A
week after the terrorist attacks on America and the world is still suffering
the devastating effects.
Our
own Ibicenco newspapers are continuing to devote many pages of their daily publications
to the aftermath of the New York and Washington atrocities.
The
world economy is suffering and the fear of flying to America has caused the
airline companies to lose millions of dollars. Many reservations have been cancelled
because people no longer feel safe travelling by plane, and the fear of another
terrorist attack turns the United States into an unlikely holiday destination.
Air traffic has reduced 30% in comparison to the week previous to the attacks.
The
Ibicenco travel agencies, like most around the world, have suffered a drastic
fall in holiday bookings, especially to America but also to Arabic countries.
"Not
many people are willing to travel to places like Turkey, Egypt or Tunisia",
says Antonio Torres, the president of the Asociacion de Agencias de Viajes de
Eivissa (Ibiza's Association of Travel Agents). "These Arab countries have
changed from being fine Mediterranean holiday destinations to strategic military
locations over night and are now classed as 'danger zones". Ibiza residents
are being asked to visit the Oficina de Informacion Diplomatica
(Diplomatic Information Office), which is directly connected to the Ministerio
de Asuntos Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), before planning a trip
to one of these countries. The Information Office will advise travellers which
parts of these countries are safe for holidaymakers and, also what they should
do in the event of a conflict.
Antonio
Torres considers that, although the situation that exists today is bad for countries
like Turkey and Egypt, it could have a positive effect on Ibiza tourism. Already
reservations for holidays to the island for the month of October are on the
increase and Torres says: "this is directly related to the terrorist attacks
on the United States".
Ibiza
has always been promoted as a safe and peaceful island, far away from conflict
and, because the Balearic Islands form part of the European Union, many tourists
trust it to be one of the safest places to spend their holidays. Although Torres
believes that we may benefit in the short term, Ibiza will suffer negative effects
to the tourist industry in the long term, and feels the necessity to remind
the Ibicencan government that, even though the natural beauty of the island
dominates over all the minor and transitive problems, Ibiza's authorities need
to think about the kind of image we are projecting.
The
transport strike at the start of this summer season, the rubbish collectors
strike, the terrible shortage of taxis on the island, the problems in San Antonio
and the non-compliance of the laws by some of the major discotheques, among
other problems; must now be contemplated by the authorities.
For
example, complaints about noise from Amnesia discotheque and the fact that they
had not been respecting their official closing time forced the Lord Mayor of
San Antonio, Antoni Marí Tur, to sign a closing order on the venue last week.
Amnesia
was forced to close its doors for one day, but as the Lord Mayor emphasizes,
"in future, if they do not respect the laws I will be forced to make them
close for a longer period".
A
spokesman for Amnesia said, "we were allowed to choose Sunday 16th
September as the day to close and, even though this is not one of our busiest
days, the financial loses will be significant".
Privilege,
the largest discotheque on the island, also fell victim to San Antonio Council's
enforcement of the laws. After repeatedly ignoring the official closing time,
Antoni Marí Tur signed an order similar to the one for Amnesia. Privilege will
have to close for one day this weekend.
Antoni
Marí Tur wants to make all bar and discotheque owners realize that San Antonio
Council is not going to stand by anymore and allow laws to be broken. We shall
see.
The
Asociacion de Empresarios de Salas de Fiestas de Ibiza y Formentera (Ibiza and
Formentera's Discotheque Association) met with the Lord Mayor on Tuesday 18th
September to manifest their disapproval of the implementation of the laws. Until
now, Privilege and Amnesia discotheques, who regularly have as many as six thousand
people in their venues at closing time, have been allowed to stagger the exiting
of their customers to prevent a mass of people congregating on the main Ibiza
to San Antonio road, one of the most dangerous roads in the Balearic Islands,
because San Antonio does not have sufficient numbers of police officers to control
these large crowds every night of the week.
Although
the meeting lasted many hours, neither the Lord Mayor nor the Association's
representatives reached an agreement.
The
discotheques believe that they deserve more respect because they promote the
island all around the world while Antoni Marí Tur believes that the discotheques
and bars must be kept under control. Let us hope that they can resolve their
differences before the start of the new summer season.
Rules
and regulations do not seem to reduce the popularity of the island's discotheques.
They are undoubtedly one of Ibiza's biggest tourist attractions as demonstrated
by 100 French discotheque owners who arrived on the island this week to explore
and discover what makes Ibiza's discotheques so unique.
Daily
meetings at their Playa d'en Bossa hotel and visits to many different venues
at night have kept the businessmen occupied through out their holiday.
Pacha,
Amnesia, Privilege and Es Paradis discotheques have all been visited by the
French discotheque owners to enable them to gather as much information as possible
about Ibiza's night life which will be analysed later when they return to France.
The
director of the group, Phil Borgogno, believes that they have a lot to learn
from Ibiza. "What we really want is to discover the secret of your success
and to find comparisons between France and Ibiza".
This
is the second year that the businessmen have visited Ibiza and proves how influential
the island's nightlife is for all those involved in the dance music business
around the world.
Just
a quick reminder that Ibiza Town and part of San Antonio will be closed to all
cars and motorbikes on Saturday 22nd September to celebrate the "European
Day without cars". From 10 o'clock in the morning to 8 o'clock in the evening,
cars will not be allowed to circulate in the centre of Ibiza Town, and from
11 o'clock in the morning until 7 o’clock in the evening part of San Antonio
will also be "car free". Ibiza Town Hall will help motorists by providing
two buses that will circulate around the town's car parks and transport people
to the centre.
It
is hoped that the "European Day without cars" that is being celebrated
in all European cities will give people the chance to explore different modes
of transport. It will also be an ideal opportunity for some of us to get some
exercise by walking, cycling, etc. I am off to dust down my roller skates. See
you next week! |