Talking About Palma

There is more talk today about Palma being developed as a weekend- or short-break destination. This is hardly the first time this has been aired, and is also hardly the first time that rather vague notions of making the city such a destination have been run up the flagpole.

Let's be clear, there are a number of reasons why people might elect to take a weekend-break in Palma. Weather, a good bit of history, old buildings, nice hotels, marina, some culture and good food. Yes, the city has a lot going for it. But so do many other places, many other places that are equally accessible and short in flying times as Palma. In fact, many of them may be more accessible, given that winter flights are more frequent and more numerous than to Palma.

I do get this déjà vu sense of wishful thinking when it comes to this discussion of Palma as a city-break place. Very little that is concrete ever emerges. There is talk, and statements of what the city has, blah, blah, but nothing much in terms of action. And then there is the Palma as shopping destination. This is crazy, not because Palma doesn't have good shops - it does - but because they're closed when you want them, especially at weekends. Why, furthermore, would one choose Palma for some shopping, when, for instance, Paris, Rome or even New York might loom into weekend-break view. What's so special about Palma? I'm not knocking the city, far from it, but I wish that there was a degree of realism in all this.

Get over the restictions on shop opening and link breaks to those major events that the city does well, like the San Sebastian celebrations, and then there would be something for the promoters to get their teeth into, but the tour operators (and they would be key) need to know that the city has something special to offer. Otherwise, the talk will continue - the old blah, blah.

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