The presentation of the campaign ‘Stick with your mates‘, presented this week by the British ambassador, Hugh Elliot, the president of the Govern, Francina Armengol, and the Balearic Minister of Tourism, Iago Negueruela, did not sit well with the president of the Hotel Business Federation of the Pitiusas, Ana Gordillo, who in addition to not attending the event recalled that the same mistake was made eight years ago: “In 2014 we had a similar campaign that greatly discredited the image of Sant Antoni and that in the end had to be withdrawn.” The current campaign advises British tourists “not to let their friends walk alone in the street” and “keep in touch through chats”, details “dangerous practices” like ‘balconing’, warns that at the all inclusive hotels they will not be served more than three units of alcohol at each meal service, and warns that the offers of open bar, happy hour, 2×1 or 3×1 are prohibited by the Balearic legislation and that they are subject to fines of between 1,000 to 600,000 euro, depending on the offence.
The 2014 brochure, ‘Enjoy and respect’, also promoted by the UK consulate, had the support of the Sant Antoni City Council and contained a very similar message: “Don’t walk home alone”, it recommended. In 2018 and 2019 another campaign identical to the current one was developed with the slogan ‘Keep it together’, where one of its tips was exactly the same as the currently criticized: “Don’t let your mates walk home alone”.
That of 2014 unleashed an unprecedented crisis in Sant Antoni. The then president of the Hotel Federation, Roberto Hortensius, criticized that it implied that a tourist could not return alone to their hotel because it was dangerous: “It’s exaggerated and counterproductive for any tourist destination. It is out of place,” he lamented.
Even the PSOE described the campaign as “pathetic, brutal”. Its spokesman in Sant Antoni, Josep MarÃ, said it should be “absolutely be withdrawn”. “We cannot put on a poster that if you go alone to the hotel it can mean death. This is a disaster. We are saying that we are an unsafe destination and this is going to have repercussions on the image of the whole island.”
Changes to the campaign eight years later
The socialist group in that locality seems to have changed its mind from eight years ago. Antonio Lorenzo, secretary general of the PSOE of Sant Antoni, posted this tweet on May 4: “This is what I call turning your back on a real situation. Marcos Serra and the PP of Sant Antoni row against the general interests of the people. He who lives on favors serves many lords”. The socialist councilman Marco Antonio Guerrero also criticized on the same social network the attitude of the Consistory: “Closing your eyes does not eliminate the problem”.
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