The Punta Arabí Hippy Market on Ibiza getting ready to open on April 6th

The date announced at the vendors’ assembly held on Monday is pending the definitive signature with the new company managing the complex, the Menorcan company MIJ Hotels.

“We are very eager to work and we want the sellers to be respected and for us to have a voice in the management”, says the spokeswoman of the association, Ana Ordóñez, who is cautious while waiting for the signature.

The Punta Arabí Hippy Market has about 450 vendors, of which 330 are part of the association.

Everyone hopes that the uncertainty experienced last season will not return, when the Punta Arabí Hippy Market was closed following the breakdown of the contract between the owner of the complex, Paquita Sánchez Ordóñez, and the then managers of the Azuline company. However, it was later reopened after the vendors’ negotiations with the property and the Santa Eulària Town Hall, which mediated in the conflict.

“If this has helped us in any way, it is to know that we have strength and that if we work together achieve whatever we want,” says Ana Ordóñez.

A spokesperson for the Santa Eulària City Council has assured Diario de Ibiza that in the meetings they have had with both the company and the vendors that April 6 is the date that has been put on the table, although they have official confirmation.

“We are in favor of it opening normally and providing employment for all the people who work there, but also to serve as an attraction for visitors to the whole area. We have offered to act as mediators if any difficulties arise, but whether it opens or not is something that the vendors are talking directly to the owners. We were told by the artisans that their intention was to open on that date”, the City Council indicated.

Both parties point out that the Punta Arabí Hippy Market has been declared a Place of Municipal Tourist Interest and that this is why every effort has been made to keep it open.

The idea is that, as every year, the market is open all season, on Wednesdays from April to October included.

It now remains to be seen whether the hotel complex will also be able to open in the first week of April, as the works were delayed due to the fact that after the closure of last season, the area was full of squatters and they had to be evicted before the refurbishment could begin.