22 - 28 June 2017
Islands fight back BALEARIC residents may soon enjoy the same favourable tax regime that benefits citizens on the Canary Islands. The regional government launched a formal request to Madrid this week demanding substantial VAT cuts and higher subsides. The comprehensive economic report details how the Balearic Islands lose a combined €8 billion per year due to the inherent disadvantages of being isolated from the mainland. Despite the broad variety of competing local interests and divergent political views, all parties and interest groups across the Balearics support the request. Key demands include the reduction of VAT from 21 to 15 per cent, and the reduced rate from 10 to 5 per cent on the islands.
MALLORCA
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Tourist trap
Photo by Turismo Islas Baleares/Instagram
ISSUE NO. 1668
Misleading holiday ads slammed By Matthew Elliott Advertising executives are under fire for portraying Mallorca as an empty paradise to foreign tourists. Extensive online advertising campaigns run by the government show deserted beaches, undisturbed waters, quiet streets and romantic plazas, with not a human in sight. The Instagram account of the Balearic government shows 30 idyllic photos of Mallorca’s most famous spots. On just two photos can any people be spotted. And they are presumably models or actors. The campaign has been denounced as false advertising by media outlets across Europe and even by the Norwegian tourist office in Spain. Head of marketing Luca Bocci said that in Norway the government regularly listens to residents and includes their ideas in promo-
tions of the Scandinavian government. But in Mallorca he was shocked to find that the authorities appear to have abandoned sustainability in favour of popularity. Eco-group Terraferida has also claimed that European magazines have expressed dismay that readers felt ‘tricked’ into visiting Mallorca. The glossy images fly in the face of a woeful number of rubbish collection scandals, environmental degradation and rising pollution levels. Unfortunately for tourism minister Biel Barcelo, the jig appears to be up. Surveys now show increased levels of dissatisfaction and disillusionment among visitors to the island who expected it to resemble what it says on the tin. Savvy travellers can now find more accurate information on what a holiday on the island
really entails. The concern isn’t that tourism numbers will fall. Instead the danger is that responsible travellers might give Mallorca a miss, increasing the proportion of partygoers who make headlines for all the wrong reasons.
HAVEN: The island appears empty in the snaps.