Tag: spain

Real Mallorca Brings Tourism – Fact

Last week I mentioned the importance of Mallorca having a successful football team from a tourism point of view. This week we learned that the Balearic government and the Council of Mallorca will pay 2.6 million euros to the club, a new tourism promotion sponsorship agreement. It was an agreement that was made under the previous PSOE government but dropped because of their coalition partners Més and Podemos being so anti-tourism. 

Reacting to the new agreement, the Més spokesperson at the Council of Mallorca, Jaume Alzamora, says that it is one thing is help and support sport and a very different thing to provide funds for something that will lead to more tourism “massification”.

He is critical of the use of public money for an organisation that is only motivated by financial interests. It is money for a company that does not have Mallorcan capital, has few local players but ones who earn “very high salaries”.

Luckily, these people are no longer in power, but they still speak utter rubbish in the press. Does Señor Alzamora realise that the majority of the football season is played in the low season, away from the really busy months? What business isn’t motivated by financial interests? It is run by an American company, that is true, but let’s face it, it hadn’t been run properly for years in the hands of Spanish owners. There are four Mallorcan born players in the current first team squad, which I consider to be a good number when you look at the size of the island. And who is he to question the salaries they earn?

Not only that, it’s a huge boost for all of our youngsters on the island wanting to become professional footballers. I highlighted last week that Real Mallorca’s youth team won the Copa del Rey, which is an unbelievable achievement. 

And one last fact for our friend from Més (that’s the party he represents by the way, make up your own gags!)

The president of the Mallorca Hotel Federation (FEHM), María Frontera, has said that the tourism sector is responsible for 7 out of every 10 jobs created in the Balearics.

The start of the season is upon us. With Easter falling so early, it’s been a bit of a conundrum for businesses here on the island whether they open or wait until the start of May. According to reports this week, 90% of Hotels in the Calvia region in the south of the island will be open, which is refreshing to hear. What I’m hearing and seeing is there doesn’t seem to be too much of a lull after Easter, which is always the problem when it falls so early. No business wants to be stuck with a load of employees on contract with nothing to do. At Pirates, we opened our Adventure show on Wednesday the 27th of March, with extra shows over Easter. That’s followed by Gringos on Saturday the 30th of March and Reloaded on Friday April the 19th. We have not seen such levels of bookings since the pandemic and speaking to all the tour operators, agencies and hotels, the feeling is a good one for the season. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, it’s important that we can look after these people to ensure that they come back year after year. 

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Easter. 

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 

Call Off Youth Football!(only for one weekend)

Mallorca’s finest L-R Javi Llabres, Antonio Sánchez, Abdon Prats & Sergi Darder

I wanted to follow up on something I wrote in February about the great strides Real Mallorca had made with their stadium and particularly in the their corporate offerings. I was positively critical if that’s grammatically correct as I didn’t want them to forget the true supporters who’d been with them through thick and thin. I am pleased to say I got a reply from the club the other day from Joan Serra who is the Commercial Director.

“I appreciate the points that you raise in your piece. It is evident that there are still some things missing to finish the project and among those that are missing are those that you mention in your email. We do not stop working on improving all aspects that make up a match day. Rest assured that we are working on it and in the near future you will notice these new features and improvements.”

I’ve done a bit of digging and found out that there will be in the North end of the stadium a high-performance sports clinic, a fitness center with spa, a coworking space and a two-story Sports Bar.

Without doubt when it is finished Real Mallorca will have one of the most impressive stadiums in La Liga. Saying that it is important that they remain in the league. There are 11 games to go and with Mallorca on 27 points, the target has to be 40 points to survive. If only they could replicate their Copa Del Rey form into La Liga as last week they won an incredible semi-final second leg against Real Sociedad on penalties to reach the Copa Del Rey final. No one gave them a hope after drawing the first leg 0-0 but a 1-1 draw in Sociedad meant they went to penalties. Dominic Grief their reserve keeper was the hero saving a first half penalty and one in the shootout giving them a 5-4 win. Every player who took a penalty buried it, meaning they go to their first final in 21 years. It’s an amazing achievement for a club that got relegated to the Segunda B(3rd division) in the 2016/17 season. 

They have reached the final three times in their history. Runners up in 1990/91 and 1997/98 and they won it in 2002/03 beating Recreativo Huelva 3-0 with 2 goals from Samuel Eto’o. That was 21 years ago, meaning that neither of my sons have seen Mallorca win a trophy. It’s just like being a fan of the other team from North London(Tottenham to the rest of you.) We were at Son Moix the night they beat Deportivo La Coruña 3-2 in the play-off final to get back into La Liga. If they could win the final against Athletic Club de Bilbao it would be probably their finest achievement. 

The problem for us fans here in Mallorca is how to get there. As soon as the winning penalty went in at 12.30 in the morning, I started to look at flights but stupidly went to bed without reserving any. The next morning they had all gone. I frantically looked and managed to find a flight with Iberia which wasn’t direct to Sevilla but with our island discount the price wasn’t too bad. The price of hotels was ridiculous and that was before Bilbao had got to the final. Since then I know many fans who are struggling to find either a flight or a ferry to get there, never mind a hotel. Surely the airlines should be putting on more flights and at regulated prices? Now none of us have actually got a ticket yet as the details haven’t been released. But I’ve been told that each club should get an allocation of 20,000 seats and as we have that number of season ticket holders that should be enough as not everyone will want to or be able to go. 

With that in mind I’m calling on the FFIB (Federation of football in the Balearics) to call off all of the youth football games that weekend of the 5th, 6th and 7th of April. To give all parents and their children a chance to go to Seville. This has been a wait of 21 years and the island and its football team needs all the support it can get.

As you probably know I have two boys playing in the youth football system and there’s nothing better than seeing our professional team doing well. As it gives all our youngsters something to aim for. In fact the club pictured this week four players from its first team squad that were born here in Mallorca. Abdon Prats and Sergi Darder both born in Arta, Antonio Sánchez born in Palma, Javi Llabres born in Binnisalem. It’s great to see locally born players doing so well and long may that continue. I do hope they do the island proud on April 6th. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the islands 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 Bumper Year For Mallorca But Can We Cope?

Mallorca looks like it’s going to have a bumper season, that’s not just coming from me take a look at what industry experts are saying.

The CEO of Tui Stefan Baumert highlights Mallorca as one of the preferred Mediterranean holiday destinations. Mallorca is in fact exceeding all expectations: “Mallorca is way ahead in terms of current bookings and we expect demand to be higher than ever this summer.”

Steve Heapy the CEO of Jet2 says “with more seats and hotels on sale than ever, Mallorca is quite simply the perfect holiday destination.”

The President of the Mallorca Hotel  Federation, Maria Frontera, says that “in addition to July and August, British tourists are increasingly opting for Mallorca in the months before and after the summer”.

Palma’s airport Son Sant Joan, will break all historical records in terms of air traffic. Both the number of planned seats and the number of flight movements will reach unprecedented levels.

This is evident from data released by the Spanish Association for the Coordination and Facilitation of Slots. This consists of the aviation authority AENA and fourteen European airlines. Moreover, it concerns the traffic forecasts for the summer period from March to October.

According to AECFA, the airlines will offer 33,483,816 seats. That is an increase of 16.3% compared to 2023. This follows a year that already set a record with an increase of 9.7% compared to 2019, until then the year with the most planned seats (29.6 million).

From where I work at Pirates we are seeing unprecedented levels of online bookings making us reconsider our show calendar on a weekly basis. 

Now this is all well and good but in order to be able to look after all these people the island needs a strong and reliable workforce. The problem is that since Brexit and the pandemic the workforce that used to arrive in the summer months isn’t coming anymore. Firstly the Spanish workers that would come here from the mainland in their droves are now not coming. Whilst the wages are averagely better here, the cost of living is not. Property rentals have become too expensive for most, with quite a few hotel chains now housing their workforce in their own hotels. The overall costs of bringing in goods from the mainland has made prices rise to a level seen before. I’ve mentioned the problem in getting a taxi here on the island before and when you get to the peak season it’s almost impossible to get one. But that is the same across nearly all industries, there’s a distinct lack of workers. If you cannot find those people you may choose to look elsewhere. However Spain doesn’t make that easy for you either. I believe our political state of flux hasn’t helped and other EU countries are currently cheaper on their cost of living. But if you want to employ a non-EU worker, that’s another ball game altogether. 

I will try to explain. In order to hire non-EU employees with a temporary work visa, you must publish the job offer in the autonomic public portal SOIB (the Balearic job Seekers Service) and it must be published for approximately one month. 

If there are no Spanish/European workers interested in the job offer, SOIB sends an official document stating that no one has applied and those jobs are then on the list of hard-to-hire professionals. Without this document, the Immigration Department will not grant a visa to any worker coming from outside the European Community. 

If and when you do find a non-European person for a particular job, see how long it takes to then get that visa. The problem? Lack of staff to process them, you couldn’t make it up!

From a UK workers point of view the problem is just as bad. Bars, restaurants, cafes and clubs used to rely on seasonal workers for the summer. But since Brexit the UK has become persona non grata like any other non-EU country. British citizens’ EU citizenship and free movement rights ended when the Brexit transition period expired on the 31st of December 2020. Those rights had enabled them to visit, live, work or study in an EU Member State without needing a visa. I liken Brexit voters to how the authorities are wanting Magaluf to change. They are all forgetting they were young once and are denying the youngsters of today the freedom they enjoyed when they were young. In other words a very small minded and selfish way of looking at life. Will this change? Well there is a push to do so. As the UK is suffering in just the same way in filling job vacancies that used to be taken by EU workers. 

It’s in the hands of our politicians and there my friends is where I’ll leave it because we could like a visa application be waiting a very long time!

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 

Don’t Forget Your Core Supporters!

This weeks thoughts are a bit of a double edged sword. I want to give out praise where praise is due but  there are a couple of negatives coming too. The negatives are in my opinion constructive and believe me when I say I only want the best outcome.

I’ve been a Real Mallorca fan since I came to the island. I started going regularly in the early 2,000’s, so I’ve seen the good times and the really bad times. In the 2016/17 season they were relegated to Segunda B meaning they couldn’t go much lower. In that league average attendances were around 3 or 4,000, you could sit in your allotted season ticket seat and not have anyone near you. Believe me at times it was awful to watch but we still went every week. At that time Mallorca were bought by a group of Americans investors who without doubt at that time would have been wondering what they had got themselves into. Remember that relegation doesn’t happen in American sport. However back to back promotions meant they returned to La Liga in record time. Another relegation during COVID was quickly turned around the following season and last season they finished a very successful ninth in the league.

During all this time the owners have invested a lot of time and money into the Club and away from the pitch their marketing and in particular their social media ranked them third in La Liga behind the giants of Real Madrid and Barcelona. One thing that had held the club back was the stadium. Built in 1999 for the World Student Games and leased to the club by the Palma City Council for 50 years, there had been many arguements over its renovation and in particular the running track. Thankfully those arguements subsided and work began on moving the stands closer to the pitch. When you visit the stadium now it is something to be proud of and this week a season record crowd of 22,051 saw the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa Del Rey. 

One of the major changes to the stadium has been on the corporate side. New offerings include the ‘Tunnel Experience’, the ‘Premium Club’ and the new VIP boxes above the North stand. One of those boxes for a season for 12 people will cost you an eye watering 44,000€. If all these offerings are sold and the money can be reinvested into the team that can only be good for the club. 

Now I did say at the beginning of this there would be a couple of negatives. As I said I hope the club is looking into the issues I’m highlighting as it seems that the average season ticket holder like me has been left behind. I am more than happy with the stadium on the inside, my beef lays on the outside. Part of the renovation was to convert the old Mallorca Cafe into a state of the art club shop. Which I’m not criticising as it looks amazing but the Mallorca Cafe was a meeting point for fans before the game. Last Tuesday there was a temporary constructed outside bar that was nowhere near big enough to service the thousands of people outside. Remember that you can only buy an alcoholic drink outside a La Liga ground as it is banned inside the stadium. So you can imagine what it was like. Are their any plans to replace the Mallorca Cafe, that would not only be used on match days but as before for people to enjoy it for a morning coffee or to watch away matches on a big screen? Surely this is an opportunity for the club to make extra income? On top of the lack of being able to get a drink, there were two mobile caravans selling burgers at 8€ a pop. Neither despite their best intentions could cope with the amount of people. If the outside experience of us fans not wanting the corporate experience is being looked into then that is something to look forward to. The other problem is trying to get out of the stadium at the end of the game from the club car park. It took me an hour to get out on Tuesday night. I’m not sure what the answer is as it seems the majority of the crowd drive to the stadium. When a game is on there are cars parked everywhere, even on the motorway hard shoulder! Would the club and Palma City Council look at extending the metro service? Or maybe offer a rolling free bus service back into the city? There was talk by the previous government of building a tram service from the centre of Palma to the airport and also to Son Espases hospital. Could this be extended to the stadium? These projects were to paid for in part by European or Spanish Government subsidies. Alfonso Diaz, Mallorca’s Chief Executive has said “Basically, we want this stadium, which is a major building in the city, to be a venue for the city and its people. Little by little, this is being achieved and this space is being opened up so that it could be used 365 days per year and not just 19 or 20 times when there is a football match. The city and its people should be able to enjoy this venue with facilities that can be used for social, sporting, and entrepreneurial activities.” That’s great but that outside experience and the transport problem needs looking into. 

I will of course carry on being a season ticket holder as there’s nothing I want more to see the club be successful. I believe having a club in La Liga is positive for the island and is another arm to our tourist offering particularly in the low season. Not only that, it is an avenue for all youth footballers here to go into the professional game. 

As the song sung at the stadium goes “Rojo, negro hasta que me muera” (meaning red and black until I die).

But please remember and look after your non-corporate supporters. 

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 

A Solution To Winter In Mallorca?

We’ve just got back from being away for the Christmas holidays. Working the Summer season in Mallorca makes it impossible for us to go away at any other  time. This year we used Center Parcs at Woburn in Bedfordshire as our base to visit family and friends and for them to visit us. After the Christmas celebrations we flew to the beautiful island of Jamaica and the resort of Negril. I was looking at the two destinations to see how they compared to Mallorca and what could we learn from them. 

Woburn Center Parcs is the newest of the five Parcs around the country and was opened in 2014. The other sites are Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire and Whinfell Forest in Cumbria. Ten years ago virtually to this day I wrote the following about Elveden Forest Center Parcs in Suffolk.

‘Our final 3 days were spent at the Centre Parcs site at Elveden Forest. If you’ve never been I would thoroughly recommend it for families. “The Center Parcs concept is to provide short breaks in the forest, bringing families together and back to nature with high quality accommodation, a range of outstanding leisure facilities and over 200 activities, all set within a protected and enhanced woodland environment. 

Each village is set in 400 acres of natural woodland, with trees, streams and wildlife surrounding Apartment and Lodge accommodation. At the heart of each village is the Subtropical Swimming Paradise, an extensive range of restaurants, cafes and retail outlets, plus, Center Parcs’ own Aqua Sana spa facility.”

Now we didn’t go for the weather as you can imagine but it led me to think why couldn’t this concept work in Mallorca?’

So just to repeat I wrote that 10 years ago when the last Parc at Woburn was opened and my thoughts haven’t changed in the slightest. In the Summer it would be a no brainer and in the winter a great way of prolonging the season. On average 2,000 plus  people a week, surely that’s worth exploring? The problem we have is there are currently no incentives for businesses to stay open in the winter as far as I know. We are an island so we need the airlines to commit and once they do it will create a snowball effect. Whilst Center Parcs has all their bars and restaurants on site you could argue how does that help the resorts? Well pretty much the same way as all inclusive has done. People will always want to explore and spending your whole holiday in the same place all the time isn’t for me and many others as I’ve discovered whilst in Jamaica. 

Since I wrote the above a Spanish company(not Center Parcs) but who have a similar concept did moot a similar idea to Calvia Town Hall. The idea was to use the land occupied by Western Water Park and the old Aquapark on the outskirts of Magaluf. They had talked to the owners of the land and the idea was then pushed higher to the Balearic Government. Guess what? It was refused! I’m not party to the reason why but it was an opportunity lost in my opinion. 

The arguement about winter in Mallorca apart from airline links always comes back to the weather. The winter weather though has definitely improved and as I write this from a beach in Jamaica you may be laughing as I hear it’s turned colder and there’s snow on the mountains at home. Believe me it’s a damn sight better there than the UK was over Christmas and that didn’t stop everyone having a good time at Woburn.

So I’ve made the case for Center Parcs, what about Jamaica?

The major negative people will always throw at you between Mallorca and Jamaica is the weather. But it’s worth remembering the curse of Jamaican weather is the hurricane or rainy season and it officially lasts from June 1st to November 30th. Temperatures though are still high nearly all year round as opposed to Mallorca where in the winter it’s colder. To be honest it s difficult to make a comparison as there’s no denying both islands are stunningly beautiful and have beaches to die for. I’d say the infrastructure of Mallorca is better than Jamaica but I’d say the Jamaicans are friendlier. Neither is a criticism of the other, just my opinion. Mallorca of course is a lot closer to home, a 2 hour flight compared to a 10 hour flight is always helpful. I don’t though think there’s a case for where is better but if I had to choose then of course it would have to be Mallorca. 

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 

Shop Locally and Give to Charity this Christmas

Christmas shopping is not something us boys look forward to. Me in particular, so much so I prefer to ask people to give me an idea of what they would like to receive. I do though love the food and drink shopping at this time of year. I do believe in helping local businesses and I’ve picked out a couple that I’ve bought from in the past. These people would always be one of the first to help when charity was calling in my old job on the radio and I now count them as friends. But more importantly they are very good at what they do. I caught up with them all this past week to find out what they’re doing leading up to Christmas. 

Simon at Bespoke Provisioning studied for 3 years training at Chefs school which included becoming a fully fledged butcher and fishmonger. 

You may remember him from the Escape bar in Palma which he ran for 16 years. When he left the bar he started The Meat & Fish Society which has now become Bespoke Provisioning. They specialise in the highest quality meat and fish, fully  trimmed, cut, filleted, vacuum packed and labelled and delivered on time. They deliver to Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca (fixed rates to Ibiza and Menorca so no surprises) Simon has cheffed for Queen drummer Roger Taylor on his new yacht ‘Rock n Roll’ and has cooked at countless events. 

As the yacht provisioning is a little quieter at this time of year he is offering for Christmas, Whole organic Turkeys, boned and rolled organic turkeys and gammon joints in various sizes. 

For more information please call or whatsapp Simon on 619 593 387. Facebook 

“the meat and fish society” for pictures, videos and general information. 

And you can Email him on sales@mn2v.co

Since 2005 Elisa and Mikey from the World of Wine have been building relationships with the industry’s most acclaimed vineyards and winemakers from ‘Old World’ to ‘New World’, Spain to New Zealand and France to Australia. They source exceptional wines made from the highest quality grapes and deliver them personally to your doorstep or superyacht quayside.

You can indulge in the spirit of Christmas with their curated selection of wines, exquisite champagnes and a festive array of drinks. Why not have a pre-dinner bottle of champagne Vueve Cliquot and Moët Chandon are always the classic favourites. This year Blanc de Blanc and Pol Roger Brut Reserve are very popular too.

Every year they are finding more wines from Mallorca, such as Ses Rotes, Es Verger, Son Mayol Rose and Castel Miguel. They also have a full selection from the mainland of Spain, Italy, France, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina. 

If you’re looking for a wine to pair with your turkey then they recommend a Pinot Noir, Chardonnay or Albariño. Don’t be fooled by the name World of Wine as they can supply beers and spirits including, Port, Brandy, Whiskey and even Tequila! And remember all these are not just for drinking, they are for gifting too. 

For more information please call;

Elisa Llewellyn: +34 669 075 466

Miguel Perez: +34 636 188 598

In years gone by I would be heavily involved in a Christmas charity campaign. I feel a little guilty that not working on the radio has limited my ability to do the charity work. However I had a coffee with Nick from Yachting Gives Back this week who we helped on a number of occasions and asked what help they could do with this Christmas.

Yachting Gives Back are a registered charity through which the yachting industry – both yachts and service companies – are helping to alleviate the problems of poverty and hunger in Mallorca. They collect non-perishable foodstuffs & hygiene products and they then deliver to those in need on the island. The main charities the help are;

Associacio Tardar is a food bank & Soup Kitchen in Palma. They provide simple, balanced meals daily to hundreds of people in the centre of Palma. The operation relies totally on volunteers and donations and they collaborate with Social Services to reach the people most in need of help.

Mallorca Sense Fam is a food bank and charity shop in Palma. Mallorca Without Hunger is a local food bank providing regular supplies of basic foodstuffs to the most vulnerable families in Palma. It is run by a network of volunteers and supported by donations from private individuals & entities, as well as public food banks. MSF has its own application process and conducts initial interviews with people seeking help. 

Es  Refugi is a non-profit association working in collaboration with the Social Services to meet the basic needs of those who, due to different circumstances, are at risk of social exclusion. Over the years Es Refugi has worked with people with addiction problems and currently focuses on the long term unemployed, who may have ended up defaulting on their mortgage payments, lost their unemployment benefit and in the process also lost family contact. Es Refugi runs a shelter and social kitchen for 50 people in the finca Ca l´Ardiaca II in the outskirts of Palma.

Can Gaza is a rustic finca in Secar de la Real is a home for about 25 men who suffer from serious consequences of past drug and alcohol addictions. Despite their weak physical condition, they all contribute in the daily chores of the finca. Those in better health restore furniture and other household items in Taller Marginalia, a treasure trove of second hand wares in Can Valero. Through daily work, each member of the community contributes to their own wellbeing as well as that of their “extended family”, thus helping to build up their self confidence and sense of dignity.

Asociación Siloé is a non-profit entity of public interest under the umbrella of the Mallorcan Institute of Social Services, providing care and a family-like environment for terminally ill AIDS sufferers in a vulnerable situation, without financial resources or family support. 

SOS Mamas was set up by two former colleagues and friends who created a Facebook page where people could offer equipment no longer needed, and families with children lacking resources could ask for what they require, in total anonymity. This humble initiative has grown into an organisation that attends to the basic needs of thousands of regulars in various areas on the island.

It was great to catch up with Nick again and he mentioned that if you want to donate anything then milk,  any cooking oil and hygiene products are always needed. 

For more information please Email: nick@yachtinggivesback.com or call +34 619 117 937.
Take care everybody and enjoy your weekend!

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