A Majorcan hospitality industry expert has warned that restaurants and bars are filing for bankruptcy as its upgraded promenade stands “empty”. Valerio Petrillo, owner of a hospitality group in Palma, Majorca, claimed that the regenerated Paseo Marítimo promenade along Palma’s seafront has failed to take off, with businesses struggling under sky-high rents and a lack of parking for visitors.
He said: “What good is a beautiful seafront promenade if it’s empty?” His Palma Emotions World group owns two bars on the promenade, Quentin’s American Bar and Made in Brasil. However, he told the Majorca Daily Bulletin: “Many businesses in the area are in bankruptcy proceedings.”
He stressed that rents keep increasing, which “makes no sense” and that the city was losing nightlife to Santa Catalina.
Tomeu Mas, the manager of Majorca’s CAEB Restaurants Association, echoed his views about parking and rents. He said the promenade was in “bad shape,” explaining: “They’re trying to find solutions, but there are parking and accessibility problems.”
Mas added: “Ten-year-old rental contracts are up for renewal, and prices are going to double. All the business effort is going towards paying the rents; profit margins have shrunk considerably.”
The promenade has just undergone a major £32.19 million (€37.5 million) transformation, however, the disruption caused by the construction reportedly led to a “significant drop” in bookings over Christmas, when business owners hoped for an uptick.
Juan Miguel Ferrer, president of the CAEB Restaurant Association, claimed that businesses had operated under challenging circumstances for three years.
He said in December: “The new Paseo Marítimo is still under construction, and this is compounded by the lack of a Christmas spirit. As a result, we have seen a significant drop in bookings for these dates, which are key for restaurants.
“It is a reality that businessmen in the area have had a hard time during the last three years of reforms, and this Christmas could have been an opportunity to give them a break”.
The 2.1-mile Paseo Marítimo was transformed into a pedestrian-friendly zone as part of the multi-million-pound project. Six lanes of traffic were reduced to four to make way for green spaces and outdoor recreational areas in a bid to upgrade the area.