This will doubtless be a story for some days to come. If you're not up to speed with it, here goes.
John Hirst was an investor who lived in Santa Ponsa, well-known on the Calvia scene and in particular at the Mallorca Cricket Club in Magaluf. On Friday, the Serious Fraud Office in the UK announced that it had launched an investigation into Hirst's firm, Gilher Inc. The suspicion is that he has defrauded mainly British expats of some 20 million pounds as investors in a scheme he said would yield 20% returns, irrespective of market fluctuations.
Hirst left Mallorca in August, and those who had invested in the scheme began to have their concerns, which led to the SFO's involvement. Hirst is said to be in the UK and to be suffering from leukaemia.
Expect more on this.
Original story from "The Sunday Times":
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6917139.ece
Monday, November 16, 2009
Out Of Time
Let's just assume for a moment that you are asked what might happen on the tourist front next year. You could probably make some educated guesses, or you might take the evidence of what has been reported, including - I have to say - on this blog. Your answers? Increase in all-inclusives? Yes. The average tourist will have a limited budget? Another tick. Businesses might find themselves suffering and perhaps having to close? Three in a row. Have a banana boat.
Having got all those right, you can now apply for the job as a professor of applied economics, because these obvious truisms have been given by a professorial expert at the university in Palma. Under a front-page banner headline in "The Bulletin" that reads "Majorca goes all-inclusive", these are hardly earth-shattering discoveries.
Setting aside the questionable grammar of that headline - Mallorca went all-inclusive a number of years ago - the depressing nature of the professor's expertise is that he is merely telling us what we already know. TUI, for example, have told us the all-inclusive offer will increase. We also know that the increase in AI has been driven partly by lower-cost competition elsewhere. We also know that the hotels are likely to have shorter seasons next year because of economic hard times, just as many have had this season. None of it is new.
Confirming evident truths seems like a good way to earn a crust, but the far greater challenge for academics, such as the prof, is to model the future effects of changes (applying some economics, in other words), of which the all-inclusive is fundamental. This is work that should have been undertaken years ago. It is just this sort of model creation that justifies academics' existence, and for findings to be presented to government and to tourism, industry and employment authorities - to be applied, possibly. Maybe such work was undertaken. If so, no-one seems to have taken much notice. Or perhaps they did, but realised there wasn't a lot they could do about it. Having, however, got to the position of a quarter of the island's hotel places being AI (and that is an average; the numbers are considerably higher in some resorts), the academics should now be doing further research, some that hopefully is paid attention to, as to the ongoing impact of all-inclusives and other shifts in the tourism market.
There is, from what I have ever tried to find on the internet, a genuine dearth of academic enquiry into this subject. Yet it is of paramount importance. Of course, decision-makers can choose to do with findings what they will - witness, for instance, the British Government's sacking of its drugs expert - but let's just further assume that the local academics concluded that, in five years time, the 25% will rise to 50 or 75%. What then? It is no use arguing the counter view that businesses grew fat and wealthy on the back of the old-style hotel offer, and so tough, or that these businesses will have to work that much harder on improving their products.
The whole economic model, that which considers the wider economy, would, if not collapse, then be on extremely shaky foundations. The professor says, accurately, that the tourism industry has a "greater ability to survive" than other sectors of an economy under recession. Well yes, survive it will do, but in what form? And what shape will the supply side be in? These are the sorts of issues that the academics should be addressing and giving publicity to, not the reiteration of what is known to already be the case.
The professor continues by averring that the "sun, sea and sand" holiday is "outmoded", while there are plenty of other destinations that offer it. He is obviously right where the other destinations are concerned, it's known as competition, but outmoded? Ask yourselves this, and perhaps the professor could do likewise, why do all those Brits, Irish, Scandinavians, Dutch, Germans, Belgians, northern French come to Mallorca? A bit of culture? No. It may have to do with something that is apparently meant to be outmoded. And if you follow the logic of his argument, what are you left with? Indeed, where would any of the competitor destinations be if beach tourism was so old-fashioned? I can't help but feel that there is just a hint of propaganda here, a knowing nod in the direction of the tourism authorities and their much-spoken-about but elusive "alternative" tourism. One could also interpret this as his suggesting that Mallorca should not try to compete, which would be a nonsense.
The typical tourist still wants his sun, his sea and his sand. But he has become more discerning, better informed, more demanding of entertainment and convenience, the latter a further reason for the rise of the AI. You have to be extremely careful in making such assertions about the decline of the traditional beach holiday. There is tourism, and then there is family tourism. And which family members are the most important when it comes to choice? Yep, the kids. Precisely the ones who want the sand and the sea, the entertainment. It is family tourism, more than any other sector of the tourism market, upon which Mallorca's success has been built. The AI is an extension of this. And even if it were not, then why do family tourists still come? Because of the sun, sea and sand. Sorry, prof, can't agree with you.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Cyndi Lauper, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C6AXnnjgqI. Today's title - and from yesterday to today in honour of traditional beach holiday having run out of time: RIP.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Having got all those right, you can now apply for the job as a professor of applied economics, because these obvious truisms have been given by a professorial expert at the university in Palma. Under a front-page banner headline in "The Bulletin" that reads "Majorca goes all-inclusive", these are hardly earth-shattering discoveries.
Setting aside the questionable grammar of that headline - Mallorca went all-inclusive a number of years ago - the depressing nature of the professor's expertise is that he is merely telling us what we already know. TUI, for example, have told us the all-inclusive offer will increase. We also know that the increase in AI has been driven partly by lower-cost competition elsewhere. We also know that the hotels are likely to have shorter seasons next year because of economic hard times, just as many have had this season. None of it is new.
Confirming evident truths seems like a good way to earn a crust, but the far greater challenge for academics, such as the prof, is to model the future effects of changes (applying some economics, in other words), of which the all-inclusive is fundamental. This is work that should have been undertaken years ago. It is just this sort of model creation that justifies academics' existence, and for findings to be presented to government and to tourism, industry and employment authorities - to be applied, possibly. Maybe such work was undertaken. If so, no-one seems to have taken much notice. Or perhaps they did, but realised there wasn't a lot they could do about it. Having, however, got to the position of a quarter of the island's hotel places being AI (and that is an average; the numbers are considerably higher in some resorts), the academics should now be doing further research, some that hopefully is paid attention to, as to the ongoing impact of all-inclusives and other shifts in the tourism market.
There is, from what I have ever tried to find on the internet, a genuine dearth of academic enquiry into this subject. Yet it is of paramount importance. Of course, decision-makers can choose to do with findings what they will - witness, for instance, the British Government's sacking of its drugs expert - but let's just further assume that the local academics concluded that, in five years time, the 25% will rise to 50 or 75%. What then? It is no use arguing the counter view that businesses grew fat and wealthy on the back of the old-style hotel offer, and so tough, or that these businesses will have to work that much harder on improving their products.
The whole economic model, that which considers the wider economy, would, if not collapse, then be on extremely shaky foundations. The professor says, accurately, that the tourism industry has a "greater ability to survive" than other sectors of an economy under recession. Well yes, survive it will do, but in what form? And what shape will the supply side be in? These are the sorts of issues that the academics should be addressing and giving publicity to, not the reiteration of what is known to already be the case.
The professor continues by averring that the "sun, sea and sand" holiday is "outmoded", while there are plenty of other destinations that offer it. He is obviously right where the other destinations are concerned, it's known as competition, but outmoded? Ask yourselves this, and perhaps the professor could do likewise, why do all those Brits, Irish, Scandinavians, Dutch, Germans, Belgians, northern French come to Mallorca? A bit of culture? No. It may have to do with something that is apparently meant to be outmoded. And if you follow the logic of his argument, what are you left with? Indeed, where would any of the competitor destinations be if beach tourism was so old-fashioned? I can't help but feel that there is just a hint of propaganda here, a knowing nod in the direction of the tourism authorities and their much-spoken-about but elusive "alternative" tourism. One could also interpret this as his suggesting that Mallorca should not try to compete, which would be a nonsense.
The typical tourist still wants his sun, his sea and his sand. But he has become more discerning, better informed, more demanding of entertainment and convenience, the latter a further reason for the rise of the AI. You have to be extremely careful in making such assertions about the decline of the traditional beach holiday. There is tourism, and then there is family tourism. And which family members are the most important when it comes to choice? Yep, the kids. Precisely the ones who want the sand and the sea, the entertainment. It is family tourism, more than any other sector of the tourism market, upon which Mallorca's success has been built. The AI is an extension of this. And even if it were not, then why do family tourists still come? Because of the sun, sea and sand. Sorry, prof, can't agree with you.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Cyndi Lauper, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C6AXnnjgqI. Today's title - and from yesterday to today in honour of traditional beach holiday having run out of time: RIP.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Time After Time
It was that familiar problem. Where to park? It is one of the mysteries of the local fairs and fiestas that anyone manages to get to them, unless they have arrived on foot. In Pollensa, it doesn't help that one of the main access roads into the town is closed anyway. How about trying here, you think? Nope, they've closed that off as well. Put up tents. Hmm, where else? Oh look, a blue P, in front of the sports pavilion. Boing, bounce, bang. The sound of stones crunching under tyre makes a satisfyingly disturbing noise, and you take a quick look at the rubber when you get out. There is only so much of this waste land to occupy, part of it has also been roped off, reserved for cars it says, which seems slightly odd as cars are everywhere else on this unmade parking lot. Perhaps it has been reserved for the dignitaries, those who always make an appearance at fairs and fiestas. The official programmes always make a point of scheduling their arrival. Maybe let's those who might wish to voice some discontent make a note in their diaries.
From and into the pavilion emerge and disappear children in martial arts robes. They make a big thing of the sports events that coincide with the fairs. Not that they hold much interest for anyone other than parents and a handful of supporters. The real stuff, the fair, is over the main road, past the cockerel roundabout and into the town.
Everywhere there is food. Pastries, cakes, sweets, baguettes, bread, various concoctions. Everywhere someone is consuming something from a paper plate. The fairs are a non-stop exercise in exercising the jaws and the palate. The only ones not chomping away are on the stands themselves. Here is one for Cuxach, the building materials company. Thirty years of Cuxach, it proudly says, or rather doesn't. But that's the reason for the stand, and red sacks of what are probably building slag. Here is a tent, two gentlemen in suits looking bored. It is the government's environment ministry, a display of spectacular dullness, except ... What is that noise? Edge a little closer, but without wishing to show any interest in case one of the boreds attempts to engage you in conversation. That noise. Good God, it is. Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", but not by Queen. Some Freddie tribute being played over the speakers by the environment authority. What on earth for? "Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frighteningly. Galileo, Galileo ... " Maybe the ministry is wishing to prove that the Earth is round. Very strange.
Ever more food. There is a makeshift table with paper-cut letters stuck onto a brightly-coloured dining table. Something about a voyage to Berlin. Schoolkids selling yet more cakes, raising some euros for a school trip. One feels inclined to tell them that first they must take Manhattan, but it's most unlikely they would have a clue why. Turn a corner, and they've set out some plastic chairs and tables; makes it easier for dealing with those paper plates. The Fira d'Artesania, the craft fair. There are pots, those earthenware ones that make for good tumbet and light casseroles. Loads of plants. Doesn't seem that crafty, but they look very green and, well, plant-like.
Up into the main square, the Fira Pagesa, country or farm fair. There's a startling construction that looks like a junior Wicker Man - Wicker Boy. One looks around nervously in case Edward Woodward is about to be incinerated. In the raised area of the square are a number of ancient-style wagons for moving hay. The work on these wagons is superb, the craftwork of a wheelwright is one understood by only a few nowadays. I know one in England; the shaping of the wood and the bending of the iron are rural achievements shared by different countries, albeit by a dwindling number of true craftsmen.
Then more food. Turrón, the local nougat, in cellophane packets. And for some peculiar reason, amidst this farm produce and workmanship, is a stall selling kitchen equipment - frying-pans, ladles, knives. The evening before, here in the square, they held a farmworkers' dance, a ball de bot with an agricultural twist, but probably the same as the other balls de bot (or is it ball de bots?).
Later, there was a procession with a drum and bugle band, as there are always processions with drums and bugles, and over this same weekend, there will be a how big is your pumpkin competition in Muro, as there is always a pumpkin competition. There was also, in Inca, the night of burning the bonfires, as there always is in advance of the coming Dijous Bo (good Thursday) fair. And everywhere there is food and more food, fuelling the Mallorcans and the few others, who come, as every year, to see the same produce, the same products and to hear the same music (except Queen) and dance the same dance.
Time after time, the fairs and their collisions of ancient and of new, of rock or dance music (as at the Sa Pobla autumn fair pre-event this coming weekend) and of traditional dance and music. The fairs of Mallorca. And Pollensa fair.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Goldfinger, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZt8jcFAsrA. Today's title - good grief, this was a hit 25 years ago; unbelievable.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
January Came
The autumn fairs season well under way (it's the turns of Pollensa and Muro this weekend - details, as always on the WHAT'S ON BLOG), planning for the winter fiestas also starts. The most spectacular of these is Sant Sebastià in Palma in January. Palma council has announced the ents, the music acts that will play in various squares around the city. In 2008, the organisers branched out. There was a bit of a hiccup surrounding Earth Wind & Fire who weren't really Earth Wind & Fire - more Sod Breeze & Damp Squib - but there was an ELO incarnation, all part of a certain internationalisation of the event, itself with the aim, or so it was said, of broadening appeal and attracting more overseas visitors.
Unfortunately, economic reality has bitten, and the council has had to trim its budgets. The town hall deserves some sympathy - all the ents are, after all, free - but it is a shame that this international element will be missing this January, as it was this year. Sant Sebastià should be the focal event for whatever tourism can be attracted in the fallow month of January, and while it does attract some, a more adventurous line-up might help to boost numbers. For this coming January, the acts read rather like many a Mallorcan fiesta, usual suspects such as Tomeu Penya and a boasting as to how many of the bands will be performing in Catalan. So much for international appeal. Perhaps the tourism authorities might like to consider diverting some of the money they spend on questionable winter promotions to Sant Sebastià and giving it a real boost. Not, though, that this would help the north of the island. But if winter tourism is going to be primarily Palma-centric, then so this fiesta should be given more of an official leg-up.
While it's fair enough to promote Catalan musicians, one of the great advantages of English-singing acts is that they contribute to a learning of English. Music, as much as other forms of communication, is an effective conduit for stimulating language interest and learning. With this in mind, it is interesting to hear of a report from the Oxford University Press into the study of English and English ability among the people of the Balearics. One out of three have never studied the language, and of those who have, the standards are not necessarily that high. Yet, a great majority of islanders recognise the importance of English. Which is as it should be, not because it makes expats' lives easier, but because of the fundamental importance of the English-speaking tourism market and the opportunities that the language affords.
Twisting the knife
How much would you spend on a loo-roll holder? Would you even bother? There is something to be said for the loo-roll holder being a largely superfluous item of bathroom furniture. But assuming you might decide that today is the day to go out and acquire that much-needed new holder, would you divvy up 319 euros? Probably not. This, though, is what one such holder in the house of Jaume Matas (following on from yesterday) cost. Twisting the knife indeed, and it was the "Diario" doing so in an hilarious piece about holders, loos and bidets chez Matas. And by the way. Do you know what the Spanish is for lavatory? No? Well, it is "váter". Think about it.
And if not the former president getting it in the neck, then it must be the recently departed owners who never were of Real Mallorca. Now that Alemany is back in charge, his chaps are giving the books a good once-over. He has lodged a "denuncia" against the Martí Mingarro clan, and one of the slight anomalies to come to light is that the club's credit cards were used for visits to what the press terms "locales nocturnos", which may cover a multitude of sins or may not.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "The Reflex", Duran Duran, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQnqNLeiWKw. Today's title - American band, named after a Bond character and film.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Unfortunately, economic reality has bitten, and the council has had to trim its budgets. The town hall deserves some sympathy - all the ents are, after all, free - but it is a shame that this international element will be missing this January, as it was this year. Sant Sebastià should be the focal event for whatever tourism can be attracted in the fallow month of January, and while it does attract some, a more adventurous line-up might help to boost numbers. For this coming January, the acts read rather like many a Mallorcan fiesta, usual suspects such as Tomeu Penya and a boasting as to how many of the bands will be performing in Catalan. So much for international appeal. Perhaps the tourism authorities might like to consider diverting some of the money they spend on questionable winter promotions to Sant Sebastià and giving it a real boost. Not, though, that this would help the north of the island. But if winter tourism is going to be primarily Palma-centric, then so this fiesta should be given more of an official leg-up.
While it's fair enough to promote Catalan musicians, one of the great advantages of English-singing acts is that they contribute to a learning of English. Music, as much as other forms of communication, is an effective conduit for stimulating language interest and learning. With this in mind, it is interesting to hear of a report from the Oxford University Press into the study of English and English ability among the people of the Balearics. One out of three have never studied the language, and of those who have, the standards are not necessarily that high. Yet, a great majority of islanders recognise the importance of English. Which is as it should be, not because it makes expats' lives easier, but because of the fundamental importance of the English-speaking tourism market and the opportunities that the language affords.
Twisting the knife
How much would you spend on a loo-roll holder? Would you even bother? There is something to be said for the loo-roll holder being a largely superfluous item of bathroom furniture. But assuming you might decide that today is the day to go out and acquire that much-needed new holder, would you divvy up 319 euros? Probably not. This, though, is what one such holder in the house of Jaume Matas (following on from yesterday) cost. Twisting the knife indeed, and it was the "Diario" doing so in an hilarious piece about holders, loos and bidets chez Matas. And by the way. Do you know what the Spanish is for lavatory? No? Well, it is "váter". Think about it.
And if not the former president getting it in the neck, then it must be the recently departed owners who never were of Real Mallorca. Now that Alemany is back in charge, his chaps are giving the books a good once-over. He has lodged a "denuncia" against the Martí Mingarro clan, and one of the slight anomalies to come to light is that the club's credit cards were used for visits to what the press terms "locales nocturnos", which may cover a multitude of sins or may not.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "The Reflex", Duran Duran, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQnqNLeiWKw. Today's title - American band, named after a Bond character and film.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Finding Treasure In The Dark
How about this little lot?
Luxury materials, such as oakwood floors and bathrooms of marble; thirty paintings and other art works; leading brands of audio and visual equipment, including eight televisions; a hundred or so handbags; 150 or so suits; 50 pairs of shoes.
And then this lot.
Polished granite kitchen; more marble in bathrooms; sound-proofing; anti-vapour systems; a hydromassage system; towel radiators in all bathrooms; ambient thermostat for heating and hot water; air-conditioning for cooling and heating; parabolic antenna and television in the lounge, kitchen and bedrooms; TV sockets in the lounge, kitchen and bedrooms; various security and alarm systems; safe; electronic video entrance system; automatic shutters.
For the most part, sounds like an estate agent's sales pitch for some luxury accommodation. None of it necessarily that unusual. Only when you add on some other items, like documents relating to alleged cases of corruption by some well-known politicians and a copy of a "denuncia" by the wife of one particular well-known politician, accused of mistreating her, do you begin to understand to whom all this relates. Or maybe you don't. You might of course have been fooled by the shoes. No it's not Imelda Marcos. It is the ex-president of the Balearic Government and his wife. The first list relates to the so-called "palacete" in Palma, the home of Jaume Matas and missus, where these documents were discovered; the second to an apartment in Madrid. Where the former is concerned, there is another list, a lengthy one of various renovations that were carried out, mostly by a constructor from Sa Pobla. The total cost of the renovations at the palacete, it is said, amount to some 2 million euros. There are, apparently, invoices for a mere 5% of them.
These inventories, itemised in different reports from the "Diario", have come to light as the consequence of police raids on the Matas's properties. In an operation named "Buckingham" (not sure why, maybe it has to do with the "palacete"), the Guardia, investigating accusations of corruption levelled against Matas, have been turning over the residences and bringing in art and architectural experts to assist in coming up with the values.
Now you might say, well, he's a politician and he probably earned a fair wedge. Possibly so, but one presumes that the anti-corruption squad believes that there might be a slight discrepancy between income and property value, to say nothing of those invoices which total only 92,000 euros.
Matas is under suspicion with regard to a corruption case involving the Palma Arena velodrome, one of any number of major works that were initiated during his presidency from 2003 to 2007. It may be interesting to note that Matas, originally, was a tax inspector, while he was once the head of the Hacienda in the Balearics, during which time there was a previous spate of corruption cases.
The police action will of course continue, but if it turns out that Matas is indeed guilty, and let it be stressed that he is still innocent, then the repercussions could be enormous. This is the former president of the regional government, after all, one sitting on what, for the investigators, is a treasure trove of discovery. The worst of the repercussions would be what it says about the practice of local democracy, about the system of favours and about the sheer endemic nature of dishonesty in local society. Matas is just the latest, but if he has done wrong, he would be the biggest of the local political fish, about which there is more than a hint of the one-time sham system of democracy that operated in Spain in the nineteenth century, that of the "cacique", the political boss who delivered the required results as part of a system of favours given and received.
There's nothing new under a Spanish sun.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Proclaimers, "Letter From America", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-OzdiaJZkw. The series was "Tutti Frutti" - Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Richard Wilson. Today's title - daft line from a group that specialised in daft lyrics.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Luxury materials, such as oakwood floors and bathrooms of marble; thirty paintings and other art works; leading brands of audio and visual equipment, including eight televisions; a hundred or so handbags; 150 or so suits; 50 pairs of shoes.
And then this lot.
Polished granite kitchen; more marble in bathrooms; sound-proofing; anti-vapour systems; a hydromassage system; towel radiators in all bathrooms; ambient thermostat for heating and hot water; air-conditioning for cooling and heating; parabolic antenna and television in the lounge, kitchen and bedrooms; TV sockets in the lounge, kitchen and bedrooms; various security and alarm systems; safe; electronic video entrance system; automatic shutters.
For the most part, sounds like an estate agent's sales pitch for some luxury accommodation. None of it necessarily that unusual. Only when you add on some other items, like documents relating to alleged cases of corruption by some well-known politicians and a copy of a "denuncia" by the wife of one particular well-known politician, accused of mistreating her, do you begin to understand to whom all this relates. Or maybe you don't. You might of course have been fooled by the shoes. No it's not Imelda Marcos. It is the ex-president of the Balearic Government and his wife. The first list relates to the so-called "palacete" in Palma, the home of Jaume Matas and missus, where these documents were discovered; the second to an apartment in Madrid. Where the former is concerned, there is another list, a lengthy one of various renovations that were carried out, mostly by a constructor from Sa Pobla. The total cost of the renovations at the palacete, it is said, amount to some 2 million euros. There are, apparently, invoices for a mere 5% of them.
These inventories, itemised in different reports from the "Diario", have come to light as the consequence of police raids on the Matas's properties. In an operation named "Buckingham" (not sure why, maybe it has to do with the "palacete"), the Guardia, investigating accusations of corruption levelled against Matas, have been turning over the residences and bringing in art and architectural experts to assist in coming up with the values.
Now you might say, well, he's a politician and he probably earned a fair wedge. Possibly so, but one presumes that the anti-corruption squad believes that there might be a slight discrepancy between income and property value, to say nothing of those invoices which total only 92,000 euros.
Matas is under suspicion with regard to a corruption case involving the Palma Arena velodrome, one of any number of major works that were initiated during his presidency from 2003 to 2007. It may be interesting to note that Matas, originally, was a tax inspector, while he was once the head of the Hacienda in the Balearics, during which time there was a previous spate of corruption cases.
The police action will of course continue, but if it turns out that Matas is indeed guilty, and let it be stressed that he is still innocent, then the repercussions could be enormous. This is the former president of the regional government, after all, one sitting on what, for the investigators, is a treasure trove of discovery. The worst of the repercussions would be what it says about the practice of local democracy, about the system of favours and about the sheer endemic nature of dishonesty in local society. Matas is just the latest, but if he has done wrong, he would be the biggest of the local political fish, about which there is more than a hint of the one-time sham system of democracy that operated in Spain in the nineteenth century, that of the "cacique", the political boss who delivered the required results as part of a system of favours given and received.
There's nothing new under a Spanish sun.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Proclaimers, "Letter From America", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-OzdiaJZkw. The series was "Tutti Frutti" - Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Richard Wilson. Today's title - daft line from a group that specialised in daft lyrics.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
No More
Does the regional government have a policy on golf courses? As far as the opposition is concerned, it does not, and it is not difficult to understand why it might think this. On the one hand, there is the tourism minister giving more or less carte blanche for the building of more courses and on the other there is the transport minister saying that no more will be built. He also reckons that the 23 in existence on Mallorca are sufficient and that many of these are under-utilised, a view that it is difficult to disagree with.
This contrariness is, though, hard to fathom. The tourism ministry's stance would see, for example, the building of the course in Campos, along, in all likelihood, with a hotel complex. This course might actually make sense, given that Campos has so little by way of tourism. But in the wider scheme of things, i.e. taking the island as a whole, whether any more courses are needed must be open to question, something which, more than the environmental issue, has always dogged the credibility of the building of the Muro course.
Over the past eighteen months or so, there have been different reports, one saying that the island is "golfed-out" and agreeing that no more are warranted, another reckoning that no-one should be more than 50 minutes from a golf course, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. More courses probably. There has also been the association of golf tour operators saying that the numbers coming to play golf could rise by 15%. And when its president met the tourism minister, the latter forecast a situation in which the Balearics would become the leading golf destination in Europe.
None of this quite adds up, unless, that is, one accepts that a 15% rise in golfing tourists could be accommodated by current courses, which probably is the case. But as golf is presented as being such an important facet of the so-called "alternative" tourism, the fact that the government seems to be unclear as to its actual policy does seem rather curious.
If not golf, then how about half-marathons to swell the tourism masses? Or how about a film festival to do likewise? From next year there will be a half-marathon in Pollensa - in April in fact. And in 2011, also in April, there will be the first Mallorca International Film Festival, which presumably will become an annual event. Both of them are worthy enough, but neither has much to do with improving the winter tourism scene, given that they will both be staged just prior to the start of the main season and that neither will necessarily generate much by way of "new" tourism.
And still on a sporting theme ... Real Mallorca. Thrice woe, or maybe several times more woe. The latest farce, the selling to the Martí family that has proved not to be a sale as the previous interim owner has not been paid, now sees the club back in the hands of that interim owner, Mateu Alemany. This lawyer is something of a club hero as he regularly pops up to try and dig it out of its latest hole. One might ask if he was perhaps less than diligent in gaining assurances as to the financial capabilities of the Martí family. He accepts that he made a mistake but that the information he had led him to believe that they would prove acceptable. Alemany is right when he says that no-one, least of all in the press, raised any great questions about the family's ability to finance the club. One thing's for sure, he will make damn sure that any new owner does have the financial wherewithal, though the questions remain as to what state the club might be in come May when the next sale is projected and as to who might even want the club.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Three Dog Night, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFypAB7nYGA. Today's title - Bathgate, Linwood, Methil ... and you'll need to apply an Auchtermuchty accent. Great song and video. And as an additional question ... In which TV drama series did Methil feature as a lousy place to play a gig?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
This contrariness is, though, hard to fathom. The tourism ministry's stance would see, for example, the building of the course in Campos, along, in all likelihood, with a hotel complex. This course might actually make sense, given that Campos has so little by way of tourism. But in the wider scheme of things, i.e. taking the island as a whole, whether any more courses are needed must be open to question, something which, more than the environmental issue, has always dogged the credibility of the building of the Muro course.
Over the past eighteen months or so, there have been different reports, one saying that the island is "golfed-out" and agreeing that no more are warranted, another reckoning that no-one should be more than 50 minutes from a golf course, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. More courses probably. There has also been the association of golf tour operators saying that the numbers coming to play golf could rise by 15%. And when its president met the tourism minister, the latter forecast a situation in which the Balearics would become the leading golf destination in Europe.
None of this quite adds up, unless, that is, one accepts that a 15% rise in golfing tourists could be accommodated by current courses, which probably is the case. But as golf is presented as being such an important facet of the so-called "alternative" tourism, the fact that the government seems to be unclear as to its actual policy does seem rather curious.
If not golf, then how about half-marathons to swell the tourism masses? Or how about a film festival to do likewise? From next year there will be a half-marathon in Pollensa - in April in fact. And in 2011, also in April, there will be the first Mallorca International Film Festival, which presumably will become an annual event. Both of them are worthy enough, but neither has much to do with improving the winter tourism scene, given that they will both be staged just prior to the start of the main season and that neither will necessarily generate much by way of "new" tourism.
And still on a sporting theme ... Real Mallorca. Thrice woe, or maybe several times more woe. The latest farce, the selling to the Martí family that has proved not to be a sale as the previous interim owner has not been paid, now sees the club back in the hands of that interim owner, Mateu Alemany. This lawyer is something of a club hero as he regularly pops up to try and dig it out of its latest hole. One might ask if he was perhaps less than diligent in gaining assurances as to the financial capabilities of the Martí family. He accepts that he made a mistake but that the information he had led him to believe that they would prove acceptable. Alemany is right when he says that no-one, least of all in the press, raised any great questions about the family's ability to finance the club. One thing's for sure, he will make damn sure that any new owner does have the financial wherewithal, though the questions remain as to what state the club might be in come May when the next sale is projected and as to who might even want the club.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Three Dog Night, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFypAB7nYGA. Today's title - Bathgate, Linwood, Methil ... and you'll need to apply an Auchtermuchty accent. Great song and video. And as an additional question ... In which TV drama series did Methil feature as a lousy place to play a gig?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Joy To The World
The tourism dignitaries have gathered in London for the World Travel Market. Today, Balearics Day at the trade fair, will see the premiere of the new Rafael Nadal advert for the Balearics. Let joy be unconfined.
What does any of this achieve? The World Travel Market is, in no small part, a set of shop windows for the industry, one that already knows about Mallorca and the Balearics. The same applies to corporate advertising, of the Nadal style. Not everyone may know about the Balearics, which does of course beg a significant question, but they (the consuming tourist public) know about Mallorca. Both the trade fair and the advertising act, at best, as a means of putting Mallorca in the "front of mind" of the industry and the consumer. But so does that of every other destination.
In "The Sunday Times" at the weekend there was a double-page colour advert for Andalucia. Some of the advertising for this region of Spain has been sensational. Its TV advert, luscious colours, dramatic scenery and vibrant flamenco chill music, was outstanding. But it was still an advert for a region. Just as advertising, of the Nadal variety, is for a region. It may all create attention and therefore, possibly, some action, but that is all it does.
In the case of the Andalucia advert, there is a scrawled blurb across the two pages: "I want you to share my energy, my happiness, my strength, my warmth ... A thousand monuments beyond compare. And just one question: When are you coming?" This last bit, the question, is the only good part of this. The rest is utterly ridiculous and pretentious. An attempt to make personal the impersonal, supported by a photo of a beach at sunset and a church in daytime. Whatever good it may achieve is undone by a small logo at the bottom which refers to "Junta de Andalucia". Someone might have pointed out that the word "junta" has negative connotations where the British are concerned.
Be this as it may. Advertising for Andalucia, for Turkey, for Egypt, for wherever you may care to mention, it all follows the same pattern. Mediterranean destinations tout the same things, the same sorts of images; they display warmth, sun, sea, culture, people, scenery. There is no differentiation. It is why much of the advertising is questionable. Its main purpose is to be there. In other words, it would be conspicuous by its absence.
This advertising is part aspirational and part image-making, but it fits a particular aspirational class and one attracted by a specific image. For all that it is intended to promote the whole gamut of a destination's offer, it does nothing of the sort. Holidaymakers are not a homogeneous group. They differ in all manner of respects. For this reason and for all the attention that gets paid to the Nadal-style corporate advertising (by the media and letter writers), it can only ever act as a starting-point (if that) or as a reinforcement to those already familiar with the island.
How do those who sanction this promotion believe that the process then works? Do they assume that there exists a hierarchical decision-making system? At the top comes Nadal, then there is a series of moves before the holidaymaker chooses a specific resort or hotel. Is this how it is meant to work? If it doesn't, and I don't believe it does, then what's the point of the thing at the top? This is how it used to work, back in the days when the family would be assaulted by Boxing Day adverts, opt for Mallorca and then head off to the nearest travel agency and pretty much have the choice of resort and hotel made for them.
Consumers take more or less as read the elements of a Mediterranean destination, be it Mallorca, Andalucia or wherever. They do so because the advertising and the images are essentially the same. As much as some consumers may work down from image advertising, they also work upwards, if not more so, in making their choices, without necessarily specifying a destination. And they all have different priorities, the satisfying of which is made in no small part through the informal channels of the internet - the forums, the blogs, the this, the that. The choice of a Turkey over a Mallorca lies largely with word of mouth, with a critical mass of recommendation, with a curious incuriosity that is the consequence of somewhere having become the latest in-place, and with a sense of "oh, let's give that a try". And much of this is predicated on price, on hotel (often all-inclusive), on specific offers, on what there is for the kids and all the rest. It is with the very detail of the holiday that the decision lies, not with the broad sweep of a Nadal on a yacht.
The tourism chiefs have singularly failed to understand the new dynamic of holiday decision-making or to appreciate the subversive influence of the internet; subversive in that, though these chiefs see the immense value of internet promotion, the internet acts independently of the corporate advertising. The real challenge lies in attempting to formalise the informal, of working this subversive element so that it favours a particular destination, and not just an island or a region, but a resort or even a particular complex. These chiefs need to cotton on to the reality of how consumers function on the internet, through social networks and so on, and to exploit these subversive factions themselves. If they don't, all that lavish spending on corporate advertising is a waste.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - British Sea Power, "The Lonely", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yK9p-icr0w. Today's title - this one started "Jeremiah was a bullfrog".
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
What does any of this achieve? The World Travel Market is, in no small part, a set of shop windows for the industry, one that already knows about Mallorca and the Balearics. The same applies to corporate advertising, of the Nadal style. Not everyone may know about the Balearics, which does of course beg a significant question, but they (the consuming tourist public) know about Mallorca. Both the trade fair and the advertising act, at best, as a means of putting Mallorca in the "front of mind" of the industry and the consumer. But so does that of every other destination.
In "The Sunday Times" at the weekend there was a double-page colour advert for Andalucia. Some of the advertising for this region of Spain has been sensational. Its TV advert, luscious colours, dramatic scenery and vibrant flamenco chill music, was outstanding. But it was still an advert for a region. Just as advertising, of the Nadal variety, is for a region. It may all create attention and therefore, possibly, some action, but that is all it does.
In the case of the Andalucia advert, there is a scrawled blurb across the two pages: "I want you to share my energy, my happiness, my strength, my warmth ... A thousand monuments beyond compare. And just one question: When are you coming?" This last bit, the question, is the only good part of this. The rest is utterly ridiculous and pretentious. An attempt to make personal the impersonal, supported by a photo of a beach at sunset and a church in daytime. Whatever good it may achieve is undone by a small logo at the bottom which refers to "Junta de Andalucia". Someone might have pointed out that the word "junta" has negative connotations where the British are concerned.
Be this as it may. Advertising for Andalucia, for Turkey, for Egypt, for wherever you may care to mention, it all follows the same pattern. Mediterranean destinations tout the same things, the same sorts of images; they display warmth, sun, sea, culture, people, scenery. There is no differentiation. It is why much of the advertising is questionable. Its main purpose is to be there. In other words, it would be conspicuous by its absence.
This advertising is part aspirational and part image-making, but it fits a particular aspirational class and one attracted by a specific image. For all that it is intended to promote the whole gamut of a destination's offer, it does nothing of the sort. Holidaymakers are not a homogeneous group. They differ in all manner of respects. For this reason and for all the attention that gets paid to the Nadal-style corporate advertising (by the media and letter writers), it can only ever act as a starting-point (if that) or as a reinforcement to those already familiar with the island.
How do those who sanction this promotion believe that the process then works? Do they assume that there exists a hierarchical decision-making system? At the top comes Nadal, then there is a series of moves before the holidaymaker chooses a specific resort or hotel. Is this how it is meant to work? If it doesn't, and I don't believe it does, then what's the point of the thing at the top? This is how it used to work, back in the days when the family would be assaulted by Boxing Day adverts, opt for Mallorca and then head off to the nearest travel agency and pretty much have the choice of resort and hotel made for them.
Consumers take more or less as read the elements of a Mediterranean destination, be it Mallorca, Andalucia or wherever. They do so because the advertising and the images are essentially the same. As much as some consumers may work down from image advertising, they also work upwards, if not more so, in making their choices, without necessarily specifying a destination. And they all have different priorities, the satisfying of which is made in no small part through the informal channels of the internet - the forums, the blogs, the this, the that. The choice of a Turkey over a Mallorca lies largely with word of mouth, with a critical mass of recommendation, with a curious incuriosity that is the consequence of somewhere having become the latest in-place, and with a sense of "oh, let's give that a try". And much of this is predicated on price, on hotel (often all-inclusive), on specific offers, on what there is for the kids and all the rest. It is with the very detail of the holiday that the decision lies, not with the broad sweep of a Nadal on a yacht.
The tourism chiefs have singularly failed to understand the new dynamic of holiday decision-making or to appreciate the subversive influence of the internet; subversive in that, though these chiefs see the immense value of internet promotion, the internet acts independently of the corporate advertising. The real challenge lies in attempting to formalise the informal, of working this subversive element so that it favours a particular destination, and not just an island or a region, but a resort or even a particular complex. These chiefs need to cotton on to the reality of how consumers function on the internet, through social networks and so on, and to exploit these subversive factions themselves. If they don't, all that lavish spending on corporate advertising is a waste.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - British Sea Power, "The Lonely", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yK9p-icr0w. Today's title - this one started "Jeremiah was a bullfrog".
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I'll Drink All Day
Jeremy's at it again. At times, I do wonder if he tries a bit too hard at being contrary and offensive. Rather like Littlejohn, I'm not totally convinced that he believes half of what he says. But in Clarkson-land, the expat life is one, as he puts it, in which an expat has "a nose like a burst beetroot" and who wonders if "it's okay to have a small sharpener at 10 in the morning". There is a bit of familiarity about this. Did not A.A. Gill, in the same newspaper ("The Sunday Times"), make a similar observation about the early-morning drinking habits of expats on the Costas when he undertook his character assassination of Keith Floyd? And when, what must be about three years ago now, Alexei Sayle (in "The Independent") demolished Leapy Lee, there was reference, to "some minor expat singer with a criminal record and views tailor-made for his audience of drink-sozzled, golf-playing Costa Brits".
For Jezza, any expat in Spain is, basically, a criminal. Weighing up the options as to countries to which the British might wish to emigrate in order to escape Peter Mandelson, he rules out Spain for his reader on the grounds that "you're not called Del and you weren't involved in the Walthamstow blag". In fact, he rules out everywhere, but for different reasons.
This crim and booze image might be all a tad tiresome if it weren't for the fact that it is quite funny and not without some element of truth. I can think of at least one Del. When his bar had to be evacuated and some of the contents dispensed with, there was some slight apprehension as to the exact source of some of the items on offer. Del is an appropriate enough name, given the ubiquity of "Fools And Horses" and of DVDs bearing the title, not all of which bring with them a payment to BBC Worldwide. All these Dels selling dodgy Del DVDs to some bloke called Del. But whereas one who had committed the Walthamstow blag might be residing in Benalmádena, he would be most unlikely to be in Alcúdia or Puerto Pollensa as only people from Leicester or Hull live in Alcúdia or, for some bizarre reason, from Kilmarnock in the case of Puerto Pollensa.
Now that the season has finished, and the Dels have either had to make swift their escape from Spanish territory and its coastal waters, or handed back the keys, or sold off the Sky system, or all of these, there is the opportunity for those who remain to take to the only bars staying open and indulge in a little 10am sharpening, which can go on to, well, 10pm. Normally, such intake would be curbed by a couple of hours in season, but now they can join the retired Dels and Mrs Dels (Raquels presumably) who make no concession to hours by a bar; summer or winter, they are the same. Actually, I exaggerate. There may be a few soaks and the occasional burst beetroot but other than the odd beer or glass of wine, it is not that common to see your expat imbibing much more than a coffee in the mornings or indeed in the afternoons. The Jezza (and Gill) image is overstated, as is the crim angle. Yep, there are one or two of them, but sadly, though it's a funny line, I'm afraid I have to tell Jeremy that it's not strictly accurate.
Those of a criminal bent may have discovered that they can no longer use their mobile phones. As of yesterday, any unregistered mobile was cut off. This means that all those pay-as-you-go mobiles, which had not been registered (all phones under contract were and are registered), are now useless except for 112 emergency calls. The thinking behind this was that the unregistered mobile was the communication device of choice for the crim or terrorist, neither of whom would be likely to be making 112 calls unless they are issuing a warning as to a bomb going off. Some 25% of pay-as-you-go phones, representing some four million users, remain unregistered, so the Spanish government has extended by six months the period in which registration can be effected, allowing the user to keep his or her number.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Abba, "Waterloo", performing on German TV, and it's still this bad (the TV that is), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu1q17rUkVU. Today's title - line from something by one of the finest of indie bands. Very British, which is probably appropriate.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
For Jezza, any expat in Spain is, basically, a criminal. Weighing up the options as to countries to which the British might wish to emigrate in order to escape Peter Mandelson, he rules out Spain for his reader on the grounds that "you're not called Del and you weren't involved in the Walthamstow blag". In fact, he rules out everywhere, but for different reasons.
This crim and booze image might be all a tad tiresome if it weren't for the fact that it is quite funny and not without some element of truth. I can think of at least one Del. When his bar had to be evacuated and some of the contents dispensed with, there was some slight apprehension as to the exact source of some of the items on offer. Del is an appropriate enough name, given the ubiquity of "Fools And Horses" and of DVDs bearing the title, not all of which bring with them a payment to BBC Worldwide. All these Dels selling dodgy Del DVDs to some bloke called Del. But whereas one who had committed the Walthamstow blag might be residing in Benalmádena, he would be most unlikely to be in Alcúdia or Puerto Pollensa as only people from Leicester or Hull live in Alcúdia or, for some bizarre reason, from Kilmarnock in the case of Puerto Pollensa.
Now that the season has finished, and the Dels have either had to make swift their escape from Spanish territory and its coastal waters, or handed back the keys, or sold off the Sky system, or all of these, there is the opportunity for those who remain to take to the only bars staying open and indulge in a little 10am sharpening, which can go on to, well, 10pm. Normally, such intake would be curbed by a couple of hours in season, but now they can join the retired Dels and Mrs Dels (Raquels presumably) who make no concession to hours by a bar; summer or winter, they are the same. Actually, I exaggerate. There may be a few soaks and the occasional burst beetroot but other than the odd beer or glass of wine, it is not that common to see your expat imbibing much more than a coffee in the mornings or indeed in the afternoons. The Jezza (and Gill) image is overstated, as is the crim angle. Yep, there are one or two of them, but sadly, though it's a funny line, I'm afraid I have to tell Jeremy that it's not strictly accurate.
Those of a criminal bent may have discovered that they can no longer use their mobile phones. As of yesterday, any unregistered mobile was cut off. This means that all those pay-as-you-go mobiles, which had not been registered (all phones under contract were and are registered), are now useless except for 112 emergency calls. The thinking behind this was that the unregistered mobile was the communication device of choice for the crim or terrorist, neither of whom would be likely to be making 112 calls unless they are issuing a warning as to a bomb going off. Some 25% of pay-as-you-go phones, representing some four million users, remain unregistered, so the Spanish government has extended by six months the period in which registration can be effected, allowing the user to keep his or her number.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Abba, "Waterloo", performing on German TV, and it's still this bad (the TV that is), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu1q17rUkVU. Today's title - line from something by one of the finest of indie bands. Very British, which is probably appropriate.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
