It was discussed several times, it was considered unthinkable, but the ban on drinking alcohol was decided and in early May it was published in the local government newspaper of the Balearic Islands of Spain.
This applies to Majorca, but also to Ibiza, the islands that are the main destinations of “alcohol tourism”, which now causes the anger of permanent residents of the island – and not only.
This is not a blanket ban. It is about specific places and party zones, such as the famous Playa de Palma in Mallorca.
There is also Ballermann 6, a favorite entertainment center for visitors from Germany, where the mass consumption of beer and sangria usually begins in the morning hours.
According to the “Decree on responsible tourism”, as the new strict legislation is officially called, the consumption of alcohol in this area and other beaches of the island will now be punished with a fine between 500 and 1,500 euros.
Reactions were mixed
The local Hoteliers Association AHPP, the Restaurant Association CAEB and the retail trade union Afedeco expressed their optimism in the implementation of the new law. In a joint statement they said: “We welcome the progress made and the effort to get rid of uncivilized tourism.” In any case, hyper-tourism caused reactions in Mallorca, previously there was even discussion of imposing a ceiling on the number of visitors. On Saturday in Palma, the island’s capital, thousands of people took to the streets to show their anger at the “excess tourism” affecting the Balearic Islands. “Mallorca is not for sale” is the central slogan of the mobilization.
However, when it comes to the alcohol ban, many experts on the island doubt whether it can be implemented quickly. “Of course the intentions are good, but you cannot eradicate the whole mentality by imposing restrictions, nor by raising prices,” said Patrick Schirmer Sastre, a columnist for the local German newspaper Mallorca Zeitung. Besides, he pointed out, in Spain they say: “Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa”. It means that “before the law comes out, the ‘loopholes’ in the law will come out”.
“Every year is the same…”
Everything will be decided by the determination of the police to enforce the law. However, Beatrice Ciccardini, famous face of Playa de Palma and owner of the Zur Krone center, is not sure that this will happen. “Every year the same thing happens,” he told the Mallorca Zeitung newspaper. “At the beginning of the season there was a bigger police force, but they never interfered.”
A similar opinion was expressed by Julian Sommer, a favorite artist of German tourists visiting the island. “Every year around this time there are government announcements and we read similar news in the newspapers, I wonder if this time there are stricter controls,” the 26-year-old singer told the German News Agency (dpa) . But what does he think about the new law? On the other hand, if a couple sits down to drink a beer without disturbing anyone, I don’t think there is a problem…”.
“Action must be taken”
“The end of a taboo” was the headline of the local newspaper Última Hora about the ban on alcohol. In the past, local politicians have said that “you can’t sacrifice the hen that lays the golden eggs”, pointing out that much of the island’s prosperity is due to tourism and especially foreign visitors who drink.
But now the Prime Minister of the Balearic Islands Marga Proens declared, for the first time, that “this tourist model has reached its limits”. As the local head of the conservative People’s Party explained, “we want to feel that we are being visited, not that we are being attacked.” Many seem to agree with