Holiday warning over Majorca party boats loved by Brits as officials vow massive new crackdown
PARTY boat-loving Brits have been urged to rein in their antics onboard as officials in Majorca launched a new crackdown on rowdy tourists.
The island’s council said it will bring in the police to deal with noisy “floating discos” and warned of heavy fines.
A slew of locals have already lodged numerous complaints about the party boats disturbing their peace and quiet.
Residents slammed the boisterous bashes and said they have to put up with non-stop partying on boats moored by the beaches.
Hotels have even expressed their fury about parties on the water as they claim unruly tourists and loud music bothers their guests.
It is another blow for holidaymakers jetting away to the Spanish hotspot for a knees-up as the summer season swings into action.
Clubbers have already been warned they could be hit with a £25,000 fine if they attend illegal parties on the island, as officials clamp down on unlicensed events.
Insular Minister of Tourism, Andreu Serra has called for the “maximum collaboration of the municipalities” to combat the party boat problem.
“We have prepared all the operations to act, in collaboration with the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard, to put all the necessary means when complaints are made,” she warned.
“At the same time, we will activate all the mechanisms to initiate disciplinary proceedings.”
She said Majorca council was aware “that this start of the season is being more complicated than expected, since it is verified that there are more irregularities than in previous years.”
The tourism minister said they would put extreme pressure on boats that did not comply with their zero tolerance policy for “tourism of excesses”.
But the president of the Balearic Association of Leisure and Entertainment (Abone), Miguel Pérez Marsá said Majorca needed to take an even harsher approach.
He explained: “The city councils must be tougher with this type of action, despite the fact that they do not have powers at sea.
“We see that there is no political will to tackle this phenomenon at the root, both in terms of non-stop parties and discos on the high seas.
“Something has to happen for the administration to act, when now we are at the right time to control all kinds of illegal actions, which on top of that generate unfair competition for nightlife companies that comply with all the regulations, generate employment and pay the corresponding taxes.”
Abone says noisy party boats are causing a huge nuisance not just in Palma and Magaluf, but across the island.
Hotel associations on the island are also asking the Balearic Government and council to eradicate these illegal leisure practices “because the noise bothers both residents and tourists who stay in the hotels.”
Residents of Colonia de Sant Jordi on the southeastern coast of Majorca say they “can’t take any more” after five years of excessive noise and no action.
At the weekend, nearly 20 party boats gathered off the popular beach and were said to have blasted out music for more than 12 hours.
The revelries reportedly started at 5pm and only wrapped up at 6am the following morning.
“This is a party organised to promote drunken tourism at sea and we fear that this will happen again,” said one resident.
Another exhausted local fumed: “We have had twelve continuous hours of disco on the high seas and now that summer is coming, this is going to overflow.”
The local council said they did call in the police but were told they had no jurisdiction at sea.
The latest measure comes as officials in Majorca and Ibiza attempt to extinguish booze-fuelled chaos and drunken behaviour.
Holidaymakers will now be slapped with a six-drink-a-day limit instead of having alcohol on tap.
The regulations will affect tourists in Magaluf, Majorca and some areas of party island Ibiza.
And they mean tourists can only have three free tipples at lunch and three with their evening meal.
The block has been put on boozy pub crawls, the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am and advertising party boats in some areas.
A smoking ban has also been rolled out across some of Spain’s most popular beaches.