Hopes that after the pandemic, the resorts of Spain will be able to get new, more decent tourists, and the international criminals who have occupied tourist “hot spots” will leave the resorts have not materialized. “A new tourist season begins, filled with large doses of alcohol, drugs, prostitution, robbery and violence,” local media complain.
We are talking, in particular, about the Spanish resort of Magaluf, popular among young tourists. Tourists wishing to attend his famous parties are almost officially warned about drug dealers, prostitutes and pickpocket gangs who hone their skills on tourists returning to Spain.
“All the old problems returned with the start of the season, despite the efforts of the Balearic Islands government to change the image of the resort. Drug gangs make deals in the middle of the streets in full view of everyone – over the weekend alone we witnessed up to 500 sales,” local residents say in the media. There is also a growing number of reports of multiple violent robberies to the police after the mass arrival of tourists, especially British, French and Swiss.
The most dangerous area for tourists was the famous Punta Ballena promenade in Magaluf, along which pubs and clubs are located. Despite all the tough new rules – including bans on pubs, two-for-one offers of alcohol, and draconian fines for street drinking and misbehavior – all crime odor problems have resurfaced and worsened. “The massive influx of tourists to Punta Ballena has led to traffickers and prostitutes preying on drunken tourists. The promenade area of the resort is already teeming with Nigerian and Romanian clans,” local residents complain. According to them, police officers, as well as bouncers and security guards from nightlife establishments, have difficulty coping with drunken tourists and the criminals around them.
However, tourists – mostly British, French and Poles (we note that there are practically no Russians due to sanctions) – are also not particularly sorry for the residents of the resorts. Calling the government's push to bring decent, sustainable tourism back to the resort “such a joke,” locals are unequivocal about the target audience on social media. “Every year in this area is the same. I don't know who and how continues to bring this cheap tourism, this madhouse, the whole purpose of which is drunkenness, drugs and balconies to beautiful Mallorca.
Local authorities, as one would expect, promise “an uncompromising struggle.” The provincial council of Calvia, which covers Magaluf, says the authorities are determined to stamp out “excess tourism” and promise no quarter. Even hotel owners are calling for additional law enforcement units to be sent to the resort. The Mallorca Hotel Federation has championed this, predicting a busy summer for islands including Ibiza and Menorca as more tourists make up for lost time after the pandemic. “We all want uncivilized tourism to disappear, we must eradicate this type of tourism,” said its president, Maria Frontera. She added that the deployment of additional police in June will ensure “exhaustive and strict enforcement of laws against excessive tourism in the Balearic Islands, especially in areas such as Magaluf and Playa de Palma.
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