Menorca enters hibernation
More than half of the businesses close at the end of the season and the island empties of population, while small businesses warn that they cannot survive like this.
BrickMore than half of the shops, bars, and restaurants in the center of Ciutadella are already closed. The tourist season officially ended three weeks ago, and Menorca has gone into hibernation. The airport now only offers direct flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Palma, Valencia, and London, and the island has lost 20,000 inhabitants in just eight days. The population has plummeted from over 110,000 at the end of October to a mere 90,000, according to the Menorca Socio-Environmental Observatory (Obsam) since the beginning of November. The island currently has 13,000 fewer residents than the 103,281 recorded in the last official census. "The population decline is more abrupt at this time of year than before the season began," notes David Carreras, director of Obsam.
In the middle of the month, the port of Maó received its last cruise ship call of the year, and the Imserso tourism season is about to end. There are fewer customers on the streets and much less supply and economic activity. According to Ibestat, Menorca loses a fifth of its businesses between the third and fourth quarters of the year, a result of the strong seasonality it experiences. Last year, for example, the number of active businesses fell from 3,754 in September to 3,022 in December, a decrease of 19%.
The situation is mirrored, though less intensely, on the other islands. In fact, across the Balearic Islands as a whole, 6,550 of the 46,091 businesses that had remained active throughout the summer were lost in the last quarter, representing 14% of the total. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in municipalities with a strong tourism sector, which in the case of Menorca are Ciutadella (which went from 1,250 to 975 businesses) and Mercadal (from 275 to 178).
The increase in costs and the tax burden are especially crippling businesses that complement tourism, which can no longer survive in winter relying solely on residents as their customers. The result is clearly visible on the streets, but never before has it been felt so acutely. "We feel distressed and very worried," admits Joana Torres, president of the small business association. "The shopkeeper who tries to close for one month one year, closes for three the next, and the consequence is that we now have ghost towns with hardly any activity." What used to happen in small towns like Migjorn Gran, "where there are barely five shops open all year round, is now also affecting larger cities, Ciutadella and Maó, which are going down the same path. The future is frightening."
Ghost towns
The president of the small and medium-sized business association says that the town centers of Menorca "have become a theme park that only opens from May to October, but then closes, and from November onwards business plummets, leaving us barely scraping by. The island is literally hibernating." Joana Torres blames especially the "structural costs, which are getting higher every day." She cites rent, housing, taxes, and self-employment contributions, and demands that the government "take into account that we exist." Last year, the Island Council opened a specific aid program for businesses that are open year-round, but the business association considers it "insufficient." "Either they help us ease the burden on small businesses and let us pay less for electricity, water, or waste collection fees, or the situation will be unsustainable," they warn.
"The cold weather has arrived, and there are few people on the streets," Torres points out. "And what does that lead to? If you know that a large part of the businesses in the city center are closed, you won't go out for a stroll; you'll stay home and end up buying online, which is the last thing we should be encouraging. We all want to work to live, but above all, what we want is to be able to survive with dignity. So, we either get creative and collaborate."
The Minister of Economy, Maria Antònia Taltavull, defends the "essential importance of retail on the island, as an economic engine and as an element that brings life to the streets, fosters social contact, and strengthens cohesion between communities." She believes that local businesses "need tools to maintain their competitiveness," but the private sector demands much more support from the government.
Compulsive online shopping
"The Consell (Island Council) must help us, because we need their support to survive," says Joana Torres. But the business association also appeals to the awareness of Menorcans: "We must be consistent with what it means to be a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. If we want a sustainable and ecological Menorca, our purchases must be too," she emphasizes. In fact, Ascome is promoting a campaign among young people "to raise their awareness of sustainability. This generation is the potential buyer of the Menorca of the future and cannot be given over to compulsive and unsustainable purchases on large international platforms." It's Black Friday, and businesses like Joana Torres' toy store got a head start, "with 10% discounts on all the stock we have. It's a way to reward at least our regular or most loyal customers, but the profit margins are so narrow that you don't really make a profit."
The discount vouchers launched during the first three weeks of November in collaboration with the Island Council and the Chamber of Commerce have also provided a temporary boost to many businesses, which have been able to temporarily increase sales by offering a 10-euro discount on every 30 euros spent by their customers. However, a significant portion of the 125,000 euros provided by the government to make this possible has already been used up, leaving shops without any further resources to sustain them through the Christmas season. "Most businesses ran out of vouchers in just two days," notes Joana Torres, who, "while aware that government resources are also limited," regrets "that the campaign couldn't be more robust and last longer."
The latest action by the small business association has been to launch a television campaign to generate up to 170,000 impressions on the Atresmedia group's channels (La Sexta and Antena 3), but Ascome itself says it's a "one-off" initiative that will only be in effect until November 30th.
The Ciutadella Antiga association has also launched a campaign to attract customers to local businesses, but its manager, Illa Marquès, is aware that "staying open in winter is complicated and stressful. Expenses are so high that costs are difficult to maintain, but luckily, there are always businesses. If the businesses that are still open stop doing so, the entire city center and the city itself would be affected." Therefore, the association, which represents 80 businesses in the old town, is working to promote the circular economy and activities that help revitalize the city center. There's still a month until Christmas and the expectation is that "it will feel long. But we'll do everything we can. We'll get through this."
The president of the CAEB restaurant association, José Bosch, also notes that "more and more restaurants are closing, and for longer periods of time." He currently counts only six restaurants open along the entire central axis of Ciutadella and is "worried because this trend is increasing every year." To reverse this situation, he is calling on the government for an emergency plan involving all affected sectors.
Bosch believes that "the factors are multiple, but they boil down to increased costs and fewer customers, which reduces profitability and makes it not worthwhile to open. The business owners who remain open are brave, but there are fewer and fewer of them. They realize that, since they can't cover costs, it's better to stay closed."
The businessman sums it up in figures. "For a restaurant to function minimally, it needs four employees on staff, two in the kitchen and two in the dining room, but to be able to pay them and cover the rest of the costs of opening, you have to turn over at least 1,500 euros a day. But with a menu at 25 euros per person, you need 60 diners, and some don't even have 10 at all."
The lack of connectivity and the rising cost of services make it difficult to solve, he says, but so does the lack of government support. "We're not asking for subsidies; perhaps it would be enough if they didn't penalize us so heavily with taxes and gave us more support. Maybe then some will reconsider and open next year. But it's clear the outlook is bleak. November and February, in particular, are very difficult months to spend in Menorca."