So quiet

[Hanser]

I have just read an article in MDB that at all inclusive resorts in the Baliarics will only be allowed to serve free acholic drinks at lunch and dinner at all other times guests will have to pay. Is this another way to deter holiday makers ? I am sure Greece And Turkey will be rubbing they hands with glee.

Hopefully this will encourage people to use local bars.

 

[scotslizzy]

It's all about choices at the end of the day

One of the main reasons we love coming to PP is the range and quality (mainly) of the restaurant's so that no matter whether we are in an apartment or hotel we can eat out each evening and have a wonderful choice of eating places. I could never understand why anyone would want to go AI in PP.

However when we visited Turkey last year the area that we were in (Belek)
was all AI hotels .Indeed the Belek area consisted of golf courses plus hotels and not much more .We thoroughly enjoyed our week in an excellent hotel which we are returning to next year as well as PP .

I think it is quite wrong to generalise that everyone who goes to an AI hotel will be rip roaring drunk which is being alluded to in this discussion.

Anyway we arrive in PP 1st Sept and will enjoy every moment of it and if someone cares to provide a list of the bars that sell beer at 2.5 please let me know as the other half will be grateful !
Scotslizzy

 

[pollensafan]

Hear Hear!
I'd rather vacation in a resort hosting fewer people spending more each (same total income for the resort) than be in a place where I am overwhelmed with a ubiquitous crowd of tourists who unanimously think that cheap is tantamount to good. Good value, yes; El Cheap'o for the sake of cheap, not really!

Not the first time you've put this, which I find strange.
You see, We (past tense) spent over 30 years taking holiday's in PP 2-3 times a year and I can state for a fact that never in all that time, did your comment ever apply to this resort.
" Overwhelmed and cheap" Not in our time.
I think you're confusing it with Magaluf.

 

[JPALCOVER]

We (past tense) spent over 30 years taking holiday's in PP 2-3 times a year and I can state for a fact that never in all that time, did your comment ever apply to this resort.

I have been "veraneando" (July-August) here (Pollensa and Puerto de Pollensa) since 1984; before that I used to be in Ibiza for the summer (as early as 1979; not as early as "More", the Barbet-Schroeder movie with music by Pink Floyd).

You are right, it was more peaceful in the eighties and in the nineties.
Things did change at the turn of the century (21st), more or less (actually, as early as 1997, I my memory betrays me not).

Have you experienced the decibels of the Laguna (previously Bonanza), hour after hour, all day long and until midnight three nights per week? Just as noisy and "unpeaceful" as a beach in Ibiza, Split or Bar (barring the Russians, I must admit)!

You may disagree, and that's OK. So do I (with you, not with myself!), and as the Navysaying goes, "it's a sailorman's right to gripe"!

 

[pollensafan]

Have you experienced the decibels of the Laguna (previously Bonanza), hour after hour, all day long and until midnight three nights per week? Just as noisy and "unpeaceful" as a beach in Ibiza, Split or Bar (barring the Russians, I must admit)!

You may disagree, and that's OK. So do I (with you, not with myself!), and as the Navysaying goes, "it's a sailorman's right to gripe"![/QUOTE]


Sighting one place out of the resort hardly qualifies your comment " Overwhelmed and cheapo"
As you say we'll just have to disagree.

PS, when you find utopia let me know.

 

[kcdc230]

Always being an avid reader (and occasional contributor) of this forum, I have been reading with interest this particular thread about various restaurants potentially struggling due to the reduced number of tourists this summer.

We arrived here on Wednesday for our first summer visit since August 2016, and I have to say that my wife and I have both commented that it seems busier than ever this year, and certainly more than when we were here 2 years ago.

We have had 2 evening meals in the port (Thursday night and this evening) and the pine walk, around the square, side streets and beyond, have been positively heaving with people. The pine walk alone on Thursday was very crowded, and not just near the night market.

Likewise, last night we dined in Pollensa old town, and that was also as busy as we've ever seen it, with barely a table to be had in any of the restaurants or cafes.

Is it possible that the summer holidays have brought an upturn in tourist numbers, and therefore hopefully fended off the fears of restaurant and shop closures?

(Oh, and I've just noticed that this is my 100th post! Happy anniversary to me!!)

 

[animagic21]

Same here, in middle of July.

 

[MoMike]

Not so quiet.

We went up to Pollensa about midday yesterday. We called at Lydl and the Eroski on the way and both shops were packed. Couples,family groups, groups of young people and locals,all with huge trolleys full of food. The people on holiday had clearly found somewhere to stay.
On to the town and it too was heaving.All the car parks full,so lots of honking horns and reversing as people got in,could not find a space and then could not get out.We have never visited in August before so this may be the norm.The town and the market were the busiest we have ever seen it and there was hardly a seat available in the square or the streets. Lots of eating, drinking and shopping going on and big queues at the bus stop. So we didn't find it quiet at all.

 

[STOXIE]

I am delighted for the people involved in the tourism industry that it is so busy. However, I have a horrible feeling that this will spell the end of PP for many visitors. If it is thriving I wonder how many will bother getting licences and the people who enjoyed staying in apartments will not find anywhere to stay (including us). We are average people on reasonable incomes but could not justify spending hotel prices for a holiday.I
Perhaps the authorities have got the exclusivity they may have been seeking. Very sad.

 

[Disorderly]

Mmm.....if the place is as busy as you say, despite the rental situation, perhaps the authorities will say “Job done” and pat themselves on the back.

 

[Mark]

Pleased it is busy but in peak season it should be.

On our last week in June holiday we where surprised by how quiet restaurants away from the front line in the port and the old town square where.

At peak tourist feeding time plenty eating in the main restaurants but the window of opportunity for restaurants to make money looks to be getting smaller.

whatever happens we will still visit next year somehow.

 

[Sparky]

The last few weeks have been busy and i have noticed a lot more Spanish than usual but more bums on seats don't necessarily mean more money in the tills. However it is normal for these weeks to be busy, the problem is that it doesn't make up for the loss of trade in April, May, June and early July, lets hope the next 2 months are much busier than usual.

 

[Sparky]

A report in the MDB :-

Restaurant business down by 20%.


According to the Majorca restaurants association, there has been a 20% decrease in turnover this summer, and the principal reason for this has been the negative impact of holiday rental regulations.

The association's president, Alfonso Robledo, says that business started to go down in May. The rentals "effect" was hitting all types of establishment - bars, cafes, restaurants. Both May and June were worse than the same months in 2017, and business wasn't helped by some occasional poor weather. The 20% drop, so it is claimed, was evident in July, and although business picked up in the first week of August, it has now slumped.

.........................................................................

Full story here :- https://majorcadailybulletin.com/news/local/2018/08/28/52975/restaurant-business-down.html

 

[JPALCOVER]

A report in the MDB :-

Full story here :- https://majorcadailybulletin.com/news/local/2018/08/28/52975/restaurant-business-down.html

Here are the official figures (up to June 2018).

http://www.forum.puertopollensa.com/miscellaneous/13745-news-reports-2018-a.html#post124105

Keep watching the official statistics to check whether they do or do not confirm press articles

 

[JPALCOVER]

New news this morning!

According to EL PAIS, total spending is up (slightly) despite the (slight) decrease in number of tourists

La cifra de gasto es la que mejor aguanta la desaceleración, con un aumento total del 4,2% hasta junio (38.944 millones). Sin embargo, ha caído el gasto de los alemanes (un 3,15%, hasta 5.207,6 millones), mientras que el de los británicos creció un leve 1,16% (7.693,3 millones), frente a un aumento del 14,56% de la primera mitad del año pasado. También crece el gasto de los franceses, un 3,96%, hasta 2.916 millones, si bien en junio del año pasado la tasa de crecimiento era del 8,49%

For the full article, go to the following link:

https://elpais.com/economia/2018/08/29/actualidad/1535559989_486078.html

Looks like the future might not be as bleak as some think and that Spain could be starting to confirm its well heralded status of "California of Europe". As we all know, California is not exactly "cheap", but certainly is a "privileged destination", for some, at least

 

[Sparky]

All of the business owners i have talked to will disagree with El Pais .

 

[Lorenzo]

The El Pais article seems to be about tourism in Spain generally and not specifically about Mallorca.

An article quoting projected figures and reports may not be something to rely on really. Talking to some of the local bar & restaurant owners, as Sparky says, unfortunately is painting a worrying picture, especially as the lower takings may not see them through till next year.

 

[Gommar Goffer]

Do not forget that PP is unique on the island. It is the only resort where private lettings outnumbered hotel beds by a long way and therefore has suffered the most from the recent changes.

 

[P&C@29]

Do not forget that PP is unique on the island. It is the only resort where private lettings outnumbered hotel beds by a long way and therefore has suffered the most from the recent changes.

Shot and foot seem to go together

 

[lollipop]

I was speaking to a restaurant owner the other night and he said he had had a busier August than last year and when we were there it was very busy. So obviously some are doing better than others.