Spain holiday warning after Brits are targeted in hotspot

BRITS heading for the party hotspot of Magaluf are being warned of drug pushers, prostitutes and gangs of violent pickpockets who are honing in on tourists now returning to Spain.

Local residents say “all the old problems” have already returned as the season swings into action, despite efforts by the Balearic government to change the venue’s image.

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They say drug gangs are making deals in the middle of the streets in full view of holidaymakers and claim that during the weekend, they have witnessed up to 500 sales.

And they have reported numerous robberies with violence to the police following the massive arrival of tourists, particularly the Brits, French and Swiss.

The main problem area is again the famous Punta Ballena strip in Magaluf which is lined with pubs and clubs.

The resort is one of the areas subject to tough new rules including a ban on pub crawls, two for one alcohol offers, drinking in the street and unruly behaviour.

There has also been a clampdown on some of the all-inclusive hotels where free drinks are being limited as party boats are also banned.

But according to Spanish newspaper Ultimahora.es, the old problems have started again, causing trouble for Brits abroad.

They reported: “A new season begins loaded with large doses of indifference, alcohol, drugs, prostitution, robbery and violence.

“The massive arrival of tourists to Punta Ballena has brought with it the appearance of traffickers and prostitutes, hunting drunk tourists. The controversial Magaluf street is already teeming with Nigerian and Romanian clans.”

Nearly 20 police officers were reported to have been on duty to control the crowds, together with bouncers and security guards from nightlife venues.

The outlet says they witnessed a “large influx of British, French and Poles,” that begin to congregate shortly before midnight.

“After passing through the Magaluf beach, the young people began to arrive at the venues at the nerve centre of the party,” it read.

However, local residents have blasted the Balearic government’s quest for sustainable tourism as “a joke”.

One tweeted: “Every year is the same in that area.  I don’t know how they keep bringing that low cost tourism (drunkenness, drugs and balconing) to beautiful Mallorca is.

“Nor is it understandable how prostitutes roam freely throughout the area robbing and assaulting tourists. They are an organised gang created on purpose.

“Courage to the security forces and bodies because another eventful year awaits them.”

TOURIST TRAUMA

Calvia council, which covers Magaluf, says it is determined to eradicate what it describes as “tourism of excesses” and pledges to be “inflexible in the application of the new laws”.

Extra police are normally brought in at the height of the summer, usually around July, but hoteliers now want more officers on the beat from June.

The call is being led by the Hotel Federation of Mallorca which predicts a busy summer for the islands, including Ibiza and Menorca, as more tourists make up for lost time following the pandemic.

“We all want uncivil tourism to disappear, we have to eradicate this type of tourism,” said its president, Maria Frontera.

“Even in countries like Germany and England there is a feeling of shame towards this type of behaviour.”

In 2020, such unruly behaviour became so bad in some of the tourist hotspots that the Balearic government took the unprecedented step of closing down the Punta Ballena strip in Magaluf for three months.

While in 2019, it was claimed that “mafia” gangs were touring the city on a daily basis, targeting up to 100 boozed-up Brits a night.

It came as Brits were seen taking matters into their own hands over inaction by the authorities as The Sun shone a light on prostitutes preying on boozed up Brits.

In an attempt to quell historic concerns, Maria Frontera now says that bringing in extra police in June would make sure there were “exhaustive and rigorous control” of the decree law against excess tourism in the Balearic Islands, especially in areas such as Magaluf and Playa de Palma.

Tourism minister for the Balearics, Iago Negueruela has already stressed that the islands want to turn the tide away from mass tourism to provide “quality rather than quantity”.