Author: Martin Makepeace

  

Ibiza has received 2 outstanding awards over the last week proving once again that it is a world class destination catering for all.

Firstly the island was voted the “Best Short Haul Destination for Families” at the Family Traveller Awards ceremony in London. Chosen by over 20,000 readers and a panel of experts including TV presenter and writer Mariella Fostrup, TV adventurer and broadcaster Simon Reeve, The Times travel editor Jane Knight, Elle Magazine travel and lifestyle director Susan Ward Davies and Family Traveller magazine editor Jane Anderson, the awards aim to acknowledge the best of the best in all things family. Ibiza won seeing off strong competition from Tenerife, Brittany, Catalonia, The Azores, Murcia, Andorra and Soma Bay, Egypt and the Algarve.

This family award may take a few by surprise but just confirms what many have known for a a long time: Ibiza is amazing for families. 

Then Ushuaia Ibiza received the Golden Moon award for “Best Club in the World 2015” at the International Nightlife Congress held at the Hard Rock Hotel, Ibiza over 2 days. In fact 6 of Ibiza’s super clubs made the top 20 proving again that the white isle is THE world destination for nocturnal pursuits.

Ricardo Urgell, the founder of Pacha was also recognised for his career and contribution to nightlife as well as receiving the award for “Most Historical Club” for Pacha Ibiza. In a strange twist The Ibiza government was also waranted a special mention for their “outstanding and responsible support to the industry”

This was the 2nd International Nightlife Congress but the very 1st edition of the Golden Moon Awards that reward the best practices in the industry in 18 different categories. The Congress will take place annually alternating between Ibiza (odd years) and Las Vegas (even years). 

All destination awards are open to debate but the island can now finish off the summer season and go into winter with a self satisfied smile as it continues to gain recognition as a holiday destination that ticks all the boxes for all types of tourism. 

 
Here’s a story to warm the cockles of your heart. Coxy the Loggerhead Sea Turtle has become a local Ibiza celebrity thanks to 2 off-duty police officers who, whilst out fishing, found her floating hopelessly close to the island of Conillera, half a mile off the coast of San Antonio.

The poor marine animal was completely tangled up in plastic tied to 3 bottles of Coca-Cola and was hardly moving so they immediately called 112 and pulled off the plastic. Little did they know but they should have waited for the experts to decide how to manage the situation as cutting off the object that strangles the animal’s body can release a series of pathogens into the blood which can cause infection and blood poisoning. Luckily on this occasion little Coxy managed to stay strong and battle through. 

After an X-ray the brave turtle was given the all clear and ended up at the Recovery Center for Marine Species (CREM) located at the Cap Blanc Aquarium near Cala Gracio. This facility is a natural cave with constant fresh sea water circulation and offered the perfect natural environment for her to recover surrounded by other marine animals which is really positive in the recovery process.

It was at the aquarium that Coxy came under the watchful eye of oceanographer Veronica Nuñez who helped the injured marine animal over a month with a series of treatments and a strict diet in order to get her back to normal weight. Veronica discovered that her new best friend was only around 10 years old and it was clear from the state of her shell which was covered with algae and crustaceans that Coxy had been adrift for many days and was seriously malnourished due to being unable to dive for food. Her front fins were also seriously damaged due to the entanglement with the Plastic. 

The Sea Turtle is one the most beloved animals on the island so the story generated a lot of local media interest so to gain the maximum publicity for Coxy and other sea turtles world renowned DJ and Ibiza veteran Carl Cox kindly accepted an offer to become his namesakes godfather saying “I was moved by the story and honored to help out”.

Now Veronica’s main objective is to raise awareness that throwing plastic into the sea can be devastating for all sea life especially for these lovely peaceful marine animals. 
She told me “It’s heartbreaking to see how these amazing noble creatures are nearly extinct due to our bad habits. Their main diet are jellyfish and due to its similarity with plastics they end up eating it. Almost every studied turtle have ingested some kind of plastic in their lifetime”

She continued “Our little Coxy spent many days defecating plastics. In many cases turtles sadly die because they try to liberate themselves by eating the plastic in which they are entangled. The plastics accumulate in their body and cause blockages to the digestive system, in the majority of cases this leads to death. Just a week before Coxy was found, a tiny turtle was found dead in Es Canar with a tangled mess of plastics in it’s stomach, as I said, it’s heartbreaking” 

Now due to the diligence of those 2 off duty officers and the hard work of Veronica little Coxy has now fully recovered and is almost ready to be released back into the sea by a marine expert who knows exactly where there is a good stream to help her travel back home. Loggerhead Sea Turtles can live to 70 years old so now Coxy will be free to enjoy the rest of her long life.

 

 
Note: Protocol states that if anybody finds an animal with problems they should call the free emergency Spanish line 112 who will contact the corresponding person or organisation

  

In clear defiance of an order by San Antonio Town Hall,  Amnesia discotheque finally closed their doors early Sunday afternoon even though their licence stated that the club should be closed by 6am. Reports suggest the final partygoers left after 1pm, a massive 7 hours later than legally allowed.

The Ibiza superclub had requested a late licence but this was refused by the coalition San Antonio government due to Amnesia’s prior flaunting of the closing time laws,  in fact the it has been a consistent offender this summer with 15 previous infractions.

This is a big test for the San Antonio government who have made lots of headlines about club and bar closing times especially in the central West End area under pressure from local residents.  The conundrum for the Town Hall is that if they come down heavily on a world class clubbing institution then they will appear to be killjoys with no idea about what makes the island so famous but if they come down too lightly then they would be seen to ‘condoning’ a law breaking situation and others may follow suit. 

Many people were exasperated that the council did not grant a one-off late licence (at a reasonable fee) to one of the worlds top clubs especially as they have a reputation for ‘carrying on the party’ whereas some residents complained of the dangerous amount of intoxicated people and traffic seeping out of the club into the light of the early afternoon.

Other local business owners have also been complaining of dual standards that see a bar fined the same as a superclub and are calling for a level playing field and some common sense with respect to closing times especially for one-off events.

After all the negative publicity this summer the punishment for breaking any law should be deterrent and clearly the fine for Amnesia thumbing its nose at the authorities and staying open late was less than it made out of drinks sales so the law on this occasion was no deterrent at all.

Where a law is routinely ignored you either change the law to reflect the needs of the community or change the punishment so it reflects the financial value of the infringement. As it stands the San Antonio lawmakers have backed themselves into a corner by doing neither so look like laughingstocks with no control.

Lawmakers currently appear to be having difficulty applying the common sense rule on an island that welcomes large scale tourism for just a small percentage of the year but seeing as it will be nearly 8 months until the big clubs open once again there’s sufficient time to get the balance right. Just don’t hold your breath. 

  
Once again the tourists to the Balearic Islands are facing the prospect of a tourist tax for every night they stay on the island.

Curiously named the ‘ECOTAX’ the new Balearic councilor for tourism Barcelo Biel has categorically stated that the implementation of the tax will happen in 2016 “with or without the help of central government in Madrid” and that it is “absolutely necessary to improve the long term competitiveness of the islands”. He has also announced that the tax will be between 1 or 2 euros per person per night but with no other information available it has left the tourist community of the 4 Balearic Islands scratching their collective heads and speculating about the details.

This is a repeat of 2002 when a 1 euro per person per night tax was introduced to legal tourist establishments but it proved to be short lived and was quickly abolished by the new administration after the next elections.

The Hotel Federation of Ibiza and Formentera has denounced the proposed tax although it’s president Juanjo Riera acknowledged that Ibiza has an ‘infrastructure deficit’ and that “money is needed” but the Balearic government must “go and ask Madrid for improved funding, not seek solutions by increasing the tax burden”. Sr Riera has also refused to help explain the tax to the wider tourism market saying ‘it’s your idea so it’s your responsibility’.

Tour operators, who themselves are under pressure, have also come out against the tax, Steve Heapy, boss of rapidly growing Jet2 Holidays, waded into the debate by saying that the tax would “increase the cost of holidays” and have a “detrimental effect on Balearic Tourism”. 

The ecotax issue has been rumbling for years however the problems remain the same:

1. who pays?

2. when do they pay?

3. how do they pay?

4. where do they pay?

The only thing we do know is ‘why’ and that is hotly debated with many questioning why the regions most important commodity, namely tourists, are having to pay a tax for the privilege of visiting the islands.

Like many, the Hotel Federation suspect that it will be a repeat of 2002 when the only tourists who paid the tax were those at legal and licensed hotels meaning that those staying with friends and family or in unlicensed accommodation such as private houses or apartments avoided paying a penny. Hardly a fair system and making it more of a hotel tax than a tourist tax. Councilor Biel has also said that all tourists will be liable to pay including Spanish residents.

So as we wait for more details we can only speculate as to how the new socialist/left wing Balearic government plan to implement the new tax. Unless there is a major U-Turn it will happen but just like 13 years ago it’s clearly still a divisive policy that will create lots of debate and it will be impossible to keep everyone happy. 

 

Dear Daily Mail/Mail Online

On Saturday 20 September 2015 your journalist Nicholas Kynaston wrote an article about how good Ibiza is in September. All positive you might think however the article headline stated “avoid one resort in particular like the plague” and went on further to explain “if you want to avoid the worst of the ‘Brits Abroad’ excesses steer clear of San Antonio”

Here is his article in full: http://dailym.ai/1Ko77aj

Now as sweeping statements go this is right up there with ‘all men are slobs’ or ‘white guys can’t dance’. As everyone knows only some men are slobs, Fred Astaire had fantastic rhythm and San Antonio has some amazing things to see and do (unless, of course, you are a Daily Mail journalist on a free jolly up to Ibiza writing specifically about places that contributed to you being there). 

I have no issue with journos having freebie trips to Ibiza and shouting about the establishments dishing out free food and drink but an overall balance and context is needed at all times, a general idea of the island dynamic would also be helpful. It has been alleged that your journalist Mr Kynaston came to Ibiza in June not September, didn’t even do some of the things he wrote extensively about and went nowhere near San Antonio. If this is true then when it comes to shoddy, irresponsible journalism then this wins 1st prize. It’s uninformed and more worryingly it puts good people’s livelihoods at stake. 

Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m perfectly aware that some parts of San Antonio aren’t to everyone’s taste but to make generalisations about a tourist destination that is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people every summer is absurd especially when you are writing for one of the UK’s major publications.

I formally invite Mr Kynaston to come back to Ibiza and let us show him around San Antonio and once he has seen everything he can then rewrite a balanced article. Only then will it have the credibility that the tourists and businesses of San Antonio and Ibiza deserve.

Yours faithfully

Martin Makepeace 

p.s. Definition of a ‘sweeping statement’: a statement presented as a general truth but based on limited or incomplete evidence. 

  

As we come to the end of the summer season and the winter starts it’s the traditional time for Ibiza residents to look for a property to rent on an annual basis however it’s becoming more difficult to find suitable properties on the white isle and those that are available can often have eye watering prices and on some occasions involve unscrupulous owners or agents.

Summer rents are still relatively ‘easy’ although can be very expensive, a winter rent is straightforward with an excess of properties however an annual rent remains a real problem with owners cashing in on Ibiza’s massive worldwide popularity during the summer and leaving their property empty for the rest of the year. As a tenant there is always a temptation to sign a cheap winter deal then ‘sort out something for summer later’ but this is a false economy as summer rents drastically increase in price and you will always pay roughly the same price for a 4/6/12 month lease so a 12 month agreement is always the best option.

The simplifying of the process to legalize detached and semi detached properties for touristic use has seen many owners now go down this route knowing that they can get more money in 4 months than they can in 12 months. For an owner it’s a no-brainer but it has left a large gulf for those wanting to rent decent houses all year round. I’ve lost track of how many times we at Ibiza Property Shop have been asked for a “nice 2 or 3 bedroom house in the country with a small garden, all year round, for around 1000 euros per month”. 

Unfortunately it is rare for agencies to get these types of properties as they will often go to friends or family as there is such a long waiting list. If we ever do then they will go within days (or hours) to the lucky person who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

October to January is the window of opportunity to start an annual rent, any later and it’s getting too close to the summer and potential landlords may decide on just a summer rent. The best place to start is to ask around local Spanish bars and restaurants as that is where the Spanish owners will ‘advertise’, not on Facebook. Social media advertisers tend to be more savvy and ask for premium rates. If you do find a good option then don’t procrastinate or you will be pipped by the next person in line, it’s first come first served and dog eat dog! 

A contract should always be signed even if it’s just a private one which clearly states the roles of the tenant and landlord. If the owner doesn’t want to sign a contract then it’s probably not a good idea to proceed although beggars can’t be choosers sometimes and ‘my word is my bond’ still counts for something on the white isle, especially with the older generation.

Unfortunately you may also encounter the dodgy ‘agent’. Facebook is full of horror stories of these go-betweens who often complicate the process and charge for the privilege. Like most things in life there are good ones and there are not so good ones so do some research and ask questions. Sometimes it’s easier to pay a fee and get the property you want however make sure the process is transparent and the fees are relative to the deal.

So if you are presently looking for a rental property don’t be too despondent but you will need to do the rounds, knock on doors and SPEAK to people. Don’t just put a message on Facebook and expect an orderly queue to form. This is Ibiza and it’s never easy but when you are eventually sitting in your ideal property you can smile and recall the journey but also enjoy the quality of life that only Ibiza can offer. 

 

The shifting trend to daytime and early evening parties on the White Isle has been swift and it appears that some establishments have tried to cash in without the correct permits or licences.

Yesterday (16 Sep 2015) Santa Eulalia council confirmed that live shows at Pacha’s El Destino Resort had to be licenced on a case by case basis. The world famous brand had argued that their hotel licence included the option to run regular events however Santa Eulalia town hall stood firm by refusing this argument and reiterating that any repeat offenders risked a penal sentence for continued disobedience. Future planned events featuring Solomun and Luciano are now under threat with reports that some agencies are already refunding tickets. 

This news comes hot on the heels of San Jose’s decision to close 3 beach bars for licence infractions or in some cases not having any licence at all.  ‘No Name’ in Playa d’en Bossa, Soul Beach at Es Codolar and Reggae Beach at Pinet Playa have all been shut down after it was found they were advertising and holding parties for several hundred people without the correct documentation. 

San Jose have also sanctioned the Beach House in Playa den Bossa and Dharma in Port des Torrent for holding parties where their licences only allows bar-restaurants. 

These are changing times in Ibiza and it would seem that after the May elections the new local governments are flexing their muscles by sending out a clear message for the future. 
Source: NouDiari