It’s not telling us anything we didn’t know already but a new study presented to the Island Government has ‘revealed’ that Ibiza’s nightlife “differentiates” the island from other similar tourist destinations.
So whilst Costa del Sol has its golf courses, Benidorm has its value for money hotels and bars, Menorca has it’s natural beauty, Ibiza is famous the world over for it’s nocturnal pursuits which brings with it positives and negatives.
The new study entitled ‘The Pro’s and Cons of Leisure Tourism in Ibiza’ was presented by Josep Ramon of Ibiza’s University of Tourism and highlighted the positive impact that the nightlife sector brings to the island such as an ‘increased local economic resilience’ during the recent crisis and that without it Ibiza would be “a fairly common tourist product”.
The study goes on to say that “if Ibiza stopped being a world reference in nightclubs, even if it maintained a nightlife offer equivalent to that of other destinations, it would lose its economic advantages” concluding that “it does not seem sensible to hamper a sector in which Ibiza is a leader”.
Companies in the night time entertainment sector invoice more than 400 million euros per year and employ around 8000 people. The study emphasises that this sector increases demand, prices and revenues for businesses on the island and that the type of clubbing tourist who visits Ibiza “can have a very high expenditure per person” whilst the companies dedicated to this sector generate a lot of interest on social media, giving popularity to the island as a holiday destination.
It wasn’t all good news though as the study also points out the disadvantages that comes with this type of tourism saying that if it doesn’t reduce these elements then it will decay and have a negative effect on the islands economy. The report describes these as noise pollution that prevents the sleep of residents, traffic jams, parking problems, lack of public transport and customers who continue the party in the street.
The report also points to the concentration of people “under the effect of various substances” in and around these leisure facilities as one of the most disturbing aspects for local residents. Not only do they generate noise and litter but there are examples of some entering homes (whilst under the influence). The solution is a “police presence to discourage this behaviour” and Ramon used Las Vegas’s casinos as a comparison where “nothing is tolerated in the street.”
Sr Ramon acknowledged that finding a balance is difficult but said it is possible with greater control. The study admits that the nightlife sector is “a controversial activity” and points to two other obstacles to making it sustainable: the disagreements between the different entrepreneurs in the sector and the disparity of positions of the public administrations when it comes to taking measurements.
Ibiza’s director of tourism Vicente Torres ‘Benet’ said that the conclusions of these reports made you think and that they must always be taken into account.
Source: Diario de Ibiza
"MAN IN SAN AN" by Martin Makepeace 
you forgot to mention the main problem of the island: rents for residents and seasonal workers!
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