Hoteliers in Magaluf throw out 150 tourists for drunken behaviour amid zero-tolerance clampdown – as tourism bosses fear slashed prices are luring the wrong crowd
- In June 150 hotel guests were thrown out – almost as many as all of last summer
- Local tourism bosses have promised ‘zero tolerance’ to anti-social behaviour
- Officials fear the lowering of prices is encouraging the wrong sort of tourism
Hotels in Spain’s notorious party resort of Magaluf have stepped up their fight against drunken tourism by throwing out rowdy holidaymakers in record numbers.
In June alone, 150 people were ejected from their hotels in Magaluf and nearby Palmanova – only 10 short of the 160 tourists expelled in the entire summer of 2018, tourism bosses have revealed.
The Palmanova-Magaluf hotel association has warned it will continue to take a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to ‘uncivic behaviour’.
But local officials fear the lowering of prices on the island of Mallorca is attracting the wrong sort of tourists, and may call for Civil Guard backup from Madrid to help tackle the problem.
Hotels in Spain’s notorious party resort of Magaluf (file photo) have stepped up their fight against drunken tourism by throwing out rowdy holidaymakers in record numbers
‘The customer profile has fallen as a result of the price drop which establishments have been forced to do because of the strength of other competing destinations,’ association president Mauricio Carballeda told Diario de Ibiza.
The Balearic Islands’ unpopular tourist tax, which charges holidaymakers between one and four euros a night is being blamed for a falling number of visitors.
Brits choosing Mallorca for their holiday are already on the decline, with the hotels forecasting a dip of six to seven per cent for the summer.
As a result, they are dropping prices to compete against the likes of Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Croatia.
The hoteliers say they intend to stick to their policy: any bad behaviour and the culprits will be thrown out.
The association is working with Calvia council to implement new measures, including calling for more police on the streets to fight alcohol and drug use.
Hoteliers also want to make it clear to young holidaymakers that ‘you can’t just come here and do what you want.’
Despite new controls, they continue to be worried about pub crawls organised in Magaluf every summer, party boats and ‘street mafia’ who sell drugs and pickpocket.
During a meeting on Monday, the Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez said they were working to improve safety measures in Magaluf in a bid to provide a ‘quality destination’.
They had not ruled out the possibility of asking Madrid to help with Civil Guard reinforcements to provide ‘an evening entertainment offer but controlled. ‘