This week, social media in the UK was full of the obligatory back to school photos. Over here in Mallorca, despite breaking up in the middle of June, the majority of schools go back next Wednesday. There’s not a Mum and Dad I know that can’t wait for that. In my opinion, three months off is without doubt far too long for kids to be out of school. Yes you read that right, 3 months, 12 weeks or 84 days! One of the excuses I heard once was that as the schools are so old they don’t have air conditioning, and therefore it’s uncomfortable for children. Which I get, but why do some schools then re-open to do summer schools and charge you for the privilege? Some will say it gives parents an opportunity to spend quality time with their kids, but a high percentage of those parents work in our biggest industry, tourism, and it’s the height of season. 

In the UK the fining system has been increased by the Government, when you take children out of school, particularly for a holiday. 

This is the information from the Government education hub.

“In the majority of cases, schools and local authorities will try and provide support to help you improve your child’s attendance first, but if this isn’t effective or the absence is for unauthorised term time holiday, parents may face paying a fine. 

It’s the responsibility of the local authority to decide when to issue fines to parents, meaning the process varies from council to council. 

However, under the national rules, all schools are required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons. 

From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. This rate is in line with inflation and is the first increase since 2012. 

In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.”

Back in March, I wrote the following,

“In 1990 when I first arrived in Mallorca, families used to visit the island every month. So you wouldn’t see a major difference whether the children were on holiday from school or not. This changed however in 2012 when the coalition government of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats brought in a law that only allowed children to go on holiday in the official school holidays. The Minister was Michael Gove (remember him?). He said at the time “It is wrong for parents to take children out of school during term time to take advantage of cheaper holidays and there should be a call for action to stop holiday companies cashing in by ramping up prices during the school holidays.” He added, “that the holiday industry should look at itself in the mirror and ask whether it was doing enough to help its customers.”

Well that didn’t work, did it. Tour operators, airlines, hotels, in fact pretty much everybody involved in the tourist industry still puts their prices up in school holidays. Why? Because of the increased demand, created by Government policy. I know as I book my holidays at Christmas both in the UK and abroad.” For instance, if I want to book the cheapest lodge at Woburn Center Parcs UK for 4 nights between December 23rd and December 27th it will cost £1,699.00. That same lodge from the 6th of January to the 10th of January is £399.00!

With all the headlines around Ticketmaster putting their prices up for Oasis tickets because of increased demand, ask yourself, what is the difference? For me, it’s double standards from the Government. Seeing new countries, experiencing new cultures, hearing new languages and tasting different cuisines should be part of a child’s education in my opinion. And it should be in the hands of the parents and teachers to decide if a child could take some time away, not a Government Minister.

I would be interested to know if the Tour Operators, airlines and hotels would prefer to go back to the old system of letting children go on holiday when their parents wish them to, and then they will be able to price accordingly? And it might just help the claimed “over tourism” both here and around the World.

I welcome your thoughts.

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

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

When I was on the radio and played a song by Oasis, I always said that they were the one band I would love to see get back together. There didn’t seem to be any hope as both of the brothers had carved out their own individual careers and neither seemed humble enough to pick up the phone and talk to each other.  That has just all changed, as they announced this week that after 15 years apart they are getting back together. 

Those of us that have been in Mallorca a few years will remember Oasis played on the island in 2002 at the old cricket pitch in Magaluf. It was part of the Isladencanta Festival and around 15,000 people turned up. Unfortunately, we had a show that night in Pirates, but I remember us going onto the roof to listen to some of it as it was not far away from us. 

I’ve had the good fortune to meet and interview two of the drummers in the band over the years. Who just happen to be brothers, like Noel and Liam. This was an interview I did with Alan in 2018.

Always a pleasure to chat with a music legend. Last Sunday at Pirates, I met and chatted to Alan White, who was the drummer with Oasis from 1995-2004. I’ve met him a few times before as he has a home here on the island. He was part of arguably their best album “What’s the Story Morning Glory” including “Wonderwall” “Roll With it” and he’s the drummer in the pool on the “Don’t look back in anger” video. In Oasis, he was known by the phrase “Alan White – He’s alright”. White was also entrusted with the job of being Liam Gallagher’s ‘official’ drinking partner, and was also said to be his best friend in the band. Together, the pair were known as ‘Bert and Ernie’, named after the Sesame Street-characters. We had a good catch up, and I had to ask whether they would ever get back together. He said he doubted it as while Liam wanted to, Noel just isn’t interested. He did say though that if it did ever happen the brothers individually have said that Alan would be on drums, Paul “Bonehead” Arthur’s on keyboards and guitar and Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan on bass. I, for one, would buy a ticket. 

Alan’s brother Steve is also a drumming legend, who played with Paul Weller and the Style Council. In fact Steve was the youngest musician to play at Live Aid in 1985 when he was just 20. He also found himself in 2001 filling in for his younger brother Alan in the hot seat for Oasis on the band’s American tour with the Black Crowes. 

I said earlier that both the Gallagher’s have carved out their own music careers. My favourite Liam track is “Wall of glass” and my favourite track from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is “Pretty Boy”. Also, Noel is brilliant at talking football on Talksport and Liam is hilarious on Twitter. 

If I had to choose my top three Oasis songs, they would be.

1. Don’t look back in anger
2. Champagne Supernova
3. Live Forever

At the time of writing, we don’t know who the support act is going to be. Any suggestions would be welcome. 

I hope the prices of tickets are reasonable enough for the real fans to be able to go. Will it be worth going to? Definitely, will they last the whole tour? Maybe!

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

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

There’s always a sense of excitement and nervousness when a new football season starts. How will your team play, where will they finish the season and will they win a trophy, are three of the most important questions in most fans minds. There was the same anticipation for me and my two boys as we made our way to the Estadi Son Moix last Sunday, to see Real Mallorca’s first game of the season. Just the small matter of Real Madrid as our first opponents. Yes that Real Madrid who were La Liga Champions, Champions League winners and just last week they had won the UEFA Super Cup. And to top it all off, they had just signed arguably the greatest player in the World right now Kilian Mbappe. 

A trip to the stadium is no longer a chore, apart from the parking of course! But the American owners have totally transformed the club from top to bottom. It is now a pleasure to turn up early outside and have a couple of alcoholic beers. I say that because alcohol is banned inside the stadium, unless you’re with the garlic prawns brigade. That has now been enhanced with the opening of the Mallorca Sports Bar, which luckily enough for us is under the stand where we sit.  They had big screens showing live games from La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Chelsea v Manchester City game from the Premier League.

Last week I read that the most expensive pie-and-a-pint combo in the Premier League this season is at West Ham United’s London Stadium. It will set you back a total of £11.30 for both on a match day. Well Mallorca will certainly give them a run for their money. A burger and a caña(half a lager) will set you back €12.50 or €15.50 if you want a pint! Now I have to say the burger was actually pretty good but not €9.50 pretty good. The club need to make sure they don’t price their fan base away from the game. They have a lot of great corporate opportunities but never lose sight of the real fans who turn up week in and week out. 

Back to the game and let’s remember that Mallorca finished in 15th place last season, just the 55 points behind Real Madrid. So expectations weren’t that high especially when you’re facing a front line of Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo, with Bellingham, Tchouameni and Valverde just behind. Last year Madrid’s spending cap was €727.50 million compared to Mallorca’s €61 million and their newly refurbished stadium holds just over 80,000 and our newly refurbished stadium hold just over 23,000. You can’t compare them. But at the end of the day it’s 11 v 11 and that means anything can happen. Which as it turned out it did. Madrid scored first in the 13th minute and it looked like it could be a cricket score. But to Mallorca’s credit they battled back into the game and in my opinion were the better team in the second half. They equalised in the 53rd minute with a goal from Muriqi and could have won right at the end when Mallorca born Antonio Sanchez had a golden opportunity in front of goal but skied his shot higher than the Tramuntana mountains. A point was more than we could have dreamed of and hopefully that’s the sign of things to come. Under new coach Jagoba Arrasate, we seem to be more on the front foot and I like the look of the squad and what he’s doing with it. 

Today at 16.00, Mallorca play Osasuna away. This is significant game in may ways. Our coach Arrasate has joined from Osasuna after six successful years and guiding them to a best placed 7th. Osasuna have replaced him with Mallorca’s former coach Vincente Moreno, who guided us to two successive promotions. There’s also Ante Budimir, a former Real Mallorca player, who downed tools and refused to play for the team unless he got a transfer. Mallorca only won away twice last season so it’s important to try and get something from this game. Note that Mallorca play their next home game on Tuesday August 27th at 19.00. I’m saving up for the burger and pint combo! 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

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

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the anti-tourism protesters and their demands on the Balearic Government. Whilst I don’t agree with most of their demands, there were a couple I thought were fair. One in particular that I thought needed looking into more was the tourist tax. 

This was introduced in 2016, and we were told that Its aim was to fund projects encouraging a sustainable, responsible and high-quality tourism model, particularly projects that boost the preservation of the environment (nature, country life, agriculture and sea life), off-season tourism, historical sites and cultural heritage, research and development. 

At the time I have to be honest and say I had my doubts, not in the principle of it but exactly where and how the money was going to be spent. The first year, the hoteliers absorbed the costs themselves, thinking it would be so unpopular that the Government would remove it. Whilst it was unpopular, the Government refused to withdraw it, and it kept going. 

Now, you need a degree to understand how the tourist tax works here in Mallorca. As I’m not that academically blessed, I will do my best. 

People staying at luxury hotels will be charged €4, those at a mid-range hotels/accommodation €3, all cruise passengers and people staying in cheaper hotels, apartments and rented villas will be charged a minimum of €2 and guests of modest hostels will pay €1. 

During the low season (between 1st November and 30th April of the following year) the tax will be discounted by 75%. In addition, after nine days of any stay, the rate will also be cut by 50%. Children under the age of 16 are exempt from paying the tax.

I would scrap all of the above. Firstly, surely everyone should pay the same regardless of their accommodation? Why should the time of the year be discounted? I would keep the same level all year round. Should the amount of time you spend here be discounted? I would get rid of the 50% discount after nine days. And surely children are part of the sustainability problem as much as the adults? I would charge all children under 16. 

Now, let’s remember that we are not the only destination that has a tourist tax. According to Condé Nast Traveller the countries that currently have a charge are, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Caribbean Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain and the USA.

In 2024, the UK is imposing a new system called an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), whereby visitors from the US, Europe, Australia and Canada will be required to apply for permission and pay to enter the country.

Next year, the EU will begin implementing a new tourist visa(ETIAS), whereby non-EU citizens travelling from outside the Schengen zone will need to fill out a €7 application to enter the country. That includes the UK, of course!

Once this has all been paid, most people are asking, where is the money being spent and is it being spent on the tourism sustainability it is meant to support?  Last month, Balearic tourism minister Jaume Bauzá announced that 31 projects will be funded with revenue raised from the tourist tax in 2023.

The Sustainable Tourism Tax Commission, he explained, had approved 31 projects from 102 that had been submitted and which totalled 279 million euros in value. The 31 have a value of 94.5 million.

Do any of you know what those 31 projects are? In fact, can you recall any of the projects that have been paid for since the tax started? To be honest, me neither. And for me as someone who works in tourism and the media, that’s a bit worrying, isn’t it? 

 I wrote this 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.” Get Rafa Nadal to narrate the video, as he’s a Worldwide name that everybody knows and loves.”

I think the Government should be more open on where and what the money is being spent, and don’t be afraid to shout it from the rooftops. At the airport seems like a perfect place, and I would extend that to billboard’s around the island. If it is Rafa narrating a video then he speaks Spanish, Catalan, English, French and Italian. Or let him speak in Spanish with subtitles in as many languages as you need. Let’s face it nobody like taxes but if you can see the money is being spent on the island’s sustainability then it makes it a little more palatable. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

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

If, like me, you’re a sports fan, then this summer has been an absolute feast of entertainment. Usually, the months between the end of the football season and the start of a new one are quite boring. Where I find myself watching old games that I already know the results of and sports that I would never normally watch.

However, this summer has been non-stop wall-to-wall sport of the highest calibre. We started with the Euros, England certainly didn’t play well, but they gave us some amazing memories. From the Jude Bellingham overhead kick, to defeating Switzerland on penalties and Ollie Watkins last minute winner against the Netherlands. Unfortunately our luck ran out against the deserved winners Spain, so although my country of birth didn’t win, at least the country I live in did.  Talking of the Spanish, tennis player Carlos Alcaraz has overtaken Rafa Nadal as the leading Spanish player after his straight sets final victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. Then we had the British Grand Prix at Silverstone which is always a show-piece event and despite coming to the end of his contract at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton triumphed over his bitter rival Max Verstappen, with Britain’s Lando Norris finishing third.

To top the summer off, we’ve just had the Paris Olympics, which despite a weird and very wet opening ceremony which to me disappointed on many levels, the games themselves have been nothing short of sensational. I think my favourite things to watch has been the swimming, diving, gymnastics and the athletics. Although, I have found myself watching sports I would never ordinarily look at. I don’t think I’m alone in this, at least I hope not! But I’ve watched, dressage, shooting, BMX bike riding and skateboarding to name but a few. Which once the football season starts I wouldn’t go anywhere near. I think it’s the competitiveness of it all and that there’s a chance to win; a gold medal at the end. As I write this, Great Britain stand in fifth place in the medal table and are currently the best placed European nation, which is an unbelievable achievement. 

So it’s been a non-stop summer of great sport, and guess what? The Premier League and La Liga starts next week. I’ll see you on the other side. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

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

The first week of July and you can see that the island is hotting up in more ways than one. Without doubt, it hasn’t been as busy earlier in the season, which may be down to Easter falling so early, but things have certainly kicked in now, The supermarket I visit every Sunday wasn’t the usual in-out experience this week. The car park was overflowing and people were queuing for a trolley to actually go in with. I’ll make sure I go earlier next week to avoid the crowds. 

So here we go, ten weeks of madness, and then we’ll all be able to breathe again. This is the time when it gets too hot, parking will become a nightmare, getting a taxi will be as rare an England winning a trophy, and you’ll be lucky if you get a restaurant reservation. 

I go back to my point in another piece, that whilst Mallorca does get busy and probably too much so in the high season, the reality is it is only for 3 to 4 months. That also doesn’t make it right, but no Government since I’ve been here has managed to solve it. Now, this is the third time I’ve mentioned my interview with Brad Robertson of Save The Med a few weeks ago. When I asked him what can we do about “Tourismphobia” his words still resonate. “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”.

With that in mind, an interesting report came out this week that according to the Institute of National Statistics, 2.3 million visitors stayed with family and friends or possible illegal rentals and just under 1 million used their second homes here in the Baleares in 2023. That’s 20% of the overall tourist numbers are actually contributing to the islands’ so-called overcrowding problem, but the blame is being put at the hotelier’s door. I would imagine most of those visiting though will be contributing to the island’s economy through shops, bars and restaurants. In some cases, much more than a visitor to an all-inclusive hotel. There’s one hotel that shall remain nameless that is glad to see their guests go out and enjoy the facilities of the resort, as the guests are eating and drinking more than they bargained for. 

So whilst I have every sympathy with the protesters saying, “movement for less tourism, more quality of life”. We as a population are not helping the matter. Their next protest will take place in Palma on July 21st. I wonder how many of those protesters will have people staying with them, rent a property illegally, have a second home, or who are working in tourism?

Whilst all this is going on, the owners of Palma airport are pushing on with their expansion plans. We learned this week that a shopping mall likened to the one in Barcelona airport is being built, and they are building a new security area which will become Europe’s biggest. No sign of tourism cut back there then. It will be interesting to see over the coming months what the current government’s plans are for the island’s biggest industry. As anything they do now won’t come into effect until next year. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

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