inter Tourism Gets a Boost/Pension Power
After several months of disappointing news and harsh accusations, the Island Council basked in the glory of some positive news last week, as plans to improve the winter season were revealed by the president of the Island Council, Xico Tarres. In a joint press conference with the Balearic Employment minister, Margarita Najera, both spoke about the ambitious plan which is set to bring 15,000 retired people from all over Europe to the island during the off-season.
The idea was first suggested by the Balearic Government, and talks have been taking place on a national scale for the last few months. Najera revealed that the next step would be to get approval from the EU before the plan was definitively put in place, adding that the European Union would not be asked to help out financially, the costs being covered by the National and Balearic Governments.
The idea will be similar to the Imserso scheme already in place, which offers thousands of Spanish pensioners the opportunity to visit the islands at vastly reduced rates between November and March. The hotels offer considerably more economical prices and the airfare is also heavily subsidised.
Najera said the Balearic Government had already had a number of conversations with hoteliers and two major airlines, and said the feedback had been very positive.
Tarres made public that the programme would start in central European countries including Germany, Belgium and Holland, and bring a total of around 100,000 people to the Balearics in the first year, 15,000 of which would be diverted to Ibiza. The total would hopefully increase to 500,000 once the project was implemented across the Continent.
He added that the project would be concentrated within a particular area, and would guarantee the hoteliers occupancy of between 60% and 80% to ensure the proposal remains attractive. According to the president this would hopefully also encourage other businesses to open in the area, because the plan would not work if there was nowhere to go once the tourists were here. He promised that the Council would organise tenders for companies willing to organise activities during the day and night for the tourists. The location is yet to be decided, and both the minister and the president were, for the time being, keeping tight-lipped about the beneficiary, although the bay of San Antonio remains the favoured option of most.
Surprisingly, the talks are in an advanced state and Najera suggested that the plan could be implemented as early as this November. At last, something to smile about for the politicians just as a testing season draws to a close.
The president of the Hotel Federation, Juanjo Riera, claimed he had not yet been approached about the idea but said it would be a huge positive for the island. He repeated that there were many areas which could be considered, including Talamanca, es Canar and Playa den Bossa but hinted that for the moment the bay of San Antonio would be the best option, if only for its previous work with Imserso.
The Association of Retailers in San Antonio expressed their support for the idea and claimed San Antonio and the bay was the best place for the plan, as there were already around 10 hotels open throughout the winter. However, their spokesman, Joan Torres, called for tax exemption for shops, restaurants and bars willing to open during the winter months, claiming some type of incentive was needed.
Not wanting to be left out, the councillor for tourism in Formentera, Josep Mayans, explained his department would be investing 306,000 in trying to promote tourism during the low season. The money will be used, amongst other things, towards paying for an ad campaign which is to be run in Mallorca and the Basque country. However, the promotion will also focus on the Italian and German markets, and try to encourage them to come for short weekend breaks during September and October.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Takings Plummet
On Monday the president of the Taxi Association in the capital, Jose Serafin, announced that business for some of his members was down around 30 per cent this season. His comments came as he continued to criticise the Island Council for creating the temporary taxi licenses during the months of July, August and September.
He explained that those drivers working during the day had seen a reduction of around 30 per cent in their takings. The causes, according to Serafin, included the introduction of the licenses, the proliferation of unlicensed taxis, the reduction in spending power of the tourist, and the banning of after hours parties, although he claimed the association agreed with these moves.
Whilst night-time takings had not been so drastically affected, he claimed they were still around 10 per cent down on the previous year. He said August had been a surprisingly slow month, but added that he expected things to pick up during the first 10 days of September, after which business would drop off dramatically.
However, he insisted the main reason for the fall had been the weakened spending power of the tourists visiting the island this year, claiming the most common question for clients getting into the back of a cab was now Where is McDonalds?
The news got no better for Serafin later in the week as it was revealed 20 drivers had left to set up their own association. The group is led by Alejandro Cardell and Emilio Vargas, who both claimed their former association was no longer representing their views, and that the temporary license scandal and the ensuing battles with the Island Council had damaged the association beyond repair, and left the public with a tainted image of taxis on the island. The final straw, according to Cardell, came when the association decided to expel those licence owners who refused to fire drivers who had opted for a temporary license introduced by the transport minister, Albert Prats, towards the end of 2007.
The new association hopes to buy their own radio-taxi within the next month, after which they fully expect more than 50 of the current 118 members to join them in the new association.
The desertion was announced just the day before a fight between the drivers of a licensed cab and a pirate taxi led to blockades being put in place at the airport and Amnesia on Friday night. The incident began after the pirate driver attempted to steal customers from a licensed driver at the airport rank. This led to a heated debate and blows being exchanged. In response to the attack, the drivers decided to block the entrance to the airport not allowing any vehicles through. Police were soon on the scene and eventually managed to calm the nervous drivers, who complained nothing was being done to clamp down on the pirate taxis.
The entrance remained blocked for almost an hour causing mayhem for those trying to catch flights.

Boat Trouble
The Marine Rescue Service registered a total of 29 emergencies during July, a return to normal figures after the disproportionate number witnessed last year. Whilst the number of interventions is usually around the 20-mark, July 2007 saw the amount soar to 46. However, this seems to be back to normal, although a spokesperson issued a warning that the number would be considerably higher in August, due to the high winds experienced on 15th which led to a total of ten vessels having to be rescued in a single day.
The most common emergencies are those boats suffering engine failure, and hence have to be towed to land (61 per cent), with the most popular area for problems always around the busy ports of Ibiza and San Antonio.

Dole Queue Increase
Whilst visiting the island last week the Balearic employment minister, Margarita Najera, suggested that unemployment within the construction industry would rise to around 80 per cent once the tourist season had finished.
The industry employs, on average over the year, around 10,000 workers. A number of these work within the hospitality industry during the summer, only taking up their employment in the construction industry in the winter months. However, Najera confirmed this would more than likely not be the case this winter and those finishing their work in the service sector would more than likely join the dole queue. To combat this, the minister claimed the Social Security office needed to be adequately prepared for an influx of additional claimants, hence their new offices in es Viver, close to the recently opened health centre. The building is currently being modified and will be available from March 2009.
In addition the minister also signed a contract with the president of the Island Council which would ensure 1 million worth of training is available to the public over the next year, half of which would be paid by the Island Council and the other half by the Balearic Government.

Road Deaths
So far a total of 12 people have died on the roads of Ibiza and Formentera this year, two more than the same period last year. However the official figures from the Traffic Department show just eight deaths, as anyone who dies after a 24-hour period is not counted.
Of these eight (5 men/3 women), six were driving the vehicles at the time of the accident, one was a passenger and one a pedestrian. Five of those killed were under the age of 30.
March was the worst month with three fatal accidents reported, whilst there was one each in January, April, June and two, so far, in August.

Morning-after Help
On Tuesday the Balearic Government announced it would be distributing the morning-after pill free of charge across the islands. The National Health Authority has officially approved the drug, but stopped short of doling it out for free. However, sources at the Balearic Government confirmed it would be offering the drug without charge to all residents of the four islands from January 2009. At present each pill has a cost of around 18-19, and official figures showed a total of 4,400 were distributed to pharmacies across the Balearics, 8.8 per cent more than the previous year.

Going Down
August will, for once, not be the salvation of the season if the latest results from the Hotel Federation are anything to go by. During the first 15 days of the month occupancy fell by 4.3 per cent in comparison to last year. In Ibiza the average occupancy of hotels was 90.85 per cent, whilst Formentera was even lower at 87.94 per cent. With a poor last week of August almost guaranteed, this means hotel occupancy in August will be below 90 per cent for the first time in over 15 years.
By areas, the beach resorts of San Jose (Cala Tarida, Cala Vadella, etc.) remained the biggest losers with levels falling 9.8 per cent from 2007, followed by Santa Eulalia (6.6 per cent), the north (4.4 per cent), San Antonio and the bay (3.4 per cent), with Ibiza-Playa den Bossa the least to suffer (1.8 per cent).
The results were a further blow to Tourism Councillor Pepa Mari, and with results in September already looking disastrous, it seems things are unlikely to improve over the next few months.
The president of the Federation, Juanjo Riera, confirmed the results over the month had suffered due to a poor last week, never before witnessed on the island. He added that things would improve slightly during the first ten days of September but, once again, fall dramatically from then on.

IBIZA TOWN
Bins Repaired
The Town Hall of Ibiza promised the underground rubbish bins which remain broken in avenida Espana will be fixed by next week. The company in charge of municipal cleaning, Cespa, said the problem was the result of a technological failure which had ensured that no part of the system was in operation. Temporary bins have been in place for the last two months to avoid any inconvenience to the general public, with the administration promising things would be back to normal soon.

Flat Sale
The deputy mayor of Ibiza, Santiago Pizarro, announced on Thursday that the 29 apartments left over in the es Pla de Vila building would be sold off at market value. The building is the centre piece for the controversial Eivissa Centre project, which has never been far from the headlines after accusations of bribery.
Pizarro said 92 of the 121 flats would be used to re-house the residents of the Santa Margarita building, which is being torn to the ground as part of the project. It was hoped the others would be put up for social housing. However, this is not to be the case and Pizarro, along with the councillor for housing, Marc Costa, revealed the remaining properties will be put on the open market. Several different sizes will be available from 65m2 to 138m2, costing from 195,000 - 416,000.

SAN ANTONIO
Car Park Opened
The mayor of San Antonio, Jose Sala, officially opened the re-formed Plaza de Espana on Thursday night. In a short speech he praised the work of the constructors, claiming most had said it would not be ready on time. However, the deadlines were all met, and although the official opening came a few days later than planned, it had been a great achievement.
He continued that the new car park now took the total to 2,500 parking places across the town centre, more than double that of a year ago. He finished by saying he would now like to carry out a similar project at the towns football stadium. However, he said that at the moment this was just a wish, and nothing official had yet been decided.
The car park is 2,600 m2 in size and is distributed on three floors. It has a capacity for 300 vehicles, all of which will be charged 1.50 per hour.
The plaza de Espana has also been redesigned and now includes a childrens park.

SAN JOSE
Municipal Misconduct
The true scale of the scandal which has enveloped the former municipal architect, Antonio Huerta, began to unfold last week as an official from the College of Architects took to the stand. He claimed the college had been carrying out their own investigations into Huerta over the last ten years, and that they had sent numerous letters warning him of the incompatibility of carrying out his own projects within San Jose.
Antonio Huerta was the chief architect within the municipal for just over ten years. State legislation forbids architects in public office from participating in private projects within the municipality. However, it was revealed on Monday that Huerta and his son, through their privately owned company, had been involved in an incredible 107 projects, a number of which were given the green light by Huerta himself, as chief architect. A significant part of these projects are still to be completed.
However, the scandal does not end there, as it was revealed that Huertas daughter-in-law, Pilar Fernandez, had also presented a total of 53 projects between 2000 and 2006, the entirety of her work during this time. All of these were within the municipality of San Jose, and even more worryingly, a private investigation by the College of Architects revealed that of the eleven projects which they looked into, all had been manipulated to ensure more was actually built than the plans permitted. In most cases annexes were added on which were later turned into apartments.
The representative admitted that it was normal to round-up the numbers, but claimed alterations which were so evident and scandalous in a number of Huertas projects were not normal practice. He used the example of a complex in Cala Carbo which had an extra floor added on, and even invaded protected land next to the building.
The case is set to continue over the next few weeks, but the abuse of power seems evident, and it will now be up to the judge to decide what action needs to be taken.

CRIME & INCIDENTS
Jondal Crash
A 36-year old local woman was critically ill in hospital after a head-on collision close to sa Caleta. The victim was alone in her Peugeot 405 which collided with a Renault Kangoo van, the three occupants of which were all slightly injured. The exact cause of the accident at km 4.3 close to Cala Jondal is still being investigated but it is believed that one of the vehicles invaded the opposing lane.
The emergency services were soon on the scene and rushed the victim to the private Vilas clinic where she underwent emergency surgery on massive head injuries, as well as a fractured pelvis.

Cocaine Arrests
A 49-year-old Spanish man and his 19-year-old stepson were being held in custody after a police raid on their shop in Ibiza Town led to the seizure of 2.2 kilos of cocaine. Officers revealed that they had entered the Rosalia de la Pinta clothes shop, in Avenida Espana last Saturday and caught the owner red-handed with a large bag of cocaine. A quick search of the premises was made before the two were arrested. Permission was then granted from the court to carry out a further, more exhaustive search the following day, which ended with more drugs being located, as well as 5,000 in cash.
A source revealed the father had been arrested in 2002 after he was discovered with a kilo of cocaine, also in a shop he owned at the time in the capital. The following year he was sentenced to four years in prison after reaching an agreement with the public prosecutor who had originally asked for an eight year sentence. He also promised the judge at the time that he would try to kick his addiction.
At the time of being detained the man was being investigated by police in the capital.
However, this was all small potatoes compared to the 318 kilos of cocaine found by police in the port of Valencia on Monday. Officers said the drugs were found amongst 292 wooden planks which had been imported from Paraguay. So far three arrests have been made.
In the meantime the Central Governments delegate in the Balearics, Ramon Socias, claimed he would not let the islands become the port of entry for drugs into Europe. The comments came as officers in Mallorca seized a total of seven tonnes of hashish during the week, in separate raids.
The islands have seen a rise in drug trafficking over the past year, mainly due to the increased controls on the mainland which have meant the traffickers finding an easier route. However, Socias was quick to point out that this route would not be the islands and added that the four fixed radars, one of which is in Ibiza, would be in operation within the next few months.

Afters Protest
Madrids representative on the island, Sofia Hernanz, revealed on Tuesday her department had opened an investigation into the after-hours protest which took place through the streets of the capital on 4th August. Around 150 people joined in the march, which led to severe traffic delays during the afternoon.
Hernanz said permission was needed to organise such a protest, and because none had been obtained, they were looking into the possibility of charging the people responsible for the gathering, who, she claimed, had been identified by officers.

Animal Captured
An animal rescue team based in the capital was called upon on Monday night, after several people reported seeing a badger in Cas Serres park. Fearing the animal could be wild, and therefore dangerous, the decision was made to capture it. When this had been successfully achieved, the animal was taken to the teams centre in sa Coma, where experts revealed it was in fact a domesticated skunk who had escaped from an apartment in the area. After a night in the centre he was collected by his grateful owner.

Still Unconscious
The four-year-old Irish boy who was rescued from the swimming pool of his hotel in Cala Llenya remains unconscious in Son Dureta hospital, Mallorca. The alarm was raised by the boys mother after she noticed he was not with his brothers, all triplets. He was soon discovered in the swimming pool by the lifeguard at the hotel, who, along with a British Royal Marine who was on holiday at the time, began administering CPR. Emergency services were soon on the scene, and after rushing the boy to Can Misses it was decided to transport him to Palma.
Doctors claimed they had carried out a full body scan which showed no brain damage, although they reiterated that they would not fully know the extent of the damage until the boy woke up.

Over and Out
Two French tourists were knocked down as they were walking close to their hotel in Playa den Bossa in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The accident occurred on the road from the hippodrome in San Jordi that leads to the start of Playa den Bossa at around 1.30a.m. The pair were hit by a 19-year-old British tourist who immediately stopped and called an ambulance.
Although one of the victims was said to be in a serious state he was later transferred to a ward, although a doctor later confirmed he had two broken legs. The other man suffered only minor cuts, and although a precautionary scan was made, he was released later that morning.
The driver returned a negative breath test, with police claiming that no lighting and the fact the tourists were walking on the wrong side of the road were to blame for the accident.

Dinghy Incident
A 30-year-old Spanish man had to be rescued after being hit by a dingy whilst swimming off the coast of Formentera. The accident occurred on Tuesday close to the Cavall den Borras beach, on the island. The man was outside the designated swimming zone and it is presumed he was on his way back to a boat which he had hired with friends. The man never lost consciousness but lay immobile in the water. The driver of the dinghy immediately stopped and, with the help of the emergency services and lifeguards, helped get the man to shore where he was rushed to hospital with several broken ribs.

Slow Improvement
A British tourist was recovering in hospital last week after intentionally smashing through a hotel window. The incident occurred at 4.25 a.m. as the 20-year-old man was trying to enter the establishment in the centre of San Antonio. He was rushed to Can Misses practically unconscious according to sources at the hospital, but after an operation was said to be making a good recovery, and was later transferred to a ward. It is still unsure whether the client was staying at the hotel Marco Polo II, where the accident occurred.

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