What happened?
Playa de Palma: A long 4.6 km stretch of wide sandy beach, with a gentle slope and clear water, located only five kilometres from the airport of Son Sant Joan and 10 kilometres east of the city of Palma de Mallorca – sounds like the perfect holiday destination? Absolutely and in low season it is sort of true, but during the busy summer months this area usually attracts many german, dutch and english tourists not that much interested in culture but in having a low budget drinking holiday.
Its time for a change:
About 1,5 years ago an affiliation and marketing company by well-known entrepreneurs founded a private initiative called “Palma Beach” in order to promote excellence and quality in the area of Playa de Palma, betting on a new tourism and sustainable model. Innovation, reinvestment in quality, good taste and good forms are the bases of their work.
This certainly sounds great, but is it really possible to change the image of a tourist destination?
Actually the chances are not too bad. The days of public drinking at the beach are already over since the balearic government decided to introduce a code of conduct for the beach area. Police men are allowed to hand out on the spot fines for bad behavior and public drinking.
The change is already visible as more and more hotels are being renovated and partly upgraded from 3 to 4* or from 4 to 5*, bars and restaurants are being modernized and also the 15 so-called ‘balnearios‘ set on the beach line, are being rebuilt. Since 2017 the balnearios are being transformed into modern chill-out lounges. Moreover, also some international companies such as Starbucks, well known for picking only the best locations at each city, decided to open first front, right on the beach with a 108sqm terrace.
The intention of “Palma Beach” is to become a benchmark for visitors, residents and tour operators betting on quality to deseasonalize the arrival of tourists. For all this the impulse will be made trying to improve the problems of parking, coexistence, security, cleanliness and public order.
With regards to Mallorca as a MICE Destination, we can only see positive change by this movement (especially as many of the new and rebuild hotels feature excellent meeting facilities) and are very much looking forward to being here to witness how this new chapter of Palma Beach Area will continue.
Mallorca Elements will keep you posted, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
