Tag: beach

Discover Mallorca: An Emerging International Destination

Mallorca is developing more and more into an international destination, and with that, more opportunities are becoming available to those of us living and working here. The truth is, why would you not want to come here?

We are a beautiful island of contrast, from the stunning beaches in the north to the mountains of the west, the caves and coves of the east, and the bustling nightlife of the south. There is something for absolutely everyone.

If ever there was a destination built for tourism, it is our island. It hasn’t been one of the most popular islands in the world for the last 50 years for nothing. In my opinion, it remains one of the best places to live and one of the finest holiday destinations. We can boast turquoise-blue waters, secret coves, soft golden sands, lush green foliage, rugged mountains, picturesque villages, amazing cuisine, an up-and-coming wine industry, a lively nightlife scene, and a vibrant capital city. We’re also an island in the Mediterranean, just a couple of hours’ flight from most European cities.

Palma Airport, which is Spain’s third busiest, is currently undergoing a €559 million expansion and modernization by its owner, AENA. The project began in 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Its purpose is to improve the airport’s passenger-friendliness, efficiency, and sustainability.

One thing that is changing is the increasing number of direct flights arriving from outside of Europe. It used to be that anyone coming from further afield had to visit us via Madrid, Barcelona, or another European city. Since the pandemic and around the start of the airport expansion, things have started to change. In June 2022, a direct flight from New York to Palma began operating, and its frequency has increased every year. From June 17th to October 24th, 2026, Air Canada will launch a direct flight between Montreal and the island, and Etihad Airways has officially announced that it will begin direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Mallorca starting June 12th, 2026, running through to mid-September. This will be the first-ever direct connection between the UAE and Mallorca, and currently the only direct air link between Asia and the island — a landmark moment in Mallorca’s international connectivity.

Not only are all these connections great for the island but let’s remember we now have the opportunity to travel to these destinations for either business or pleasure. Making it a win-win situation.

Friends of mine in the wedding industry here on the island tell me that since the flights from New York began, there has been a steady increase in American couples getting married here. Friends in the property world also say that more and more foreign buyers are being lured to the island because of its beauty and great connectivity.

Not only is this good for business here but this also has a knock-on effect on many third-party businesses that may not be directly involved in these industries but will benefit from their growth.

I see all of this as positive, but I also understand that the sustainability aspect needs to be seriously looked at and addressed in a constructive way. We need to continue working to extend our seasonality. A 12 month year round Mallorca is far more appealing then a 6 month one and it could well lighten the load on the summer months. I see this slowly moving in the right direction, and we need to look at how we can better cope during the busiest months of the year, July and August. For Mallorca to become a year-round destination, we all need to work harder during the shoulder months to achieve this. Don’t listen to the naysayers who constantly say it can’t be done — Magaluf is now a perfect example of how positive change can happen. Keep those glasses half full!

Magaluf & San Antonio: From Excess to Excellence

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

Why I Love Magaluf?

In celebration of Valentine’s Day the brief was, “Why I love Magalluf?” You might be thinking well good luck with that one! But in my humble opinion, there isn’t (or maybe there wasn’t?) a better person to ask. 

The name Magalluf sends chills around authority circles, so much so that they’ve even tried to rename it. Amongst the youngsters it has its own name but I can’t mention that here! Years ago there was talk of merging Magalluf and Palma Nova and calling it MagaNova, as Palmalluf didn’t really roll off the tongue. Hoteliers have pushed for Calvia Beach resort but to me it’s always going to be Magalluf. It’s not the name of the resort that needed changing it was the resort itself and the image it portrayed. 

This year I celebrate working at Pirates for 30 years and Magalluf has been my place of work for 34 years. I arrived in Mallorca in the summer of 1990 on an Intasun holidays Reps training course. It was that long ago that they still allowed smoking on the airline I travelled with, Dan Air. Can you imagine that today? Speedy smoking anyone? We were being trained as holiday reps in the hotel Guadalupe in Magalluf. At the end of the course we were all sent off around the World, everyone except me, I didn’t even move away from the hotel as it was to be my home for my first season. All Reps will tell you your first season will always be your favourite and you look back fondly on that resort. That was what happened to me. So much so that the excursion I sold the most tickets for and was without doubt my favourite offered me a job. I’d previously been a Butlins Redcoat for four years and had seen so many shows but Pirates was different. Some of the things they were doing even at that time were insane and not forgetting that the boss Jacques Sasson was an absolute legend. How could I turn him down? He was a great mentor for me, he was certainly unconventional and we pushed and still do along with his daughter Catherine, the entertainment envelope. It was no surprise that Calvia Town Hall opened a square in his name, for his contribution to tourism both in Magalluf and the rest of the island. 

In 1990 families and young people mixed together and the problems that we’ve seen in Magalluf some years ago were nowhere to be seen. It was the year that England reached the semi-finals of the World Cup under Bobby Robson and the John Barnes rap was belting out in bars such as the Pink Elephant, Cafe Opera and the Red Lion. Sadly those bars are long gone but the strip still exists. It’s not  a place I frequent these days but it still is a place where the youngsters want to go and is synonymous with the resort. Some say in a bad way but In my opinion it is no different to any other city centre or holiday hotspot, it just has to be policed properly. The people criticising it either don’t understand it or can’t remember that they were young once. Magalluf in 2024 has changed dramatically. Over 75% of the hotels in Magalluf are now 4 or 5 star and the beach is still one of the best on the island. 

The shortsightedness of authorities in the past meant that they didn’t understand that the youngsters of today will be the families of the future. Like me as a Rep you remember your first holiday or the good times you had in a resort and therefore you are drawn to revisit when you are older with your family. 

My list of positives about Magalluf is endless and when you look closely it’s a resort to still mix families and youngsters. For families there’s Pirates, Western Water Park, Karting, Katmandu, the beach and countless bars, cafes and restaurants to cater for their needs. 

For youngsters there’s Reloaded & Gringos, Oceans Beach, BCM, The Strip, the beach and like the above, countless bars, cafes and restaurants to cater for their needs. 

My love of Magaluf has changed over time but it will always be there. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the islands number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos.

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