Furious tourists have hit out at a popular Majorcan seaside town for missing one beach necessity. Lined with beautiful palm trees, S’Arenal de Llucmajor near Palma has long been a favourite beach among visitors thanks to its spectacular promenade and golden sand beaches.
However, tourists arriving at the holiday hotspot have been left “outraged” at the lack of facilities available to visitors, in particular the absence of any sunbeds. S’Arenal will not have parasol and sun lounger services this summer, with the council citing “technical problems” with the “administrative deadlines” as the main reason. Fuming hoteliers claim it took three weeks to receive a response from Llucmajor council as to why the facilities had not been set up.
In a statement, hoteliers say they have only just been informed that the “Llucmajor council did not process the application for authorisation in the public maritime-terrestrial area for seasonal facilities in time”.
President of the Playa de Palma Hotel Association, Pedro Marín called the decision a “real shame” with both locals and tourists enjoying the sunbeds and parasols.
He said: “It is a real shame that the largest tourist area on the Balearic coast has no facilities during the season. We must not forget that the beach is a public asset, and both residents and visitors enjoy the installation of sun loungers and parasols.”
Hoteliers have pointed out that beach facilities should have been in operation since the beginning of the summer season in May. They now fear it may put off holidaymakers coming to the town with the situation already causing daily complaints from tourists.
Llucmajor council explained that although there will be no sun loungers and parasols this summer in Arenal, the start of the toilet and shower service is imminent, “which will be available in the next few days”, while pointing out that lifeguard services have been available since May.
It comes just weeks after Majorca’s government announced plans to remove hundreds of sun loungers from its beaches after pressure from locals to stop crowding the sandy stretches with foreign holidaymakers.
Four beaches in the island’s capital city of Palma will see a significant reduction in the number of sunbeds available on them, with officials pledging to cut the available amount by 20% by 2026.