Tourist guides denounce the "constant privatization" of Palma's Parc de la Mar

PalmaThe professional association of guides of Mallorca (Proguías), a member of PIMEM, has denounced the "constant privatization" of the Parc de la Mar in Palma, because markets, parties, and other activities are repeatedly organized there which, it considers, hinder the movement of citizens, visitors, and professionals in the tourism sector. The entity criticizes that a space intended for leisure is increasingly being used for commercial and promotional activities and demands that the administrations guarantee its public use.

In a statement, the association highlighted as an example the events of this Monday, November 9th, when several tour guides found the entrances to the site blocked with warning tape while a group of workers was unloading material from a large-tonnage truck to assemble wooden booths and tubular structures which, according to the entity, appeared to be intended for setting up a stage.

Proguías asserts that no route had been enabled to guarantee the passage of citizens and visitors and that the only alternatives to access the park were the rear of the Customs building or the entrance located near the parking lot. The association also states that it is unaware if the operations had the corresponding occupation permits and if the necessary safety measures had been established. In fact, the organization claims to have knowledge of the accidental fall of a person of German nationality, who reportedly suffered a fracture to a hand. Proguías considers that this incident highlights the risks that can arise from occupying public space without adequately delineated passage routes.

Sale of counterfeit items and occupation of the King's Orchard gardens

The association's complaint also focuses on the unregulated sale of products that imitate well-known brands, such as wallets, caps, t-shirts, and sunglasses. According to Proguías, this activity continues without effective control and harms merchants and craft markets that carry out their activity in a regulated manner. The entity also considers that this situation projects a bad image of the city and denounces that illegal activities seem to have more facilities than those that comply with the regulations.

The complaints also extend to the gardens of the Hort del Rei, where, according to the association, a good part of the space was closed off with barriers and occupied by private vehicles of the people who worked there. A situation that, according to the guides, makes the development of tourist visits even more difficult and implies prioritizing private interests over public use.

Finally, Proguías relates this situation to the conservation and maintenance problems of other heritage spaces in the area, such as the access stairs to the Cathedral. The entity recalls that last February structural damage was detected in this infrastructure and that, after an intervention that did not arrive until October, it was verified that the deterioration was more serious than had been foreseen. The risk of collapse forced the entire access to be sealed off.

Faced with this set of situations, the association calls on public administrations and especially the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, to take into account the different uses of public space and not to prioritize the immediate benefit of certain activities. It also asks that the work of tourist guides be taken more into account, which, it laments, are often only the subject of measures that limit their activity.