island’s capital, is once again firmly in the hands of visitors. As usual, with the first days of summer, the German football teams from the amateur leagues, groups of fun-loving women and alcohol lovers are the first to arrive here. But Playa de Palma is also the number one destination at this time of year for tens of thousands of Spanish high school graduates from the mainland, who want to celebrate the end of their education in a suitable way. Numerous bars and disco clubs await them on the promenade along the beach, which is more than five kilometers long.
“The problem is that people have fun in the street,” says Juan Miguel Ferrer. “This is what causes the problems.” Ferrer is a gastronome, he founded the Palma Beach Initiative in 2015, his goal is to turn this tourist zone into a quality destination. “For people to have fun, to enjoy themselves, that’s not a problem at all,” he says: “But please , not on the street”.
And the Association of Hoteliers of Playa de Palma, which currently represents the interests of 114 hotels, insists that everyone can have fun, but they don’t have to overdo it. “It is true that this type of tourism also brings income. But the transformation cannot be stopped. The association advertises Playa de Palma especially as a destination for family holidays, as a place where you can do various things throughout the year. “We try not to make it seem like the party is the only reason people should come here.”
But the reality is still different. At least this time of year. Already around noon, the beach party is in full swing. Hits blare from portable speakers, empty beer bottles pile up in the sand. In broad daylight, drunk guests stumble across the beach. It smells like urine, spilled beer, sunscreen, oil for frying French fries. Tourists are supplied with alcohol in numerous supermarkets in the immediate vicinity.
“Alarming situation”
Considering such a situation, hoteliers and owners of discotheques from this neighborhood were forced to issue a press release. They criticized the “alarming situation” in Playa de Palma. The situation is “unbearable”, they add. “Inadequate controls on public alcohol consumption and the lack of effective regulations on punishing such behavior threaten the present and future of this important tourist area,” the announcement states.
At the same time, the city authorities in Palma, as well as the government of the Balearic Islands, have been trying to curb this problem for years. There is a consensus that ‘alcohol tourism’ is not desirable on this island. “This is diametrically opposed to the goal of improving Mallorca’s competitiveness through sustainable, responsible and high-quality tourism,” says the Law Against Excessive Tourism, which came into force in 2020 and which is the culmination of the government’s efforts to stop alcohol tourism. So far without success.
More police?
Hoteliers, restaurateurs and discotheque owners are therefore calling on the competent institutions to take “energetic and effective measures to deal with this intolerable situation”. It is necessary, they add, to establish clear regulations and rigorously start applying sanctions in order to suppress alcohol consumption. Besides, they believe that an increased presence of the police is necessary in order to really respect this regulation.
Source: Profimedia
“The problem is that the bans are not controlled at all,” says Juan Miguel Ferrer of the Palma Beach initiative. Noise, mass drinking in public, glass bottles on the beach, all this has been banned for years, he adds. And guests who break the rules have to count on heavy fines, he says. But there are no police officers anywhere in Playa de Palma who are supposed to check whether the guests really follow these rules.
“That won’t happen”
And that, says Miguel Kanjelas from the Tenants’ Association, is the real problem: “There are simply too few police officers on the scene. And when the patrol comes, they are police officers on motorcycles or in cars, he notes. “That won’t happen. The police officers would have to go around the grounds on footor at least by bicycle, in order to address the tourists immediately and directly, and if necessary, to collect a fine from them, Kanjelas believes.
But that’s easier said than done. Sanctioning violations of the rules is complicated when it comes to foreign tourists. The city of Palma still fails to find an efficient method to collect fines from guests. Spanish legislation, according to a police spokesman, does not allow foreigners to pay a municipal fine on the spot. And so the police have no choice but to warn those who misbehave in Playa de Palma.
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(MONDO/Deutsche Vela)