If you say to any worker, “I’m going to reduce your working hours but still pay you the same,” without a doubt they’ll respond, “Where do I sign?”
Ask the same question to employers, and I’m sure they’ll look at you in utter dismay and ask, “Why?” Most employers are already finding it hard enough to recruit good, qualified staff—and enough of them to cover the hours they need.
But the Spanish government is moving ahead with plans to reduce the official working week from 40 to 37.5 hours, without reducing salaries. Implementation is expected towards the end of 2025, and it won’t surprise you to know that the proposal has full support from the unions.
“This proposal is about living better, working less, and being much more productive and economically efficient,” said Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz, who put the idea forward.
However, the centre-right Catalan separatist party Junts has already signalled resistance, while the main employers’ lobby, CEOE, argues it will raise Spanish firms’ costs and make them less competitive.
If I’m honest, I lean toward the second opinion. This proposal is heavily weighted in favour of employees rather than employers, and it feels like a populist move designed to win votes in the next election.
I can understand it more on the mainland, where industries like manufacturing and construction are more prominent than here in Mallorca. On the island, tourism is by far the dominant sector, accounting for a significant portion of the economy. While specific figures vary, tourism is estimated to contribute between 40% and 75% of Mallorca’s GDP. It’s also the primary driver of employment, with a large percentage of the workforce directly or indirectly involved in tourism-related businesses.
Once again, Mallorca will suffer from a policy that benefits the mainland more than it benefits us.
After working in tourism for most of my life, it was refreshing to immerse myself in a totally different world last week. The radio station was invited by two different companies to present live broadcasts from their stands at the Palma International Boat Show. The world of yachting is a fascinating industry that employs thousands of people and generates a significant amount of income.
To give you a full breakdown, the Balearics encompass 879 companies generating €1.106 billion in revenue and creating 5,145 jobs, with an annual growth rate of 4.26%, according to a report unveiled last year by the Balearic Marine Cluster. This was the first time a comprehensive overview of the sector had been provided, revealing the consolidation of the Balearic Islands as a hub for nautical activities in the Mediterranean.
Toni Salom, President of the Balearic Marine Cluster, stated in his opening speech: “The nautical industry in the Balearic Islands, representing 3.1% of the Balearic GDP, is not only an integral part of our local economy but also a symbol of our identity and culture.”
I was reliably informed by one of the exhibitors that the Palma International Boat Show is now the fourth largest in Europe. It has over 300 exhibitors and a 96% year-on-year return rate. On our site visit early last week, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the amount of detail people went to in order to make their stand or yacht stand out.
On Wednesday and Thursday, we were with Estela Yachts in the Port Authority building, which was right by the main entrance of the show. They are a full-service agency for commercial vessels, cruise ships, and superyachts, headquartered in Barcelona. They have offices and representatives on three continents and a global network for bunkering, shipping, customs & immigration support, and concierge services.
On Friday, we were with Precision Marine at their stand inside the show.
They provide a wide range of pragmatic, affordable, and always professionally conducted marine engineering services. They are experienced professionals in the marine engineering industry and have been providing successful services from 1994 to the present day. Their policy is to provide a quality service geared to customers’ requirements and deadlines. PME has been a family-run business since it was formed in 1996. Its founder, Andrew Wilcox, is still actively involved in the business today.
Outside broadcasts are fun, as they take you out of your comfort zone and make you totally reliant on a good internet signal. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case, but our plan B was to interview people and broadcast the segments back throughout the shows. All of this was great experience for us as we move on to the next big event. We met loads of different people from loads of different companies. It’s only when you get into it that you see what goes into making a successful boat show.
The vibe I got from everyone I spoke to was that this was one of the best shows ever, and they are looking forward to a very busy season. It’s an industry that, in my opinion, should be looked after by the authorities. I came away totally impressed by all the people who work in it, and we look forward to working with many of them in the near future.
2024 was a difficult year if I’m honest . Losing my Mother, having a few health problems and leaving Pirates after 30 years wasn’t how I had planned the year to turn out. I decided to take stock of everything and reevaluate what I wanted to do going forward. It did give me an opportunity to spend some time with my family and friends and do some things I probably wouldn’t have done in the past.
My eldest son Jacob had decided to carry on his education for another two years which really pleased us. After doing a summer season at Pirates he had also managed to find a job coaching football for youngsters with Rob Croll who runs the Russell Martin Academy. More free time also allowed me to spend more time with my youngest son Jude who has signed with a football agency and was asked to play in a higher age group for his club CD San Francisco. At 15 years old he is already playing for San Francisco Juvenil regional and he trains and is the reserve goalkeeper for San Francisco Juvenil Nacional who train at Real Mallorcas training ground Son Biblioni.
A few people thought I had retired but that wasn’t on my radar, if I’m honest. If I wanted to carry on living on this beautiful island I certainly needed to earn some money. The start of a new radio station came a little bit out of the blue and hadn’t been in my plans. However as I said before the feedback has been amazing and the feeling we’re getting from the community and also further afield makes me think we made the right decision. That was strengthened even further this week when we did three live broadcasts from the Palma International Boat show. I’m reliably informed that it’s the fourth largest boat show in Europe and is probably second to tourism as far as its size as an industry on the island. A big thanks to Estela Yachts and Precision Marine for inviting us to their stands and a shout out to all our sponsors that made it possible. It was a classic example of how a team of professional people pull together to put on such an event. We are already looking forward to next year.
What I have been working on was starting my own concierge service. It was a natural move into that World considering the amount of contacts I have acquired over the years. I am constantly being asked for a variety of different things and turning that into a business was the perfect progression.
I have built up a team of people who are professionals in their own particular fields and it’s a case of using their professionalism to help others.
Therefore if I can be of any help to your business or you have family or friends coming to Mallorca or any of the Balearic Islands, please let me know.
Back in January 2020, the Balearic government passed a decree law against the so-called “tourism of excesses” and for the improvement of quality in tourist zones. They singled out the resorts of Arenal, Playa de Palma, and Magaluf in Mallorca, and San Antonio in Ibiza, as the areas that would be affected.
At the time, these laws didn’t really come into effect as the pandemic took over, but when everything returned in 2022, they were put into practice.
In 2024, after the elections, the laws were relaxed a little—but what has changed in these resorts since 2020? Well, having lived and worked in Magaluf since 1990, I think I’m well placed to tell you about it. I’ve also asked my good friend Martin Makepeace to give you a view on San Antonio in Ibiza. We do a weekly podcast called Talking Balearics, where we talk about Mallorca and Ibiza. Martin, like me, has lived in Ibiza for over 30 years.
Magaluf, ever since I’ve known it, has had a reputation—some see that as bad, others see it as an opportunity for good.
When I arrived in 1990, families and young people mixed without any problems—even in the winter. Slowly but surely, that balance ebbed away, and the headlines became worse and worse. You didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that something had to change.
Meliá was the first to invest in the resort, followed by pretty much every other hotel chain, meaning that over 75% of the hotels in Magaluf are now either 4 or 5-star. Anyone in the know will tell you that Magaluf beach is still one of the best on the island. A new four-million-euro promenade is being built as we speak, with phase one due for completion at the beginning of May. Phase two will be completed in the early part of 2026.
In my opinion, the measures brought in were a bit draconian and wouldn’t have been needed if the resort had been policed properly. The map of the so-called “Red Zone” was drawn in a way that benefited some businesses and not others. It should have been a blanket ban or nothing at all.
It was the short-sightedness of authorities in the past that meant they didn’t understand that the youngsters of today will be the families of the future. Most of my friends had been to Magaluf in their teenage years. They loved it so much that, fast forward five years, they were coming back and staying in a four or five-star hotel. Fast forward another five or ten years, they were renting villas with their families—and all of a sudden, they are the clientele that the authorities want.
You need to give people a taste of what your tourism product is at a relatively early age and hope that it ignites that blue touch paper. They then become bonded and emotionally attached to that location for the rest of their lives.
My list of positives about Magaluf is endless. And when you look closely, it’s a resort that still mixes families and youngsters—and, in my opinion, for longer throughout the year. For families, there’s Pirates, Gringos Family Rave, Western Water Park, karting, Katmandu, the beach, and countless bars, beach bars, cafés, and restaurants to cater to their needs.
For youngsters, there’s Reloaded & Gringos, Oceans Beach, BCM, The Strip, the beach—and again, countless bars, beach bars, cafés, and restaurants to cater to their needs.
I like the new Mayor and his administration in Calvia and believe the changes that are being made are good for the future. Magaluf has changed for the better, and my love for it doesn’t diminish.
Reputation is everything, and the court of public opinion can be a brutal place, passing judgment without the full facts. But times change.
San Antonio, or Sant Antoni de Portmany to use its official name, is a great example. The stigma of the 80s and 90s still lingers—but it ain’t 1987 anymore. It’s 2025, and the shackles have been released.
New luxury hotels, top-end restaurants serving delicious food, world-class entertainment venues, a sunset that many say is the best on the planet—and more importantly, a young, ambitious mayor who’s not afraid to try new things, improve infrastructure, and make big plans for the future with major investment.
San Antonio now has some of the most expensive real estate in Spain and is already the most expensive place to rent. The gentrification process continues unabated on a small island with limited space. This is the yin and yang of an island that has seen incredible growth over the last 15 years.
Being comfortable in your own skin takes time, and Ibiza’s second-largest town is finally the mature adult it wanted to be—rather than a sulky teenager prone to bouts of self-harm.
“It’s a process” is a well-used phrase, and the perception of San Antonio is no different. But this can only be changed by a potent mixture of self-awareness, communication, consistency, and patience. The town is now controlling its own narrative—with actions rather than words.
New and improved pedestrianised areas, world-famous street art, a new environmentally friendly summer police station, a spanking new port area, plans for cutting-edge sports facilities… and this is just in the last 12 months!
The future is bright. San Antonio isn’t walking into the future—it’s sprinting with confidence.
We both feel that the tourist model of Mallorca and Ibiza is changing for the better—and will need to change even more to keep up with its competitors.
You can hear “Talking Balearics” every week wherever you get your podcasts and Martins blog is https://maninsanan.com
I’ve been lucky enough in my life to experience some amazing days watching football. That includes watching my sons play, watching Real Mallorca, and of course, the team I’ve supported since I was a boy—Arsenal.
I have to say that our experience together last Wednesday night in Madrid probably tops the lot. I’ve seen Arsenal win league titles and FA Cups, but the Champions League is something that has evaded us in my lifetime. My boys, in their lifetime, have only seen an FA Cup win—we’ve been nowhere near the Champions League final. We got there in the 2005/06 season, losing to Barcelona in the final. Interestingly, that year we played Real Madrid in the last 16 and beat them 1-0 with an amazing solo goal from Thierry Henry. This was the Galácticos Madrid team of Beckham, Zidane, and Ronaldo et al., who were expected to win the competition. I was at that game too, in Madrid, but my eldest, Jacob, was only a few months old, and my youngest, Jude, hadn’t even been thought about!
Twenty years on, we were preparing to play them again—and with a 3-0 lead from the first leg, what could go wrong? I’ve always kept good contacts in my life, especially football ones, as you never know when you might need them. So when we drew Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, there was only one person I needed to ask for the away leg. Florentino Pérez, the President of Real Madrid, had been to Pirates on a couple of occasions in the past, and his daughter, Cuchy Pérez, used to come to the show every year. She sent me the price list for Madrid fans, which ranged from €125 to €450! Not a cheap night out, but we couldn’t miss it. With our residents’ 75% flight discount, the flights were pretty reasonable, and with the flight times as they were, we decided not to book a hotel.
Arriving in Madrid, we made our way to Plaza Mayor, where the majority of the Arsenal fans were congregating. It was all good fun, with the beer flowing and songs being sung—that was until the national police decided at 17:00 it was time to move everybody on. Arsenal supporters don’t have a bad reputation, but I think it’s just because we’re English that we’re treated in such a way. There was no reason given to move us along four hours before kick-off—just a whistle and some pushing. We decided to get a taxi to the stadium and ended up in an Irish bar close to the ground. The reason? You couldn’t get anywhere near the stadium because there were thousands of Madrid fans preparing a special welcome for their players’ arrival.
Once inside the stadium, we quickly realised—after climbing staircase after staircase—that our €125 ticket wasn’t going to be anywhere near the pitch. The Santiago Bernabéu is an imposing stadium, and since it’s been refurbished, it’s gone to another level. If you suffer from vertigo, you might get put off—the banking of the stands and the closing of the roof made the atmosphere electric. We were so high up we had two big screens above us just to see the game close-up.
Arsenal played just as well in the second leg as they had in the first, but Madrid were, without doubt, very disappointing. On paper, a team that contains Mbappé, Vinícius Jr, and Bellingham—to name a few—should be a frightening prospect. But they didn’t turn up in either game, if I’m honest, and you could feel the frustration among their fans.
There were a lot of Arsenal fans, like us, sitting among the Madrid fans, but without any problems. At the end, we made our way to the away end to celebrate with the rest of the supporters. We were ecstatic, and the most popular song was: “Arsenal at the Bernabéu, Tottenham watching Emmerdale!”
If, like us, you decide not to book a hotel and try to get some sleep at the airport—let me warn you—it’s not very comfortable.
We’ve decided not to go to the semi-final against PSG, either in London or Paris, but hopefully save ourselves for the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
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?
Dad Taxi Mallorca 