Sky News’ latest report ‘Is Tourism in Ibiza at Breaking Point?’ (WATCH HERE) throws up some interesting questions so let’s break it down piece by piece.
Shanty Towns and Makeshift Camps
There’s no doubt that that this is a clear and present problem on the island but it’s important to flag up a few things and look at it from both sides.
Property prices have increased over the last decade meaning that rental prices have sky rocketed due to the simple issue of supply and demand. The vast majority of properties are owned by Spanish and the ‘rich foreigners’ buying all the properties is a million miles from the truth.
The big houses may get snapped up by the international glitterati but the normal 2 and 3 bedroom apartments are almost exclusively the realm of locals and this is what is being rented at eye watering prices so if a dubious finger needs to be pointed then let’s leave ‘rich foreigners’ out of the convo.
No mention of the ridiculously lopsided rights of tenants that makes renting a minefield and leaves hundreds and possibly thousands of properties empty, unlicensed ‘agents’ who prey on the property market or how about the landlords who are renting short term to tourists.
The big takeaway from Gemma Peplow’s erratic report is that the people living in these makeshift sites are doing it out of choice not obligation. This isn’t a humanitarian crisis, it’s a straight choice. The interviewees say it themselves. Mohammed from Western Sahara says “renting here is expensive, I am not going to pay it, it’s better to live on the streets”. Charlie the children’s entertainer says “I don’t want to pay the rents” so chooses to live in a caravan and fellow camp mate Victor chips in with “if I don’t serve the rich and famous then who will?”
This justification from Victor is exactly that, he has made an economic choice to take Ibiza’s above average wages but lives in a caravan with his wife and daughter so avoiding paying rent. Good on you Victor but this is your choice and if I was being pedantic I’d add that it’s not your place to worry about staffing levels at top end establishments, that’s for the big companies to concern themselves over and you living in a caravan is making them avoid it a little bit longer and pay you less than you possibly deserve.
Let’s not sugar coat this serious issue. Ibiza has a massive housing crisis but workers who live in campsites out of economic choice shouldn’t be the focus. Why isn’t Gemma interviewing health workers, police, teachers, those the island need 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The government’s lack of foresight on a situation that has been coming for over a decade is shameful and needs to be held to account by a serious news organisation.
Mohammed from Western Sahara shouldn’t be front and centre, it should be Nieves the nurse from Andalusia who can’t find affordable housing so medical appointments are cancelled or pushed back or Carlos the policeman from Murcia who struggles to feed his family as his rent is so inflated.
Crime
Yes this is a problem that isn’t getting better. The massive influx of the jet set over the summer means that for 3 months the island becomes pretty much lawless due to lack of police officers. It’s always been this way but it has been magnified over the last decade with the steady rise of tourism. More police is needed in the summer when numbers are high and less roadblocks in the winter when it can sometimes feel like living in a police state.
Beaches and Sewage
This was an alarming item and one that made me sit up and listen. I need to verify the facts, as the devil is always in the detail, but if half of Ibiza’s beaches have decreased in quality over the last 15 years then this is something that needs addressing. Ibiza’s USP apart from the world’s best clubs is it’s natural beauty and this should never be compromised. As for the sewage, this has been happening for years and isn’t as much down to over tourism as to lack of investment in the infrastructure and this finger can be pointed in a multitude of directions.
Finally the anonymous DJ. Those on the island all know who this is and he obviously now has a taste for the spotlight. Was this thrown in just to make the report funky as it had zero relevance whatsoever.
Conclusion
What on the face of it was a hard hitting report had too many sweeping statements not backed up by any actual evidence or statistics. No interviews with key workers who should be the focus, only chats with local Facebookers.
Instead of looking for sensationalist headlines Gemma Peplow needs to interview some genuine heavyweights to get to the bottom of the serious issues that Ibiza is facing and put some actual meat on the bone, not a puff piece that will be forgotten in days. If Ms Peplow actually did her homework there is a massive story there but after BBC’s laughable docu-series this is another so called major player missing a gaping open goal.
MAN IN SAN AN by Martin Makepeace 