Party islands braced for British influx after boozy 'protest' in Magaluf
Europe’s most popular party islands and towns are preparing for an onslaught of alcohol-fuelled tourists now that UK quarantine rules have been lifted.
Scenes emerged from Magaluf over the weekend of boozing Britons jumping on parked cars and shouting in the street, as tourism returned to Majorca’s notorious party town. The hooliganism was apparently in response to new rules stipulating that bars must shut at 2am.
One man was arrested when police arrived to clear the area, though he was later released. Meanwhile, social distancing and face masks – now mandatory in public places – appeared to be unknown concepts.
The tawdry images come despite the fact that the town has made great efforts to put an end to drunken tourism. In January, the Balearic Islands government approved an anti ‘trash tourism’ decree, which restricts the promotion and sale of alcohol in specific problem areas of the islands including Magaluf and San Antonio on neighbouring Ibiza. It includes a three-drinks alcohol limit during meals at all-inclusive hotels, a pub crawl and party boat ban and fines of more than £50,000 for holidaymakers caught jumping from hotel balconies.
At the time, Balearics Islands Tourism Minister, Iago Negueruela, stated that there would be "zero tolerance" of "tourism of excesses”.
However, the coronavirus pandemic has created significant challenges for the crackdown. First, after months of lockdown in Britain, curtailing the hedonistic behaviour of those celebrating their ‘freedom’ may prove impossible – the chaotic scenes in Magaluf came despite the fact that only six of the town’s main bars were open. Perhaps more significantly, after a total collapse in income, can businesses in the resort afford to be selective in terms of customers? While previously there had been a concerted push for more German holidaymakers and fewer from the UK, tourism businesses on the island are desperate for any visitors.
Of course there are also fears of Covid-19 being spread by the influx of overseas travellers, but most feel the risk must be taken. When discussing the restart of tourism in June, Spain’s emergency health coordinator Fernando Simón bluntly stated: “We do not want sickness here, but we also need to eat, and we know what Spain lives off.”
It’s a similar story in the party town of Ayia Napa in Cyprus, where Britons are set to return from August 1, after some hesitation from authorities. The resort, a favourite for teenagers on end-of-school trips, has also attempted to clean up its image in recent years, drafting laws that would limit the sale of alcohol, ban laughing gas and ramp up policing efforts. However, plans have been shelved as the town attempts to recoup some of the devastating losses it has suffered this year.
Speaking to The Sun, Cyprus’ Deputy Tourism Minister, Savvas Perdios, said: "We don’t have the privilege of being choosy this year about types of holidays or source markets. We will go for whatever is available and definitely the UK, as ever, is a massive target for us."
Cypriot officials have previously tried to reimagine Ayia Napa in the image of Monaco, with an ambitious marina project aiming to attract wealthy travellers due to be completed in 2023.
In the short term, the island’s economy is under significant strain due to the pandemic halting travel. The European Commission’s economic forecast suggests that Cyprus’ tourism revenues will only reach 25 per cent of last year’s level.
On Crete, in Malia, another notorious clubbing town that will soon reopen, Telegraph Travel writer, Heidi Fuller-Love summed up the mixed feelings on the ground in a Tweet accompanying a picture of the empty strip. It read: “Locals don't miss drunken teens, but many local businesses do”.
The lockdown has been undeniably painful for party towns, but it has given residents a glimpse of what a life without alcohol-soaked revellers would look like. While what remains of this summer season might see a return to the old ways out of necessity, it’s quite possible that there could be even more of a push to attract more desirable visitors.
