These restaurants, most of which are located in Playa de Palma, will no longer allow players without T-shirts or football jerseys, said Juan Miguel Ferrer of Palma Beach, a quality seal created by local businesses to which the restaurants belong. . “What we’re trying to communicate, in a way, is the idea that to get in here you have to take a shower or change your clothes,” he added. “You are not going to come here in beach clothes or come straight from the drink on the streets.” The move was triggered by a recent flood of tourists who seem to be more interested in drinking than exploring the island’s local gastronomy or charm, he said. “Since May 10, we have been suffering from the arrival of large groups of tourists who just want to get drunk on the streets, on the beach or even on the beach.” He described the situation as worse than it was years before the pandemic, calling it an “unfortunate reality”. “They arrive at the hotels around 10 in the morning and at 2 in the afternoon, they can’t even walk,” Ferrer said. “They are completely drunk and even their companions leave them lying on the sidewalk.” A 2020 law aimed at curbing alcohol-driven tourism has so far made little difference, he said. Instead, he called for the police to be given the power to charge people on the spot for fines related to anti-social behavior. “We need support from officials because neither businessmen nor neighbors can stop this,” Ferrer said. A source in the regional government said that due to the pandemic, this summer will be the first time that the new law will be fully implemented and that the government remains committed to combating anti-social tourism. The mourning of restaurant owners comes just days after politicians in the region – which also includes the islands of Ibiza and Menorca – backed an initiative aimed at gradually reducing the number of tourist beds on offer. The Balearic Islands currently number 625,000 tourist beds – about one tourist spot for every two inhabitants. The government had proposed a mechanism to gradually reduce that number by eventually buying seats in one- and two-star hotels in the area. “We can no longer grow in quantity,” said Iago Negeruela, the regional official in charge of the island’s economy and tourism, as the law was passed. While local media reported that the measure could see the number of tourist beds reduced by 40,000, government sources said no specific figures had been agreed. The goal is to reduce the number of visitors, but in a way that protects an industry that represents about 45% of the region’s GDP and employs more than 200,000 people. It is a possibility that is being considered throughout Spain, as the country strives to strike a balance between one of its core industries and growing complaints of noise, drunkenness and the conversion of homes into holiday rentals. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST In the Balearic Islands, the resulting preference for high-income travelers has been criticized as narrow-minded. “It’s absurd,” said Juan Manuel Ordinas, owner of two two-star hotels in Mallorca. “We are facing a class government that does not want a British tourist who works as a waitress to come to Mallorca for a holiday. Only those who have money “. He challenged the assumption that quality tourism excludes tourists with fewer means. “They may not spend so much money, but not so much resources. Do not go to a five star hotel with ten jacuzzis, four golf courses and six buffets. “They do not arrive by private jet,” he said. “Instead, they go to a small hotel with a shower for every three rooms, take the bus or rent a bicycle and arrive on low-cost flights.”
