The end of the West End?

McRackin said:
www.diariodeibiza.com

Hoteliers Of Sant Antoni: "We Are Seeing Things We Didn't Want To See Again" – Diario De Ibiza News

They ask the City Council for more public order and by-laws that guarantee civility in Sant Antoni
www.diariodeibiza.com www.diariodeibiza.com
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While generally I agree with them that things need to move upmarket in San An, 2021 was a bizarre season and you cant really use that as a benchmark for anything.

Less groups went on holiday for example as it was risky with the ever changing travel rules and test requirements.

They need to sit and wait and see what impact massive changes in 2022 bring like the change to Picis Park. The West End upgrade is also half finished.
 
I kind of the get the upmarket argument and kind of don’t.

San Antonio is a great place (for me, appreciate others might feel differently) and yeah it’s does/has attracted an element that go way too far sometimes

But at the same time for every 1 or 2 that take it too far and become a news story, there’s probably 100 that don’t and actually have a really nice holiday and just enjoy themselves and make lots of great memories in what is a genuinely special place.

Even if that’s heading up the west end and listening to the summers big hits/ibiza classics (which I appreciate isn’t cool) and having a few too many chupitos 😂

This is where so many people start their ibiza ‘careers’ who later end up being cool kids in the big clubs

In the article it says that 2021 was a unique summer (or something similar sorry if I’m mis interpreting) which I’m sure it was, but I can’t remember talking to anyone in the nightlife trade who felt the same. Good as in quiet and peaceful, sure (and I love it when it’s like that) but good as in a business who wants to make money sense I’m not so sure.

Fast forward 6 months (from September 2021 to May 2022) and the main concern I heard was not about good clientele or how un-peaceful it was, it was more along the lines of we’re excited for this summer it’s looking great and been really busy so far, but we don’t know how it will go if this continues to build. Will we have enough staff to cope with the numbers we hope to have.

San An is brill IMO, it has an amazing chilled side and it also has the other side, yes there are those few that take it too far but personally I find it so disappointing that those closest to it who could make a difference (if I’m understanding correctly what I mean is the politicians in the article) choose to knock it, rather than talk it up as the great destination it is and always has been

I’ll always go back, it’s my favourite place in the world. Cool or not :)
 
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I suppose a thing to think about is the hotel prices

I usually aim for about £4-500 quid a week, I’m not looking for anything special. Balcony with a nice view is good but I’m outside all the time so it’s a place to sleep more than anything else.

Thankfully that’s still an option in May and September but let’s say everywhere went upmarket and started charging £4-500 a night. Would that really be a good thing? Sure the hotels would be coining it but I doubt the vibe we all know and love would still be there.

It would surely be full of plastic people

Be careful what you wish for is what I think I mean to say
 
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Are they right in the head saying the 2021 season is the one to be aiming for:lol:. Incase they’ve forgot there was minimal tourists on the island bcos of bloody covid!2021 was a horrible year and i was one of the fortunate ones to get to the island and it goes without saying it just wasn’t the same - not even near to being the ‘real Ibiza’ . They need to be careful what they wish for
 
jimmiz said:
They want less tourists who spend more money per head, and who are disturbing less.
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Only Mykonos manages this to be honest.

I tend not to enter this debate, as I don’t know enough about it, or obviously own a business or hotel on the island. Plus I mostly stay / go out in the east & south of the island.

However, I can give the view of a very regular tourist of Ibiza and many other areas.

My view is that people that think the folks that came in 2021 will always come to Ibiza ever year when you charge €1-2K a week for a hotel with no nightlife as a USP live in Narnia. Yes, we all know Ibiza is stunning, the food establishments are getting better and better, but so are 100s of other destinations. The ‘hook’ for most people to come back 2-3 times a year in some cases is the nightlife… absolute fact.

You’re aren’t going to charge €1-2K a week (and the rest in some cases) without a USP. And I’m sorry that USP for many is the nightlife.

You can still have a lot of money, enjoy going out all night and getting wasted. The folks in the Nobu Hotel still go out and spend a lot of money in nightclubs too! There seems to be this view that staying in an expensive hotel means you don’t go out all night.
 
How about foreigners just simply respect the fact Spanish society wants to do things differently now? The truth is much of Spain now recognises that a lot of mistakes were made in the past, when the country was poorer, had just emerged from dictatorship and was rushing through resorts without anticipating a lot of the grief that would follow. The younger generation have a different, more savvy mentality now. it goes beyond money. locals want their dignity back.
 
mr_why said:
Only Mykonos manages this to be honest.

I tend not to enter this debate, as I don’t know enough about it, or obviously own a business or hotel on the island. Plus I mostly stay / go out in the east & south of the island.

However, I can give the view of a very regular tourist of Ibiza and many other areas.

My view is that people that think the folks that came in 2021 will always come to Ibiza ever year when you charge €1-2K a week for a hotel with no nightlife as a USP live in Narnia. Yes, we all know Ibiza is stunning, the food establishments are getting better and better, but so are 100s of other destinations. The ‘hook’ for most people to come back 2-3 times a year in some cases is the nightlife… absolute fact.

You’re aren’t going to charge €1-2K a week (and the rest in some cases) without a USP. And I’m sorry that USP for many is the nightlife.

You can still have a lot of money, enjoy going out all night and getting wasted. The folks in the Nobu Hotel still go out and spend a lot of money in nightclubs too! There seems to be this view that staying in an expensive hotel means you don’t go out all night.
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Sorry, just go North and see how the business works.
No night life, more and more 4 and 5 stars hotel, and it's full all season.
As said by @Tourist ,just respect the local wishes, and let see what happens.
I absolutely wouldn't worry about the tourism future in Ibiza without the binge drinking tourism, with an upgrade of night life and hotels offer.
Look how the yoga and wellness business have exploded the last decade, the hiking, etc... Who would have bet a peseta on it 15 years ago?
 
I trawled through the West End a couple of times last night. "Deceptively busy" is how I would describe it. People walking up and down, sitting, smoking and chatting outside but very few people actually inside the establishments
 
I agree it's up to the locals to decide what kind of tourist experience they want to offer, just it seems a lot of places are chasing after the same limited set of tourists (Well behaved, plenty money etc).

As a result the capacity of all these destinations will shrink, which is fine if same revenue for smaller numbers. So long as the money does filter down to the average local and not just spirited away by big business. 🤷‍♂️

Gentrification as its called can work, for a while at least. Did in my local town. More cheap and cheerful bars etc got gentrification to sit down bars etc.

But now quite a few of the units are empty as not enough people with disposable income to keep the number of establishments going.

Gentrification of San an can work but less units / capacity perhaps?

On the rowdy kids thing, I get how it can be a nightmare day in and out for locals, but people going on their only holiday, escaping from a crappy job/home situation are going to go a bit nuts. Even the more mature ones 😆

Time will tell how it all pans out. These things go in cycles. With cost of living crisis it will probably filter out the young who can't afford the very high hotel costs. (I've noticed prices are £500-1000 more for same hotels than in 2019😱)
 
W_I_C said:
I trawled through the West End a couple of times last night. "Deceptively busy" is how I would describe it. People walking up and down, sitting, smoking and chatting outside but very few people actually inside the establishments
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Interesting, and there are a few Tardis like bars down the West End, where they look tiny but can actually fit hundreds in
 
MrHullMysterious said:
I agree it's up to the locals to decide what kind of tourist experience they want to offer, just it seems a lot of places are chasing after the same limited set of tourists (Well behaved, plenty money etc).

As a result the capacity of all these destinations will shrink, which is fine if same revenue for smaller numbers. So long as the money does filter down to the average local and not just spirited away by big business. 🤷‍♂️

Gentrification as its called can work, for a while at least. Did in my local town. More cheap and cheerful bars etc got gentrification to sit down bars etc.

But now quite a few of the units are empty as not enough people with disposable income to keep the number of establishments going.

Gentrification of San an can work but less units / capacity perhaps?

On the rowdy kids thing, I get how it can be a nightmare day in and out for locals, but people going on their only holiday, escaping from a crappy job/home situation are going to go a bit nuts. Even the more mature ones 😆

Time will tell how it all pans out. These things go in cycles. With cost of living crisis it will probably filter out the young who can't afford the very high hotel costs. (I've noticed prices are £500-1000 more for same hotels than in 2019😱)
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Agree, potentially too many resorts all chasing the same mythical upmarket, high spending tourists.

San An's USP's are the sunset, it's clubs (IbizaRocks/Eden/EsParadis/OBeach) and being a cheap night out.

It's buildings aren't particularly nice, the beach is manmade and not something you'd go out your way to travel to (Cala Gracio is nice though) if you were going for a nice classy holiday for wine and tapas there are nicer places in the Med, even on Ibiza there's better options in the North.
 
Digital2013 said:
Agree, potentially too many resorts all chasing the same mythical upmarket, high spending tourists.

San An's USP's are the sunset, it's clubs (IbizaRocks/Eden/EsParadis/OBeach) and being a cheap night out.

It's buildings aren't particularly nice, the beach is manmade and not something you'd go out your way to travel to (Cala Gracio is nice though) if you were going for a nice classy holiday for wine and tapas there are nicer places in the Med, even on Ibiza there's better options in the North.
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Yup. My parents just back from menorca and it seems the up market route is what a lot are going for there. Guess same on majorca too.
 
Also as a side thought regarding west end and debauchery type stuff, it's about intensity of experience.

A quiet civilised few drinks at a sit down bar/restaurant is nice for sure.

But a mad night out where get trashed, meet random strangers who become new best friends is going to be more intense, especially for the younger ones. That probably ends up ingrained in their memories and binds a fondness for the island long term.🤷‍♂️

Ibiza will always have tourists, but don't eradicate the USP that gets people hooked to it. Otherwise it will end up just another sunny hol destination competing with all the other ones.

But I do sympathise with anyone having to live with it all summer for sure. It's not for me to decide.
 
i don’t think most in ibiza are anti tourists having a good time. It’s just the lairyness and colonial pack mentality that puts backs up. The sheer rudeness i’ve seen firsthand. also i’ve noticed that the whole working v middle class divide is less obvious in Spain. Everybody from all backgrounds likes late dinners and people generally can hold their drink. Whilst botellones (street piss ups) are a growing issue, there isn’t that underlying powderkeg for trouble at any minute. most kids are more into chilling to a spliff than getting battered. This is what a lot of tourists don’t get. it’s a v different society.
 
Tourist said:
i don’t think most in ibiza are anti tourists having a good time. It’s just the lairyness and colonial pack mentality that puts backs up. The sheer rudeness i’ve seen firsthand. also i’ve noticed that the whole working v middle class divide is less obvious in Spain. Everybody from all backgrounds likes late dinners and people generally can hold their drink. Whilst botellones (street piss ups) are a growing issue, there isn’t that underlying powderkeg for trouble at any minute. most kids are more into chilling to a spliff than getting battered. This is what a lot of tourists don’t get. it’s a v different society.
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Yeah you can see that diff in UK vs med.

Perhaps it's crap weather and generally being trapped in doors that make some of the UK lot lose their minds when get outside in some 🌞 lol.
 
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