Prices and touristification drive residents away from restaurants

PalmSales at cafes and restaurants on the Canary Islands have fallen by between 20% and 30% in the first six months of the year, according to data from business associations. "This is the worst year in quite some time," confirms Juanmi Ferrer, president of CAEBRestauració, who points out that one of the causes of the situation is the decline in consumption by tourists and residents, who have significantly reduced their visits to bars and restaurants "mainly due to the price."

According to the employers' associations, since the pandemic until today, between energy, water, and personnel costs, the increase in expenses is more than 30%. "This does not take into account the rental prices of those whose contracts are ending." "It is impossible not to pass these increases on to the menu prices, and we are aware that this is very difficult for many customers to accept," admits the president of the business associations.

The result is that winter has not been good for many of the businesses that do not live exclusively from tourism, but the massive influx of visitors, contrary to what happened in recent seasons, "has not improved the situation, because they come with a bottle of water in their hand, they pass by and comment less," and the locals come in.

The locals turn their backs

The number of outings has been reduced and people are very careful with their spending.

If there's one fact most business owners agree on, it's that locals have reduced the number of dinner outings and, furthermore, "they're very careful with their spending. But it's normal. A couple and two children can't go out to eat for less than 120 euros. Who can put up with this?" explains Laura, who reveals her name. "It's a very tough business, and although those who don't know it might find that we've raised prices a lot, if you don't, you have to close," she asserts.

According to Jordi, a waiter at the well-known Aurora bar in Ciutadella, "it's true that there's less activity." "Last year, there was already a small decline in Menorca, but this year it's more exaggerated. Here, there's been talk that the pedestrianized Born may have affected some, but I don't think so. Tourists and residents are being cautious and spending less. Fewer people sit down, and when they do, their spending is lower than in other years," he confirms.

Exaggerated prices

In tourist areas, tourists buy alcohol in supermarkets

No matter how much business costs have skyrocketed in recent years, consumers are clear that prices have gone too far. "They've lost their minds," says Alfonso Rodríguez, president of Consubal. "We islanders can't afford the prices; they're going too far, and in the end, they've managed to fill only the very cheap establishments. Where should young people go? Before, you used to go out to celebrate more, and now you can't, it's that simple," explains Rodríguez, who reveals that "at Consubal, we're currently processing a complaint from a customer who had to pay €3.50 for aioli. It's an abuse by the business owners, and customers are turning their backs on them," he confirms.

Joan Fullana often walks along Palma beach in the evenings, as he lives in Can Pastilla. "You can see perfectly how many tourists go to the supermarket, buy drinks and sit on this wall until they get sick. They have a very limited budget and, if they go to a cafeteria, they wouldn't be able to afford it. I myself, who have a salary, I would say normal, can't go to restaurants. To top it all off, many are just for.

End of a huge expansion

Businesses have opened since the pandemic ended.

The season isn't going equally well or badly for everything. Even in the same area as Sóller, the tourist area has more empty tables, for example, than the town square, where business owners like Joan, owner of the Sa Granja bar, aren't so alarmed. "Before, we had eight or nine people waiting, now it's true that we don't have as many, but we're doing the job, and doing it well. What I want us to keep in mind is that before the pandemic, I had ten workers, and afterward, I had to go down to 16 because things really took off," he says.

For the Soller businessman, "in this context, there have been many new businesses in recent years that have grown to meet exaggerated demand. Now we're returning to our place. I know some business will fall, but there has been excessive expansion, and some somewhat exaggerated price increases," he explains.

Joan Vallespir, a sales representative at Olives Rosselló who has been visiting bars and restaurants in the Levante region for 30 years, believes that "the ones that are doing best are the very good ones, which have a guaranteed clientele among foreigners who want to get to know them and the Mallorcan families who come once a year for a thousand and pay what it costs to go out to dinner today," he says.

Vallespir emphasizes that "the Cala Ratjada area is doing worse this year, while Cala Millor, for example, is holding up better." "In Cala Ratjada, prices aren't cheap, and their main clientele are Germans, who aren't so well off this year. The kebab shops are packed with customers because 10 euros gets you food and a beer," he explains.

Competition from accommodation

Tourist rentals encourage cooking and hotels also open cafes.

In addition to prices unaffordable for most, other factors have contributed to restaurants losing customers among tourists. "The tourist rentals that we all viewed with joy a few years ago have now become a system that doesn't benefit us at all. Apartments in particular attract low-quality tourism, more people than allowed stay, and, of course, what they end up doing is going to the supermarket. We must ask ourselves if we want that," laments the restaurant president.

Another, even more recent phenomenon has also occurred: the incorporation of small establishments "on the ground floors or in open spaces of hotels," explains Joan Vallespir. "This year I've seen more than two open, competing with the same restaurants. Here, everyone is competing for the same thing," he notes. This formula is possible thanks to the reform of the Tourism Law in times of Covid, an amendment that allowed the expansion of hotel facilities by up to 10%.

Selfie tourists

The increase in tourism in recent years has been of poor quality.

One of the phenomena highlighted by business owners is that the large increase in tourists over the last two years "doesn't contribute anything." "We're stuck with the old-schoolers," says the owner of the Sa Granja bar in Sóller. "You get some young people and not-so-young people who order a specific dish they've seen on social media. They make a selfie and bird. You ask them if they want a drink and they say no, that they're fine as they are. And you think: why do we really need these visitors?" he asks. But he also wants to sound a warning: "I'm tired of saturation too, but be careful if we send negative messages! The polite ones will stop coming. Those from the selfie"No," he concludes.