'ALL Brits are welcome!' Mayor of Magaluf's message to UK holidaymakers following 'tourism
The beleaguered mayor of Magaluf has revealed that undercover police officers have been deployed to crackdown on binge-drinking, drug dealing and prostitution on the holiday resort's infamous strip.
Partygoers in tourist hotspots including Magaluf, Llucmajor and Palma in Majorca now face fines of up to £1,300 for drinking in the street, while party boats have been banned from certain areas and shops selling alcohol must close at 9.30pm.
The mayor of Calvia, the Majorcan region which Magaluf is a part of, has backed the new rules and even revealed they have plain-clothes officers patrolling the strip to clamp down on illegal behaviour.
But in an exclusive interview with MailOnline at the Calvia Town Hall, Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual also hinted that he has fears the Balearic Islands' rules could drive Brits away from what has always been a beloved party destination.
'My message is all the British are really welcome in Calvia, that is very important,' he said. 'It's not the same message you have heard in the other government.'
The beleaguered mayor of Magaluf has revealed that undercover police officers have been deployed to crackdown on binge-drinking, drug dealing and prostitution on the holiday resort's infamous strip. Pictured: Six armed Guardia Civil officers are seen on the strip
Partygoers in tourist hotspots including Magaluf, Llucmajor and Palma in Majorca now face fines of up to £1,300 for drinking in the street, while party boats have been banned from certain areas and shops selling alcohol must close at 9.30pm
The mayor of Calvia, the Majorcan region which Magaluf is a part of, has backed the new rules in an interview with MailOnline, and even revealed they have plain-clothes officers patrolling the strip to clamp down on illegal behaviour
Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual (pictured on Wednesday) told MailOnline: 'My message is all the British are really welcome in Calvia, that is very important'
Just last week, the president of the Balearics, Marga Prohens, said the islands 'have reached their limit', while last year Majorca's director of tourism, Lucia Escribano, said they were 'not interested in budget tourists from the UK'.
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And despite local businesses and residents hitting out at tourists for destroying their 'paradise', Mr Amengual confirmed that Magaluf would be extending its season from March to November - meaning it will now spread across nine months of the year.
Magaluf has traditionally had a shorter season between May and September.
Speaking about attempts to limit 'excessive tourism', he said: 'We have improved [by using] undercover police and it was one of the good measures that has stopped a lot of the prostitution and the sale of drugs.
'It was very important.'
The mayor, who took up his role last June, also defended Brits against what he described as 'tourism-phobia' across Majorca and said he 'totally disagreed' with protests aimed at holidaymakers.
'We want the people to enjoy [their holidays] with respect between tourists and the residents,' he said. 'This situation now is creating 'tourism-phobia' coming from these behaviours from some tourists, not all tourists.'
In an attempt to toughen up the islands' 2020 legislation, shops selling alcohol in areas of 'excessive tourism' must now completely close between 9.30pm and 8am
Just last week, the president of the Balearics, Marga Prohens, said the islands 'have reached their limit' with tourists. Pictured: Partygoers are seen on the streets of Magaluf this week
Despite local businesses and residents hitting out at tourists for destroying their 'paradise', the mayor confirmed that Magaluf would be extending its season from March to November
Topless tourists are seen walking down a street in Magaluf this week
A man is seen walking down the street with a bottle of beer in his hand
Mr Amengual even told how they hosted St George's Day celebrations in Magaluf last month 'to say thank you to our British visitors'.
The mayor's Town Hall office was minimally decorated bar a few pieces of abstract artwork - but sitting proudly on display was a framed front page of a 'St George's Day week special' local Majorca newspaper.
The mayor has insisted that they are 'changing Magaluf' by investing millions of euros in hotels, restaurants and beach clubs.
He said he loves tourists visiting the region but wants to remove Magaluf's reputation of being a place for 'sex, drugs, alcohol and problems'.
Mr Amengual said the hotels have been actively changing their type of guest. 'There is some hotels that they have removed young people to family hotels,' he explained.
But he also said he did not agree with previous plans to rename 'Magaluf' to 'Calvia Beach', admitting he wanted to protect the name which is a global brand.
'I like all the clients but what I don't like is when we have some problems,' he said. 'But I understand people come to enjoy their holidays and this is very important.'
He added: 'Another very important thing for us in our political programme is to extend our season. The beach is going to be open with services from March to November… because we want to extend the season.'
Mr Amengual said that while Magaluf used to be '100 per cent British', it is now 'cosmopolitan' with other nationalities such as Germans and Italians.
Speaking about attempts to limit 'excessive tourism', Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual said: 'We have improved [by using] undercover police and it was one of the good measures that has stopped a lot of the prostitution and the sale of drugs. It was very important'
Rowdy partygoers were spotted wearing minimal clothes while on a night out this week
Locals have said that despite the rules around not coming in bars and restaurants in Magaluf topless, 'people do it anyway'
A reveller was spotted rolling around on the floor during a night out
He said the priority was making sure residents and tourists can live together in harmony.
'In the last 14 years, the people have come to Majorca to enjoy - they drink alcohol, they really know Majorca. Many live here now in Calvia or Majorca. They get married.
'The British people and the Majorcan people and the Spanish people, we live together and I don't want to see a problem of this.'
Mr Amengual continued: 'My dream or what I want is Magaluf to become a destination of day activity and night activity but how it's been always - not focus the problem in one street and one problem.
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'We have worked very hard to remove the name of Magaluf. In the past, they tried to change the name of Magaluf to the Calvia Beach - but now it's not this way. We want to protect the word "Magaluf" like Ibiza, like Majorca as a brand is a big brand.'
The local mayor was speaking days after the Balearic Islands toughened its 2020 legislation on excessive tourism.
The Government has committed €16million (£13.7million) towards enforcing the street drinking ban as well as on security, inspections and educating tourists on what is classed as 'excessive tourism'.
Mr Amengual believes they will see change by December 2027 - the point in which the fresh rules are in place to. 'This law is for the next two years, not forever, because we are changing Magaluf,' he said.
Partygoers in Palma, Llucmajor and Magaluf in Majorca and San Antonio in Ibiza now face penalties of between €500 and €1,500 (£430 and £1,290) if their street drinking 'disrupts coexistence, involves crowds or deteriorates the tranquillity of the environment'.
Party boats are no longer permitted to get closer than one nautical mile (1.852 km) of the designated areas and they have been banned from picking up or dropping off passengers.
Partygoers in Palma, Llucmajor and Magaluf in Majorca and San Antonio in Ibiza now face fines of between €500 and €1,500 (£430 and £1,290) if their street drinking 'disrupts coexistence, involves crowds or deteriorates the tranquillity of the environment'
As the tougher sanctions came into force over the weekend, partying Brits vowed to defy the crackdown and accused Majorca of trying to 'kill' Magaluf.
Many Brits and Germans have been spotted drinking in the streets this week or walking around topless, which is also forbidden.
Mr Amengual said it was 'impossible' to police tourists who are walking around half-naked in the summer months.
The extension of the Magaluf season could spark fears among local businesses who have told MailOnline this week that the island is being destroyed by tourists who treat their town badly.
It comes after a series of crackdowns across several other Spanish islands as they battle overcrowding and immense spikes in tourism.
Last week, a Menorca holiday village dubbed the 'Spanish Mykonos' threatened to ban all tourists after previously telling them to only visit between 11am and 8pm so they can enjoy their breakfasts.
Ibiza also became the latest Spanish holidaymaker hotspot to join in with growing anti-tourism protests that have erupted around the country.
Protesting has been seen in other popular destinations, such as Tenerife, where furious locals even went on hunger strike in an effort to voice their anger.
In Menorca, graffiti has sprung up on walls telling tourists to 'go home', and stickers sporting the tagline 'Don't tag this beach, b**ch!' have been spotted plastered around beach entrances in a bid to stop locals from sharing the island's beauty spots on social media.
The words 'Go Home Tourist' were scrawled in English over a wall underneath a real estate promotion billboard in Nou Llevant, Mallorca, a neighbourhood that has seen a massive influx of foreign buyers over the past few years
Spanish islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic gridlock and lack of cheap affordable housing linked to the pushing-up of property prices because of Airbnb-style holiday lets
Demonstrators packed into Weyler Square in the Tenerife capital Santa Cruz, the start point for a march on the Brit-popular holiday island, on April 20
In Marbella last year, tyres on cars with British number plates were slashed.
On April 20, thousands of protestors took to the streets of the Canary Islands to protest against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand their politicians take action.
The protestors chanted the slogan: 'Canarias tiene un limite', which in English translates as 'The Canary Islands have a limit.'
Two weeks ago the same words appeared painted in white on the tarmac of one of the access roads to Mount Teide in Tenerife. Another message painted on the road said: 'Moratoria turistica' - 'Tourist moratorium' in English.'