It is not easy to get the opinion of the business owners in the West. The current president of the association that heads this group, Pep Tur, answers the call of the newspaper but explains that he has stopped making statements to the media. Other business owners do express their opinion in private, but ask not to be quoted because, they say, they do not want to “get into trouble. One who always speaks, however, is Joan Pantaleoni, a business owner from the area and former councillor of the Partido Popular during the legislature of 2003 and 2007, and that on many occasions has served as the unofficial spokesman.
“I know that there is a plan to reform the West but they have not yet gotten down to work,” says Pantaleoni, who recalls that “it was said that they would talk to an architect, but with this pandemic we never heard anything more”. The business owner comments that the project has been frozen for two years and admits “I have no idea” of the current status of this initiative.
“The bars in the West exist because there is a demand, and this demand is generated by the accommodation”
Pantaleoni firmly rejects criminalizing the entrepreneurs of that leisure area, and considers that the responsibilities are joint and is hurt by the criticism received by the hotel sector: “The focus is put on the bars that cater to that clientele, but that clientele is lodged somewhere, right? These bars exist because there is a demand, and the demand is created by the accommodation. Maybe some hotels should take a look at that too”.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.