Tag: news

Exploring the Palma International Boat Show: A Nautical Industry Overview

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.

Heathrow Closure and Passport Fee Hikes: What to Know

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.  

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Overtourism Solutions: Tourist Tax Amendments Explained

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?

Brexit And The Government Effects on Mallorca’s Economy

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? 

Understanding Mallorca’s Tourist Tax and Its Impact

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. 

Launching Wave Mallorca: A New Radio Experience

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

See you on Monday morning from 07.00! 

A Catch Up With Juan Antonio Amengual The Mayor Of Calvia

On the 16th of December 2022, I was asked by a good friend to have a coffee with a friend of his in Portals Nous. He explained that the person I was meeting was an ex-hotelier who had become a consultant in the Tourist industry, and he was the prospective leader for the PP political party in Calvia to become the Mayor. Juan Antonio Amengual was his name and he was asking me through the radio and my blog to help push the ‘foreign voters’ into registering themselves in order that they were able to vote in the upcoming local elections in May 2023. He wasn’t pushing them to vote for him at the time but at least to get registered as the cut off to be registered was in January, 5 months before the actual elections! Juan Antonio was very clever as he knew that 30% of the population in Calvia were foreign voters and if registered to vote that would give him a better opportunity to win. 

When it came to the elections in May 2023, the PP increased their vote share to win 3 more seats than they did previously, and they then entered into a coalition with Vox to gain overall control of Calvia by just one seat.  When you go back over the numbers you see that of the 52,458 population, 31,549 (60%) were registered to vote. Of that number that were registered to vote, only 17,384 (55%) actually did. When you look at the number of people registered to vote against the overall population, just a third (33%) of the population actually bothered. Which in all honesty and despite the push to vote, the overall turnout was poor. Of those figures, I don’t know how many were from the non-Spanish voters. 

Last week, I interviewed Juan Antonio to look back on his first 18 months in power. One thing I admire about him is he gets himself around. There isn’t an event in the municipality that he misses, judging by the pictures on social media. He tells me that he seriously hasn’t had a holiday in those 18 months, plus the 6 months of campaigning, and he is looking forward to a break at Christmas. But he is rightfully proud of his team and the pushing out of their manifesto pledges. He stresses his most important project is to extend the season and I noticed a quote this week from the outgoing President of the Hoteliers Association Maria Frontera, who said that “Public authorities are content with having services open for six or seven months”. Not in Calvia says Juan Antonio, he is looking to extend the season for as long as it’s possible. The message they gave at the World Travel Market was ‘one Tourist, one friend’ and that despite the tourism protests in the summer, tourists are definitely welcome in Calvia all year round. The first phase of the new promenade in Magaluf has started at a cost of €5 million and the second phase funding has just been secured for the winter of 2025/26. There is an amazing opportunity to showcase all that is happening in Calvia and especially Magaluf when the ABTA conference comes to town in October next year. The Travel Convention is attended by decision makers, influencers and opinion formers spanning the full breadth of the mainstream and specialist travel sector; from tour operators and cruise lines, to hotels, airlines and all types of travel retailer. It is also attended by travel industry specialists, from accountants and lawyers to technology providers and marketing experts. Approximately 75% of the attendees are ABTA Members or Partners.

The event attracts more leading journalists from the UK national, consumer and travel trade press than any other UK travel industry event held overseas, creating significant coverage of the event.

Delegate numbers for The Travel Convention are capped at around 600, to provide delegates with a high quality event and networking experience. So as you can see it’s a perfect opportunity for Mallorca, Calvia and Magaluf to promote themselves and that is not lost on Juan Antonio.

At the end of the interview, he encourages everyone to attend the many fiestas that are happening through the holidays. Details of which can be found on the council’s website https://www.calvia.comThe full interview with Juan Antonio can be found at https://www.facebook.com/RadioOneMallorca 

He wishes everyone a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

As this is my last column before Christmas and the New Year, I would also like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. 

Valencia – A Follow Up

The awful scenes of flooding in Valencia took me back to what we saw at San Llorenc here in Mallorca back in 2018. A similar wall of water struck the village in devastatingly quick time and 13 people sadly lost their lives. I remember the cleaning up operation, where 100’s of people from all over the island including Rafa Nadal descended on the area and a huge amount of charity donations were made by people at the time. I was part of the team at Radio One Mallorca who along with local business, Bosuns Locker took a van load of donations to a church in Manacor as the whole of San Llorenc was completely shut off. 

Believe it or not since those dreadful floods nothing has been done to avert future problems. After researching this further I saw a report in March this year by IB3 our island television station that the Government will invest 40 million euros in the improvement of the Ses Planes and Sa Blanquera torrents in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar. The first steps were to commission the drafting of the project and the works are expected to begin in 2027, that’s nine years after the fateful flooding.

There have also been calls for an emergency alert system to be activated, which sends out an SMS message in the event of a catastrophe or emergency such as a fire, an explosion or a flood. Apparently this has been around for years but has not been activated by successive Balearic Governments who have failed to put it into place. Friends of ours in Porto Cristo sent us pictures and videos of similar floods there on Sunday night into Monday morning. Whilst not as devastating still not good and could have been a whole lot worse. 

This rain I imagine then made its way across the water to Valencia to cause the destruction there. This time though on a far greater scale and with many more people sadly losing their lives. Both tragedies have similar stories, copious amounts of rain causing tsunami like conditions and creating flooding in such a way that it’s impossible to avoid. It’s caused by a weather phenomenon called DANA – ‘depresion aislada en niveles altos’ in Spanish – which translates as ‘isolated low-pressure system at high levels’. This is explained in these four steps. 

  1. Cold air from the north moves south.
  2. Warm air then blows over the Mediterranean, rising quickly and forming heavy clouds.
  3. The low pressure from the north gets blocked by the high pressure above the water, causing it to slow down or stop completely.
  4. This creates storm-like conditions that cannot move anywhere else, so the rain falls over the same area for a sustained period of time.

Heavy rainfall was forecast in the most affected region, Valencia, from Friday the 25th, with warnings scaled-up to “significant danger” by the Spanish meteorological service AEMET on the 28th, followed by another warning of “extreme danger” the next morning. Despite the forecasts, many people in the Valencia region only received warnings when the rain had already begun and evacuation was not possible for many. I am also led to believe that an SMS a was sent out for people to remain in their homes but many were still out in their cars and were caught out when a major road flooded. If Florida in the USA can issue evacuation notices on its people when hurricanes or tornadoes are forecast then surely authorities across Spain will have to look at something similar. It’s a known fact that the Mediterranean coastline of Spain, particularly the Valencia and Catalonia regions, is highly vulnerable to these floods.

Near where I live there is a place called El Toro that has a heavy Valencian population. They have been collecting non perishable foodstuffs, hygiene products & pet food, at their HQ Casa de Valencia, on the Main Street. 

Also Port Adriano organised 2 containers to collect food and clothes to send to those affected. Well done to Highland Gold in Son Bugadellas who sent 15 tonnes of food via two of their own lorries given by themselves and other businesses. I’ve seen collections at Real Mallorca, supermarkets and at other aid charities and agencies. I am sure there will be more collections across the island so please help in any way you can. 

It’s a travesty that disasters like this make the authorities take more notice of the problems in hand. 

Devastation across Spain

The awful scenes of flooding in Valencia took me back to what we saw at San Llorenç here in Mallorca back in 2018. A similar wall of water struck the village in devastatingly quick time, and 13 people sadly lost their lives. I remember the cleaning up operation and the huge amount of charity donations made by people at the time. I was part of the team at Radio One Mallorca who along with Bosuns locker took a van load of donations to a church in Manacor as the whole of San Llorenç was completely shut off. 

Believe it or not since those dreadful floods nothing has been done to avert future problems. After researching this further I saw a report in March this year by IB3, our island television station, that the Government will invest 40 million euros in the improvement of the Ses Planes and Sa Blanquera torrents in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar. The first steps were to commission the drafting of the project and the works are expected to begin in 2027, that’s nine years after the fateful flooding.

There have also been calls for an emergency alert system to be activated, which sends out an SMS message in the event of a catastrophe or emergency such as a fire, an explosion or a flood. Apparently this has been around for years but has not been activated by successive Governments who have failed to put it into place. Friends of ours in Porto Cristo sent us pictures and videos of similar floods there on Sunday night into Monday morning. Whilst not as devastating, still not good. 

This rain I imagine then made its way across the water to Valencia to cause the destruction there. This time though on a far greater scale and with many more people sadly losing their lives. Both tragedies have similar stories, copious amounts of rain causing tsunami like conditions and creating flooding in such a way that it’s impossible to avoid. It’s caused by a weather phenomenon called DANA – ‘depresion aislada en niveles altos’ in Spanish – which translates as ‘isolated low-pressure system at high levels’. I am led to believe that an SMS was sent out for people to remain in their homes, but many were still out in their cars and were caught out when a major road flooded. Authorities across Spain will have to look at this more seriously now, as this is not a problem that is going to go away and will only get worse. 

It’s a travesty that disasters like this make the people in power take more notice of the problems in hand. 

Near where I live, there is a place called El Toro that has a heavy Valencian population. They are collecting non-perishable foodstuffs, hygiene products & pet food, at their HQ Casa de Valencia, on the Main Street. Gran Via 1.

Collection times are, 

Saturday 2nd of November 10.00h until 13.00h & 16.30h – 18.30h 

Monday 4th of November 09.30h until 13.00h.

Also in Port Adriano on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th of November from 09.00h to 20.00h, they will set up a container to collect food and clothes to send to those affected by the DANA in Valencia. You can bring non-perishable food, clothes, towels, blankets, nappies and animal feed

I am sure there will be other collections across the island, so please help in any way you can. 

Is This Just a Way To Get More Money Out Of Us?

I read with interest the comments made by Easyjet Holidays Chief Executive Garry Wilson and reported in the Majorca Daily Bulletin newspaper this week. He was talking at the ABTA convention in Greece the previous week. He commented that some destinations were introducing what he called “environmental fees.”

“While I understand the ethos, we need to understand what you’re doing with that money.” Wilson said it would be “understandable” if taxes were introduced with a ‘direct link’ to initiatives such as installing systems that automatically switch off air-conditioning and electric sockets when hotel rooms are empty. But he said if the revenue simply “goes into a big pot”, holidaymakers will think “this is just a way to get more money out of me”. Wilson said taxes were “going up and up and up when it comes to travel”.

Now on the one hand I totally agree with him on being as transparent as you can on where all the money is going. 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.”

It’s not rocket science, be upfront and proud of what you are doing. Which is basically what Mr Wilson is saying. Where I find his comments slightly disingenuous is when he says  “holidaymakers will think “this is just a way to get more money out of me”. Wilson said taxes were “going up and up and up when it comes to travel”.

Now I have to admit that EasyJet are my no-frills airline of choice but, this is a bit of the pot calling the kettle black, surely? All low-cost airlines and tour operators are always looking at ways to get more money from holidaymakers. It sometimes costs you more for a suitcase than it does a person these days! Not forgetting to add those other optional taxes such as choose my seat, car hire, insurance and a hotel room. They’ll be asking us to pay to enter the loo soon!