Bobby and Marie McQueen from Glasgow packed their belongings into a suitcase, boarded a plane and headed to the south of Spain to enjoy a peaceful and, above all, uplifting holiday in Magaluf, Mallorca. This date was special because they hadn’t set foot on the beach since before the pandemic, but neither that nor the view stopped them from getting so angry. same weekend tabloid Daily Mirror He echoed the couple’s great anger after their time in the Balearic Islands. What is most curious is the reason that has little to do with the weather, hotels and the restrictions imposed due to the drought, which recently fueled the anger of other citizens of Andalusia.

No, what bothered Bobby and Marie was the price of the gin and tonics.

“We won’t be back.” This is the powerful sentence left by the Glasgow couple Daily Mirror. The British tabloid does not reveal whether Bobby and Marie had a better or worse time in Magaluf, whether they enjoyed the beaches and local food, whether they had good luck with the weather or whether they chose the right hotel. Tourists’ anger focuses on a very specific point: the (high) price of alcohol.

“We won’t be back. This is the last time we pay 10 euros for a gin and tonic and 12 euros for a large white wine.” they emphasize. They’re not the only ones who think this way. The newspaper’s report, which is actually one of the most read newspapers in the United Kingdom, begins with a telling headline: “Brits in Spain are horrified by a rise in drink prices that is beyond the budget of tourist resorts.”

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More expensive, fewer drinks. This time the complaint comes from another British tourist, Veronica Horwood. The 62-year-old woman from Bristol is a regular in Magaluf and is upset that the drinks she is served in local bars are less full than they used to be. . “The measurements are much smaller. They used to fill the glass three-quarters full of gin. Now it’s less than half,” she told the paper with her friend Diane. As if that wasn’t enough, she admits that drinks are now “more expensive” at least in some places.

“Even if it’s only one euro per gin and tonic, it all adds up. I’ve been coming to Magaluf for 20 years. Just four years ago a gin and tonic cost five euros. I think after COVID prices started going up everywhere. But it’s a great bar and you can dance, so bring your drink with you,” he adds. Mirror Talk about up to 10 euros for a mojito or sex on the beach and up to 5 euros for a pint. Your reporter did a survey and found out that they want 12 euros for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

life is more expensive. Not all Britons who come to the Balearic Islands do so to enjoy the beaches and terraces. There are those who have to stand on the other side of the bar to make a living. Mirror He talks to the owner of a Scottish restaurant; He himself admits he appreciates the changes in tourism, but finds that people from his position are drinking less and their bills are rising.

“The cost of living here has gone up a lot,” the hotelier says, before recalling how some supplies have become more expensive or insisting that his expenses include staff. “In Spain, employers pay Cathy Social Security contributions, which costs around 700 euros a year for a full-time employee. ‘It’s a significant expense, and tourists don’t understand that we have to pay for it,’ Cathy tells us.” Panning the London tabloid.

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About prices and destinations. Mirror His criticism centered on Magaluf, a popular tourist destination that has sparked controversy several times in recent years due to excessive alcohol consumption, among other problems.

The complaints compiled by the newspaper correspond, in this case, to inflation recorded in Spain, a trend that goes far beyond beer or wine. The INE tables show that the CPI corresponding to alcoholic beverages and tobacco has increased by 17.5% since January 2019, in any case lower than that recorded in transport (20.7%) or other tourism-related services such as hotels, cafes and restaurants. over 20%.

Complaints about alcohol and water. This isn’t the first time Mirror It reflects the discomfort of British tourists staying in Spain. In April, the same newspaper reported complaints from British citizens who chose the south of the peninsula to enjoy their holidays; But this time the cause was quite different: the discomfort was caused by water rather than alcohol.

More precisely, the restrictions imposed by the drought, which caused supply disruptions, began to be implemented in Sotogrande, the luxury residential and tourism region of the province of Cádiz. “Spain ‘cuts off water’ to British tourists, leaving them in ‘third world conditions'” read the headline. Mirror. He also republished in his chronicle a message from a British man who was upset that his Airbnb host had warned him that he would not be able to use water at certain hours in the house he was renting in Malaga.

Image | Martijn Vonk (Unsplash)

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