Are We Being Played?

Just in case you were in any doubt about coming to Mallorca this summer and instead opting for a staycation then I think I can probably persuade you otherwise. The weather map here pretty much showed sunshine all the way this week with temperatures topping 30 degrees. I was having a laugh with some friends in the UK where it was pouring with rain and the temperatures were struggling to get out of the teens. Let’s be honest about it we are pretty much guaranteed sunshine and warm temperatures from now until at least the end of September. Whereas in the UK the weather can change as quickly as Government policy. Which right now seems to be on a daily basis. 

This week a senior cabinet minister in the UK was saying that Brits should opt to stay at home. Environment secretary George Eustice warned if people want to go abroad then there are “obviously risks in doing so” even if the country is on the government’s ‘green list’ and “don’t travel unless it’s absolutely necessary”. But he’s quite happy for them to stay and holiday at home where in 90% of local authorities cases are apparently “spiralling” because of the “Indian Variant.”

Just compare and contrast that to here. These were the official figures as of Thursday. 

New cases: 21

In Hospital: 16 

In intensive care: 11

Isolating at home: 395 

First vaccination dose: 359,154 (47%)

Second vaccination dose: 179,350 (23%)

Now while there are some parts of the UK I would love to travel to like Devon and Cornwall. There simply aren’t enough beds to be able to cope with the volume of people. Whereas here, there are hotels everywhere you turn. Hotels too that have invested millions in order to provide you with the holiday you deserve away from the daily stresses and strains and the year we’ve just had. The roads in the UK and in particular the motorways are horrendous at this time of year but in two short hours you can be on a plane and relaxing on a beach or poolside with a cocktail or cool beer in hand. 

I think the only thing holding us back right now from going onto the green list is our vaccination rate. Whilst it’s got better, the Balearics are still last in the list of all the autonomous regions here in Spain. I was at one of the centres last Sunday for my second jab and my Wife for her first. Like last time it was extremely well organised, but this time there were queues everywhere, particularly for the second jab. If they can continue on this path until the end of the month they will have reached the goal of 70% of the population vaccinated at least once. 

I’ve also heard there is a worry that our airport might struggle to cope with a huge influx of people that will undoubtedly happen if the UK Government give the go ahead. I think people forget what the airport was coping with before the pandemic. In 2019 according to official AENA figures, Madrid was the busiest in Spain, followed by Barcelona and guess who came in third? Yes little old Mallorca which carried just under 30 million passengers and that was 10 million more than Malaga in fourth place. Compare and contrast that to the UK, only Heathrow and Gatwick carry more passengers than Mallorca according to their 2019 figures. 

If ever there is a destination built for tourism it is our island. It hasn’t been one of the most popular destinations in the World for the last 50 years for nothing. It is in my opinion still one of the best holiday destinations, an island with turquoise blue waters, secret coves, soft golden sands, lush green foliage, rugged mountains, picturesque villages, amazing cuisine, an up and coming wine industry, bustling nightlife and a vibrant capital city. We’re also an island in the Med only a couple of hours flight from most European cities. 

Following up on what I talked about last week. I had a lot of messages from people agreeing that enough is enough, we need to get on with our lives. We can’t keep stopping and starting because of various variant outbreaks. What happened to us all being safer if we had the vaccine? And how come you can travel to less places now than you could a year ago? Ever get the feeling we’re being played? 

Take care everyone and enjoy your Weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com