My not too serious views about Mallorca & the World!
Author: somethingforyourmallorcaweekend
I've lived and worked in Mallorca since 1990. I've worked at Pirates Adventure & Radio One Mallorca. I now work at Wave Mallorca Radio and have my own Concierge service called Prioritymallorca.com. This blog will give you my news, views and my life on our island in the sun.
This was the headline we woke up to in the Daily Mirror on Monday morning.
Not exactly what you want to see as we prepare for the island to reopen for the Easter holidays, is it? The problem is, these protests make unwanted headlines and bring negativity when it’s just not needed.
What hasn’t been widely reported—especially in the UK press—is the actual turnout for this protest. Now, you have to decide who you believe. The protesters say there were 10,000 people, the Government says 3,500, and the police estimate 1,500. Whichever number you believe, there were significantly fewer people than at the same time last year. Judging by the pictures I saw, I’d probably go with the Government’s figure.
So, why were the numbers so low?
Well, it could be a number of factors, but for me, most importantly: have people finally realised that the problem isn’t the tourists, but the successive governments that have failed to invest in affordable housing? I hope so.
This is something my friend Martin Makepeace and I discuss regularly on our weekly podcast, Talking Balearics. We both agree that the business model of Mallorca—and the rest of the Balearic Islands—is broken and needs replacing. Everyone works in the summer, and everything shuts down in the winter.
In the ’80s and ’90s, it worked. In the noughties, it started to creak. During the 2010s, it really struggled, and now in the 2020s, it’s completely shot. We’re victims of our own success—everyone wants to live here and enjoy a great life, but the majority also need an income. And what brings the income? Yes, you’ve guessed it… tourism!
Without doubt, we have a resident population problem here in Mallorca.
The population is growing, but through immigration—not because of new births. Mallorca’s population stood at just over 950,000 in the middle of last year, with around 28% of foreign descent. Moroccans, Germans, Brits, and Italians are the largest foreign groups, with Palma having the majority across the island.
I’ve been working in Palma for the past two months, and one thing I’ve noticed—something I hadn’t seen before—is that there are apartment blocks everywhere you look, and I imagine they’re inhabited by residents. I don’t see many that are empty, if I’m honest. So if any new building is going to take place, it’ll have to be on the outskirts.
I live in a complex in Santa Ponsa that bans short-term holiday lets. It’s something the Government needs to push onto Airbnb and other rental agents—make it illegal for them to offer short-term holiday rentals. It’s not that difficult to find them online and locate where they are.
If doing so helps relieve the housing shortage—even in a small way—and also reduces over-tourism, then it can only be a good thing.
With Donald Trump seemingly hell-bent on pushing the world either into recession or a third world war, we’re all going to feel it.
Whether that’s through the cost of living here as residents, or through holidaymakers coming to the island with less money to spend.
We really shouldn’t be biting the hand that feeds us. Protest against the Government by all means, but we should be welcoming tourists with open arms.
Liverpool comedian John Bishop comes to the Palma Auditorium in Mallorca on Friday, April 11th, with his 25 Years of Stand-Up tour, Back At It. I was lucky enough to catch up with John this week and have a chat with him.
RP: John Bishop, born at Mill Road Hospital, Everton, on November 30th, 1966. So, shouldn’t that make you a Blue rather than a Red?
JB: Well, that’s a very good question, and no one has ever picked up on that before. So yeah, Mill Road Hospital was the main maternity hospital in Liverpool, and as you say, it was in the Everton part of Liverpool—or at least it was. It’s not there anymore. I was born there, and we lived on that road, just a few doors down from the hospital, which was handy because my mum and dad were knocking kids out at an alarming rate!
Then we moved. The council came along and said, We’re going to knock your house down as part of this slum clearance. That really annoyed my dad because he’d just decorated it! So we moved out of Liverpool to a place called Winsford. In fact, I spent most of my life outside of Liverpool, but always in spillover towns filled with people from Liverpool.
RP: So, growing up, what did the young John Bishop want to be?
JB: Steven Gerrard. Well, actually, at the time, it would have been—I don’t know—probably Kevin Keegan. I wanted to play for Liverpool, that’s what I wanted to do. Yeah. I wanted to be a footballer, like everyone else. That’s how dreams were shaped back then. I certainly never, ever thought I’d be a comedian.
RP: You still had a pretty good career as a semi-professional footballer. You played for quite a few different clubs, and your brother Eddie was a professional footballer at Tranmere, right?
JB: Yeah, Eddie played for Chester and Tranmere. He played at a very good non-league standard, and I played at a decent standard too. The difference, though, in elite sportsmen is the same as in the entertainment industry—everyone can do something to an extent, but to get to the top, you’ve just got to have something. Some level of determination, commitment, and desire to carry on when it really gets hard.
You see that in elite sportsmen. When I’ve played in charity matches and they’re messing about—operating at maybe 30% of their normal level—I still think, God, they’re so much better!
RP: You went to Manchester University, got a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science, and became a pharmaceutical salesman. How was that?
JB: When I started doing stand-up, I was the sales and marketing director of a company that had a product I was responsible for—one that stopped people from rejecting their organs after transplants. It was the hardest thing in the world to stand up and talk about. But there were no jokes. It wasn’t like the job was in any way related to stand-up comedy.
RP: You came into comedy quite late, and your story of how you got into it is fascinating. But it wasn’t the easiest of times for you, was it?
JB: Yeah, I’d just split up with my wife, and I used to have the kids every weekend, taking them back to school or nursery on a Monday and picking them up again on Friday. That meant I was just depressed on a Monday. I was looking for something to do that night—something I could do on my own—because all my mates were bored of listening to me.
So I ended up going to a comedy club, just because I could go on my own. I was 34 and couldn’t think of anything else to do. The guy on the door said, Look, if you put your name down, it’s an open mic night, and you don’t have to pay. I didn’t even know what an open mic night was! He explained it meant I’d have to get up on stage, but because the only comedy clubs I’d ever been in had been packed, I assumed this one would be too.
So I put my name down, thinking, They’ll never get to me—there are probably 200 people in there. But when I walked in, there were only seven. Seven people, and five had already put their names down. I ended up being called up second.
The truth is, if I’d been third or fourth, I probably would have left. But I got called out second, and I was following a Geordie who just did chicken impressions. It was bizarre—I was thinking, Is this some kind of care-in-the-community thing?
I thought, There’s nothing to lose. There are only seven people here, and one of them thinks he’s a chicken! So I just did it. And after that, it became my thing. I started going every Monday, then got asked to do other nights, then weekends. It just grew and grew.
One Thursday, I got called in as a last-minute replacement, and by that point, my act had grown to be all about my divorce. Unbeknownst to me, my wife was in the audience that night—she’d been invited on a work do.
She came over to me at the end, and I just thought, Jesus, this will finalise the divorce settlement. My act is going to cost me another 20 grand. But she said, That was really funny. It was nice to see you the way I’ve always seen you—as funny. Can we do something to get back together?
That’s why comedy is so important to me.
This year marks 25 years since that first night. So much has happened since, but everything has grown out of stand-up—television, acting, all of it. I owe comedy everything.
I’ve been asked loads of times about doing a gig in Mallorca, but I always said no because I wanted to keep it separate. Mallorca has a really special place in our family. But Jimmy Carr sent me a photo of the theatre, and I thought, Oh my God, that looks just like the theatres I tour in the UK. It suddenly made sense to do a show in Mallorca, in a venue that feels right, in a place that means so much to us.
RP: Let’s finish how we started—on football. What are your thoughts on Liverpool post-Klopp? And now you’re probably nailed on to win the league what do you think of your new boss, Arne Slot?
JB: I mean, it’s been a fantastic first season. Jurgen left behind a great squad but also a great legacy as a person. He really got Liverpool—the city, the people, the culture. He galvanized the club just when it needed it most.
No one expected what’s happened this season. Jurgen’s personality is so imprinted on the club that whoever followed him couldn’t come in with a big ego—it just wouldn’t have worked. But Arne Slot slipped into the slipstream perfectly. You can tell how confident he is in himself because he didn’t rush out and buy loads of players. He just took his time, respected the squad Jurgen built, and figured it out.
RP: Do you begrudge Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid?
JB: Absolutely not. Trent goes with everyone’s blessing. I guarantee he’ll get an amazing reception because he owes the club nothing.
At a club like Liverpool, if you give everything, the fans give you everything back. It was the same with Jurgen—when he decided to leave, everyone just… accepted it.
I actually got to interview him at the Liverpool Arena in front of 10,000 fans. The warmth in the room, the gratitude—it was overwhelming. And I think the fans will feel the same way about Trent.
RP: John, I appreciate your time. I know you’re really busy.
JB: No problem—I just want everyone to know this is happening.
John is performing Back At It on Friday, April 11th, at the Palma Auditorium. Get your tickets at www.johnbishoponline.com
It’s time for me to say to the protesters of over tourism, whilst I have every sympathy with your problems, I, for one, do not support the way you are going about it. The problem with housing and the affordability to either buy or rent isn’t that of the tourists that come to the island and spend their hard-earned money. It lies with the failure of successive Governments for not putting together a house building programme and making some of those properties affordable to the younger people trying to get onto the housing ladder. I would also ask where have you been for the past six months? And why is that? Well, the easiest answer is that apart from the capital city of Palma, the island has more or less been closed.
The Government should have been offering more encouragement to the Airlines, tour operators and Hoteliers to keep working through the winter. Rather than being happy to only open from May to October. Maybe if the population was employed for 12 months instead of 6 then housing would possibly be more affordable? I would be interested to know what the cost is for paying people unemployment benefit in the winter. Why not strike a deal for the businesses here to open up and not have to pay social security in the winter months, a cost which cripples most companies. When I arrived in Mallorca in 1990 the winter was just as busy as the Summer. However, over the years this has eroded to a situation where most resorts are ghost towns in the winter. Flights have been taken away through the years and as that’s more or less the only way you can get here, the island has consequently suffered. Also, the advent of the low-cost airlines has opened up lots of new destinations that bring competition and that weren’t on the map back in the 1990s.
Maybe if the tourism load was spread over 12 months instead of 6 then the problem of over tourism might go away? I, for one, doubt it, but it might be one of the solutions to the problem. Take Benidorm on the mainland as a perfect example of this. It’s literally half an hour across the water, temperatures are the same around 15–20 degrees, and it’s still as busy in the winter as it is in the Summer. In fact, there were reports of thousands of people heading there instead of going to Cheltenham in mid-March. They were saying it was cheaper to go there than spend four days at the famous horse racing festival. Combine that with the climax to the Six Nations Rugby on the Saturday the Carabao Cup Final between Liverpool and Newcastle on the Sunday and St Patrick’s Day, what a week that was! The authorities here should take note.
To go back to my main point that the protesters in my opinion should not target the tourists as that is the lifeblood of our island. Do they not remember what it was like in the pandemic? I’ve said it before, but I’m sure, like me, most of them have a friend or family member that is involved in tourism in one way or another. So targeting them isn’t going to help in any way.
One thing the protesters haven’t mentioned and was reported to me by Brad Robertson of Save The Med, when I interviewed him a few months ago. He said, “There’s too many people mate, whether you’re a tourist or someone that doesn’t leave your house, it doesn’t matter, there’s just too many of us”! In two decades, Mallorca’s population has grown from 727,000 to 960,000, an increase of 32 per cent. Maybe we should get our own house in order first?
The breaking news on the radio early Friday morning was Heathrow being closed. My immediate thought was that there had been a terrorist attack or there had been a crash. Thankfully, it was neither of those. A fire at a nearby sub-station had caused a power outage. Unfortunately, it meant that the airport had had to close down, and it wasn’t known when it was going to re-open. The closure meant that thousands of people’s travel plans were disrupted. Not just at Heathrow, but the knock on effect was felt around the World. It begs the question, why does one of the biggest airports in the World not have sufficient back up to run all of its systems? Surely the money lost on that day would have paid for it?
The UK Government is going to raise the cost of passport applications from the 10th of April 2025. This is subject to Parliament approval, but with the majority the Government have there shouldn’t be a problem.
the fee for a standard online application made from within the UK will rise from £88.50 to £94.50 for adults and £57.50 to £61.50 for children
postal applications will increase from £100 to £107 for adults and £69 to £74 for children
the fee for a Premium Service (1 day) application made from within in the UK will rise from £207.50 to £222 for adults and £176.50 to £189 for children
the fee for a standard online application when applying from overseas for a UK passport will rise from £101 to £108 for adults and £65.50 to £70 for children
overseas standard paper applications will increase from £112.50 to £120.50 for adults and £77 to £82.50 for children
In 2024, where no further information was required, 99.7% of standard applications from the UK were processed within 3 weeks. You may want to look at the date of all your family passports to save yourself some.money.
The British Embassy in Spain is urging all British nationals resident in Spain to get a tarjeta de identidad de extranjero (TIE) as soon as possible, following new information from the Spanish Government that the old Green Certificate will not be recognised by the EU’s Entry Exit System.
The EU have yet to announce a date for when the Entry Exit System (EES) will come into force, though it is believed to be later this year. Under this new border system, all non-EU short stay travellers will need to register their name, passport details, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) upon entering Spain or any other EU country. These details will be held on file for three years, meaning Britons making repeat visits to Spain within a three-year period will not have to go through the same registration process each time or have their passport stamped once EES is fully implemented.
To be exempt from registering with the EES, British residents in the EU will need to show a valid uniform-format biometric card. For British residents in Spain, only a TIE will be accepted by Spanish and EU authorities. The Green Certificate will not be recognised because it does not meet the requirements to feature in Annex 22 of the Schengen Borders Code.
As a result, Green Certificate holders attempting to enter Spain or any other country in the Schengen zone will not be able to use their Green Certificate as valid proof of residency and may be wrongly accused of overstaying in the EU. This could lead to them being denied entry and returned to the UK. There will be an appeals process, although it may require the Green Certificate holder to return to the UK until it is resolved.
So now we know some of the plans the Government have set out in order to reduce the so-called over tourism or Tourismophobia as it’s also known.
An increase on the tourist tax on cruise ships.
An overall increase in the Tourist Tax in high season.
A Tax on cars that spend less than six months on the island and aren’t registered here.
If we’re honest, it’s a thankless task trying to appease everyone, as they all have their own agendas. In fact, one of the biggest problems for the Government is actually trying to get these ideas through parliament as they are currently governing in a minority having fallen out with Vox, the party they made a governing pact with. Whether you’re governing in a coalition or in a minority the biggest problems are that each party is out to get its own agenda into the equation in order to get a deal done, The problem with that is its not always in the best interests of the problems that need solving or the people they are trying to help.
The Tourist Tax has been raised in high season and scrapped in January and February. The raise I don’t really have a problem with as it has risen when the numbers are at their highest and as long as the money is passed onto the right places, then that will benefit the sustainability. I’m still not sure whether it should be a flat rate across the board, rather than charging different rates depending on the star rating of the hotel. Why assume that someone staying in a higher rated hotel has more money, when everybody is having an effect on the island and its services? Another thing I don’t get is that children under 16 don’t pay anything and yet their numbers are still adding to the footfall on the island too?
Linked to this is that cruise ships are to be charged the maximum amount of tourist tax in the high season. Which once again, I do not have a problem with.
In 2025, 541 cruise ships are scheduled for Palma. The total number of passengers is put at 1.8 million. By comparison with 2024 there will be 47 more ships and 41,000 more passengers. According to Ibestat, the passengers that disembark “only spend €35 on the island”. Only? That’s not a bad per head for a person spending sometimes less than a day here. That 63 million euros I am sure is welcome. What isn’t taken into account is the employment this all creates and the other revenue such as coaches, taxis and the companies restocking those ships. I would also wager a bet that a certain percentage of those 1.8 million visitors will return to the island for another holiday.
Finally, a tax is to be charged on people bringing cars to the island on the ferries. The size of your vehicle and your length of stay will determine what you pay. It will apply to any vehicle that is not registered on the island.
This all may look good on paper, but whenever I go to Palma airport, I see more and more building work. Which can surely only mean one thing, more tourists?
A couple of subjects I’ve banged on about over the last few years have made it back into the headlines in the last week.
Firstly, it looks like Kier Starmers Labour Government is going to organise a scheme where 18 to 30-year-olds are going to be able to work in Europe for a three-year period.
In relation to this, back in December I wrote this….
“Of the 18-24 year olds, 73% voted to remain and 27% voted to leave. Compare that to the over 65’s where 60% voted to leave and 40% voted to remain. It’s a sad fact of life that some of those over 65’s are now no longer with us, and while I respect their right to vote for what they believed in. Surely a clearer majority should have been put in place to make sure a tight result meant a second referendum? Although you have to be over 18 to vote in the UK, why weren’t the 16 and 17-year-olds at the time not given the opportunity to vote on something that would ultimately affect their future? Unless something changes they’re going to have to live with the consequences of this decision for about 70 years, and it’ll affect every area of their lives from education, to jobs and to travel.
Both the UK and the EU have suffered from an employment point of view, ever since the freedom of movement was taken away. Mallorca has suffered twice in the need for workers from both Brexit and the pandemic. Brexit has brought the lack of workers from the UK and since the pandemic, less seasonal workers from the Spanish mainland have arrived. Meaning some bars and restaurants only open for 5 days a week, and have you wondered why it’s so difficult to get a taxi in July and August?”
This is not something new, and therefore not something that is anti-Brexit. The UK already has an existing youth mobility scheme with a dozen other countries, they are, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino, Uruguay, Taiwan and Hong Kong. So making this scheme available to young people in Europe, I can only see this as a good move. Remember, we were all young once!
Talking of the young, the UK Government is looking to change how school holidays are taken. Now, school holidays have been another bug bear of mine ever since Michael Gove said in 2013 that children were not allowed to go on holiday during term time. When I arrived in Mallorca in 1990 there were families here from May to the end of October, without any problems. Prices were spread quite evenly throughout those months, with a rise during the popular months of July and August. After banning children from travelling out of school hours, the prices of holidays, particularly in those two months, rocketed and have increased over time. Some parents just can’t afford to take their children away at that time and choose to go during term time, and they have been fined for doing so.
Before 2013 this wasn’t the case, and do we truly believe that kids suffered in their education? This is not about encouraging truancy, this would be an agreement between parents and teachers who lets face it is the people who should decide not a Government Minister. If the child has a good attendance record and is not behind in their work, in my view they should be encouraged to go on holiday. Seeing new countries, experiencing new cultures, hearing new languages and tasting different cuisines should be part of their education.
Rather than look at shortening children’s holidays, I wish they would go back to how it was before. I speak for myself and probably the majority of you out there when I say, we didn’t turn out too bad, did we?
After a few health problems, I have decided that the time is right to lose a few kilos. The idea is that this is a build up to Ayesha and I doing a 36 hour live broadcast called the Radiothon on the 9th and 10th of May. But we want more people to join us on what we believe will be a fun way to lose weight and feel better about ourselves. Between us we have put together a great team of professionals who are going to help us along the way and we have called the challenge “Be a Loser”.
We are teaming up with “Fit Club Mallorca Gym” and Nicky at “Mallorca Wellness Hub” to create a supportive community anyone can join, enabling you to start reaching own personal well being goals.
Nicky has been a health coach for 10 years now helping people.
Using “Herbalife” nutrition products and working one to one with clients to help change small daily nutrition plans and health habits which are tailored to each individuals needs. Not only do you get great results, but you will keep the healthy habits long term to maintain that result. AND as a chef herself and big food lover Nicky’s meal plans mean never having to give up any foods and still be able to have a life!
Nicky will be giving a free and private one to one “Wellness Evaluation” in person or online so that can include people living anywhere outside of Mallorca.
Providing personalised nutrition plans
Free access to online support
AND one to one coaching
Including a fantastic 10% discount on the all important Herbalife products.
Fit Club Mallorca gym in Son Caliu offers the best selection of high-tech fitness equipment in Mallorca and great classes for all abilities to join. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff will be there to guide you and are dedicated to helping you understand how to use the equipment effectively. With our “Be a Loser” community you will also have access to the Recovery Room the ultimate sanctuary for post-workout rejuvenation, as you discover a holistic approach to recovery and elevate your fitness journey, it’s not all bad!
Achieve your fitness goals efficiently and safely with Fit Club Mallorca
Fit Club Mallorca are giving an amazing membership offer for just 75€ a month to include:
Full gym membership
No joining fee
Free protein shake on your first day
A PT induction
Unlimited access to the recovery room
That’s a super saving of 200€
To have access to this offer simply say when booking, you are with Wave Mallorca Radio Community to Be a Loser https://fitclubmallorca.com
If you’re still not quite sure and want some more information you can always contact us studio@wavemallorca.com / +34 670 704 311
Ayesha and I invite you to join me on what will be a fun journey and I’m sure we’ll have a laugh or two along the way.
Having seen the reports in the Spanish papers and in the Daily Bulletin, it seems that our Government here has some work to do in order to get its own house in order in regard to tourism over crowding. If you haven’t seen the story, it said that over three million people went “missing” in the tourism numbers of 2024. These were all people that didn’t pay the tourist tax, although quite a lot of them for a legitimate reason. As I said back in 2018, “. Just a thought, why isn’t the Government promoting what they are spending the Tourist Tax money on? A video on that massive screen as you come through arrivals at the airport or pictures on the walls saying “last year we raised….and this is what we have spent the money on. Keeping Mallorca the way we all love it for now and for future generations.” That message also may make people think about where they are booking their accommodation. As always, though, with any alarming headline you have to look into the detail. Apparently one million stayed in their own “second home accommodation” and a further two million stayed with family and friends or perhaps more damaging in illegal holiday lets. From what I can see, the numbers for the illegal lets are unclear, making this report inconclusive. Also remember that out of this total of three million, how many are actual tourists, and they only equate to a small percentage of the overall number of tourist visitors to the island. Other avenues will need to be looked at, but if the illegal lets were controlled more it would surely ease the situation if not greatly, at least a little?
I notice the mainland Government is thinking of lowering the drink drive limit. The maximum limit will go from 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood to 0.2, while the limit for expelled air will be reduced from 0.25 milligrams of alcohol per litre to 0.10 milligrams. Why don’t they just make it zero? It would make it a lot easier to decide whether after one drink you are actually safe to drive. Alcohol affects us in different ways and one drink for one to be over the limit, could be two drinks for another. This new measure, which will affect all drivers, is not yet in force but is expected to be implemented during the course of this year and will entail new fines for those who do not respect the established limits.
I have been overwhelmed by the hundreds of messages of support after we launched a new English speaking radio station this week. Wave Mallorca will broadcast from our studios in Palma across the island on 105.2 and 88.2 in Calvia. Online at www,wavemallorca.com and soon to be on all your smart speakers. Between all the presenters, we have lived for over 100 years on the island, so we should have all local, national and international news all covered. We will be very close to the community, both local and tourists, and we will be bringing back our Radiothon and Christmas charity appeals. Anybody interested in sponsoring or advertising with us should get in touch with me.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Margaret Whittaker, who very sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago. I had the pleasure of interviewing Margaret on a couple of occasions on the radio, and she would regularly come to our Pirates Charity Premiere, where she would always donate to the charities. I lost my Mother last year and whilst it’s tough you can always look back and remember the good times they and you had together. Rest in peace.
Radio has been a passion of mine since I was a child. You have to remember I’m of an age that is way before the World Wide Web, mobile phones, Social Media, YouTube and Sky TV had started.
My go-to stations when I was younger were BBC Radio 2 for the football, Radio 1 and Capital Radio for music. My two favourite DJs were Chris Evans and Steve Wright. That’s now moved onto Talksport, BBC Radio 5 Live for the sport and Radio 2 and Virgin Radio for music.
After spending my life working as a Redcoat, a Holiday Rep and at Pirates, I had dallied in DJing but nothing really significant. Until I was asked to go onto an island radio station called Luna Radio back in the mid 2000s. That was the catalyst to launch Radio One Mallorca back in 2012 which we sold in 2019, and I finished working with them in June 2023.
Back in February last year, I wrote the following, “Steve Wright to me was the G.O.A.T. and the King of afternoon radio. Like Terry Wogan or to me, Chris Evans was to breakfast. It’s made me think that my time in radio isn’t over just yet. A better work, health and family balance and I will be back in the future.”
So after a short stint on Radio One Mallorca just before Christmas, my colleague Jo and I decided it was time to open our own radio station and I will be back on breakfast on our new station Wave Mallorca from this Monday.
The station will have a dynamic mix of current and classic hits. We will look to embrace the local community with our presenters and DJ’s, Des Mitchell, Izzy Newman, Charles Nutter plus Jo and me of course. All of us have lived on the island for over 25 years, so we will bring you all the local news and events. I am really pleased that my former Radio Wife Ayesha Wood will be back with me at least once a week on the breakfast show.
With radio now readily available around the world, we will keep you all up to date wherever you’re listening with what’s happening on our island on a daily basis.
Charity will also be a very important part of the station, that will see the return of our Radiothon which has raised just under €200,000 for good causes. Also, our Christmas campaign helping those in need here on the island. We will be happy to help promote other charity events, so please get in touch.
If you’d like to hear about our Sponsorships, feature sponsorships, advertising campaigns, presenter reads and competition prizes. We have something to suit all budgets. Please get in touch, Call: 0034 670 704 311 or email: sales@wavemallorca.com
In the European tourism world, there are three main tourist fairs. The World Travel Market in London in November, Fitur in Madrid in January and the ITB in Berlin in March. These are all large-scale events where exhibitors from travel, hospitality, and cultural sectors convene to showcase their services and products.
So the great and the good from the travel world here in Mallorca have returned from Madrid, and I was wondering what was the message they returned with.
After speaking to a few of them, the main answer I got was “optimism”.
One of the main problems the Government need to address is the sustainability of the Islands and how they are going to do that yet still reap the economic benefits.
President Marga Prohens announced that 1.12 billion euros is to be spent on tourism sustainability and modernisation in the Balearics.
The slogan for the campaign is ‘the reason is you’ and the strategy is to make the Balearics a benchmark in tourism sustainability. The money will come from the EU next generation funds and the tourist tax – respectively 260 million euros and 860 million euros of tourist tax revenue raised since 2016.
Being an island, we rely on people arriving by air and sea, so is it any wonder the amount of investment in our airport and ports?
Many airlines are increasing their seat capacities. One of them United Airlines from the United States, will increase its direct flights from Palma to New York by more than 50%. A route between the two cities that will also remain in operation until the 24th of October, an extra month on last year.
Anybody travelling through Palma Airport this winter will have seen the massive investment in the infrastructure. Now, I imagine this is being put in place to improve the customer journey, but without doubt it is also preparing for an increase in passenger numbers.
Back in 2021 there was a 5-year agreement signed to limit the size and number of cruise ships visiting Palma. Whilst there are fewer ships and passengers compared to 2019, the numbers are still high. In 2025, 541 cruise ships are scheduled for Palma. The total number of passengers is put at 1.8 million. By comparison with 2024 there will be 47 more ships and 41,000 more passengers.
According to Ibestat the passengers that disembark “only spend €35 on the island”. Only? That’s not a bad per head for a person spending less than a day here. That 63 million euros I am sure is welcome. What isn’t taken into account is the employment this all creates and the other revenue such as coaches, taxis and the companies restocking those ships. I would also wager a bet that a certain percentage of those 1.8 million visitors will return to the island for another holiday.
You may wonder why the Club de Mar and the Paseo Maritimo in Palma are being revamped? Like the airport, I imagine this has been to not only improve the area for residents but preparing for greater numbers arriving at the port.
1 in 5 people in the Balearics work in Tourism, we all know someone who is involved in that Industry. Tourism both directly and indirectly contributes between 40% and 50% of the Balearic Island’s total GDP. Mallorca continues to face major challenges in terms of making tourism more sustainable while at the same time safeguarding their economic interests.
Dad Taxi Mallorca 