1. Ibiza Summer 24 was good for a few but tough for many. After the post pandemic, champagne popping boom we had the inevitable lull in proceedings (when the whole world realised they didn’t have to cram everything into a few months) and while the big businesses continued to flourish the secondary businesses continued to struggle. The average stay is getting shorter so tourists pre-plan to the last detail and can only cram in a finite number of experiences which is great if your business is on that particular list but not so good if it ain’t. Word of the season from business owners is ‘Rollercoaster’. From midweek with no one about and not much to do to packed weekends with not enough staff and unable to accommodate everyone. The current Ibiza business model can be bewildering.
2. UNVRS will have a big effect on Ibiza’s clubland. In an already busy marketplace the world’s first ‘HYPERCLUB’ (who knew that was even a word) is set to open in May 2025 and the ripples will be felt far and wide. The mythical nightclub formerly known as Ku and then Privilege is having a 40 million euros facelift and with its new 8000 capacity The Night League will want to make a real statement after creating Ushuaia and Hï from a blank page and taking them into the upper echelons of world clubbing. This is TNL’s CEO Yann Pissenem’s legacy right here – the biggest club in the world on the biggest party island in the world. It doesn’t get any bigger than this but the fallout could be spectacular for some. Look at the businesses that withered and died after Ushuaia changed the game in 2010. (Apologies for the overuse of the word BIG but this is…BIG).
3. Has the Ibiza housing crisis peaked? After almost a decade of this issue staring them squarely in the face, the local and regional governments are finally getting busy and bringing in new legislation to help with housing. Nothing will change overnight (when does it ever in Ibiza) but there seems to be a general acknowledgment that things can’t continue as they are with waste grounds and shorelines being converted into caravan parks and shanty towns popping up all over the island. It’s as bad as it’s ever been, the desire to live in Ibiza is as strong as ever but when nurses, doctors and police are leaving in droves citing housing issues then the situation is untenable and that’s where we’re at.
4. Ibiza’s continuing marginalisation of kids and families. It’s strange to think that Ibiza used to be the archetypal family resort. ‘Fiestaland’ in Playa den Bossa which included Ushuaia, Ushuaia Tower, Hard Rock Hotel and the Hotel Bahamas (before they were all renamed of course) plus Aguamar waterpark (remember that?) was a nirvana for those beautiful little ankle biters but this is now just a hazy, distant memory as Ibiza continues to worship at the church of disposable income. The new business model is solely lazered in on adults with cold hard cash to burn who come for a few days (so you don’t even have to be nice to them for too long). If you are a family then there’s a few all inclusive complexes scattered around the island at eye watering prices that are full to the rafters with screaming kids so while Mallorca doubles down trying to attract a family audience, Ibiza continues to distance itself from those pesky kids who get in the way of their parents waving their phones in the air and dining out at swanky overpriced restaurants and posting it all on social media.
5. Tourismophobia is an actual thing. Never mind that tourism is responsible for almost all of Ibiza’s economy and in 2020 we all saw exactly what happens when it’s taken away, the mass gatherings on the streets have started, mirroring those that have being taking place in other Spanish hotspots such as the Canary Islands. For now the ‘demands’ are quite reasonable such as limiting private jets (why not), banning large cruise boats (hell yeah), ending the commercialisation of beaches (err maybe but who’s going to bring me my 25 euro mojito?), restricting vehicles and improving public transport (yes please). However you get the feeling that this is only the tip of the iceberg with the real radicals waiting in the wings to stir the pot and call for a complete tourism ban so we can resurrect the salt industry. Whatever way you look at it, something has got to give and incidentally exactly where is all that tourist tax money being spent?
Honourable Mentions
•Cars may soon become a luxury item if the proposed clamp down (see what I did there) on excess vehicles comes to fruition so DON’T sell that clapped out old Ford Fiesta!
•Don’t wear an expensive watch on the island especially if you’re driving to a well known restaurant in an expensive car otherwise you might as well put a flashing sign on your head to alert potential thieves.
•Don’t complain to the chef about your food otherwise you might end up in hospital.
•Don’t get involved with any island documentaries that promise to show the ‘real Ibiza’, they will end up focussing almost entirely on drugs (ad nauseam).
•Waving your phone in the air whilst filming the next ‘big’ DJ (insert name here) will become compulsory in some venues in 2025 whilst others may have the foresight to ban them totally.
Summer 2024 – that’s all folks!
Listen to my Man In San An PODCAST on Apple or Spotify. ‘My Ibiza Journey’ with Island people talking about their Ibiza experiences plus the new ‘Talking Balearics’ with Richie Prior, a weekly current affairs programme covering the latest news from the Balearic archipelago.
MAN IN SAN AN by Martin Makepeace 