This article was originally written and published in The Courier in August 2014 and caused quite a bit of the proverbial to hit the fan. Looking back almost 18 months and the incredible tourism figures for Spain since, I think my comments at the time were more than justified! My favourite response from someone to my article was from a lady living somewhere in my local area who said: "If you don't like live music, why the hell did you come to live in Spain?" I didn't bother wasting my time replying to her......
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Forget
Ebola that might threaten millions of lives across the world! Believe some of the local press and the
social networking media and there is an even bigger and more serious epidemic
about to engulf Spain. Local areas
previously full of people now dead or dying, businesses closing, Ghost Towns
are the norm, no more Tourists and the Spanish economy finished.....dead,
resulting in cars being replaced by donkeys and carts! What is this epidemic? No more sunshine? No more beaches? No more Spanish culture? These would be major problems for Spain.
No,
no, no! If you sit down and analyse the
following statement; and I mean really
analyse it, can anyone take it with anything other than a pinch of
azafran? And the statement is this
which is the gist of much that is being said and written:
“Thousands of people will stop coming to
visit Spain and many already living here will sell up and leave because bars
are not allowed to have live music!” Seriously?
Really?
Let’s
cast our minds back to when you went to the local travel agent in the 1970s, ‘80s
and ‘90s and decided to book that fortnight in Spain. Be completely honest. Why did you book to come to the Costa
Blanca, Brava, Del Sol or, according to “Are You Being Served”, the Costa
Plonka (and oh how relevant that’s become recently!)? 15 days by a swimming pool fighting with
German towels, frying on a beach with Factor 1 lotion, cheap wine and food, and
a hotel that matched the artists impression.
And how many wanted to come back to the UK and be photographed at
Gatwick wearing your 50 gallon sombrero holding a donkey? That’s why you went to Spain. Did it really have anything to do with live
entertainment of any description? It
might’ve had something to do with late night discos and early morning clubbing
for many which you couldn’t do in the home country; but these clubs are still
going strong and attracting their thousands.
Cast your mind back a few weeks to those scenes in Magaluf with hundreds
of youths in the streets on drinking sprees spending thousands of Euros,
helping the local economy. Can’t
imagine them sat down around a table or stood up in a small bar in a group
listening to a live act. (They prefer
taking part in and watching other types of acts!). Booze, plenty of it, and loud thumping music
is all they’re interested in, and that’s why they’ll return year after year
until replaced by the next generation of teenage revellers!
The
Club 18 to 30 holidays weren’t sold on the basis that the highlight of the trip
would be going to a local bar to listen to a tribute act, a rock group, take
part in a karaoke or yes....even a quiz night!
They were sold on the cheap featuring a combination of Sun, Sea, Sangria
and Sex and coming home with whiter skin than you arrived with. Families with 2 point 4 children stayed at
Hotels, spent their days around the pool, on the beaches or taking organised
day trips with inedible packed lunches, discovering the local sites and
attractions. The evenings were spent in
the hotel bars with local Spanish entertainment...and in the absence of that
entertainment, made your own by meeting people and enjoying each other’s
company. Thankfully, all this still
happens and will continue to happen.
I’ve
spent 25 years living in Spain and I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I’ve
not met anyone during that time that came to this country to live or to visit
ONLY because there was live music to be enjoyed. It wasn’t even mentioned as part of the
reason they came here. The reasons were
(and still are) the proverbial “4 S’s” mentioned above (that’s the tourists –
not the members of the bowls clubs), to get away from the UK, to retire to the
sun whatever age they were, to start a new life and, in the case of many – and
this is where many of the problems started for a significant number – to start
their own business. Not once did anyone
say it was to be able to listen to live music in their local bar. In fact, I doubt if it entered anyone’s head.
If
you fancied a good night out with some equally good entertainment, you went to
Benidorm. It was a novelty and probably
went there a handful of times during the year...but interestingly it wasn’t essentially
for the live music. Prior to the other “epidemic”
of tribute acts, you went there to watch some genuine entertainers, comedians,
“novelty acts” (you know who I mean....!) and singers with backing tracks or
the resident pianist or drummer. But
this great entertainment was held in purpose-built entertainment clubs and
venues capable of holding a significant number of people. These were not small family run bars that originally
set up to provide breakfasts, lunches and dinners who doubled up as an
entertainment venue in the evening that could just about hold a small coach
party. Cafes, bars and restaurants were,
and still are just that. There was no
pretence (and it’s still the case in Benidorm) that they should be the next
Jongleurs, 02 Arena or The London Palladium!
I
can remember with great affection visiting Benidorm now and then in my early
years in Spain and it was always busy, thriving and full of visitors 12 months
of the year. The night-life was equally
thriving and there was invariably standing room only in those previously
mentioned entertainment clubs such as “Steptoe’s”, “Talk Of The Coast” etc
etc. Fast forward to last September and
those same clubs...still open for business and still allowed their live
entertainment...had a handful of punters or one man and his dog watching. Unheard of only a handful of years ago. Why?
More and more of these showbars have opened and taken custom away from
others and whilst there’s been an expansion in the number of places opening,
there hasn’t been an equivalent increase in tourism to match. The increase in “all inclusive” hotels has
also had a significant impact in the area, but at the end of the day, it’s simple
and basic economics. Too many clubs and
not enough customers. It’s a penalty
that is paid for giving people more choice.
Businesses will inevitably fail.
It’s a sad fact of life. And it’s
the same reasons that are behind much of business failures and the background
to this current argument and debate 80 kms down the Costa Blanca.
Recently
issued Padron figures for the Costa Blanca show that many places are thousands
of people down. Some will have you
believe that this is entirely due to no live music being allowed in bars. Yes, it’s true. Those that promote that spin obviously
forget that death, ill-health, missing grandchildren, changes in personal
financial situations, unfavourable (but improving) exchange rates, poor
interest rates for savers, the worse economic downturn for a couple of
generations....and the fear of not registering on the Padron (or not knowing
about it) thinking the tax authorities are going to take action, are the
principal factors for people leaving the area or not registering.
The
vast swathes of empty or closed business units in the area are not caused by
the problems associated with live music either.
There are almost 300 empty units near to Urb Marina just off the N332
and have been empty for 8 or 9 years.
There’s an empty shell of an unfinished commercial unit near to Lidl and
there’s the famous yellow and green strip of units close to the Consum Square
that are 90% empty. Banks have closed on La Marina, shops of all
kinds have closed on La Marina and yes, bars and restaurants too....and many of
those that are open are struggling. But
it’s not due to live music issues. It’s
due to a combination of the economic downturn and, I believe, a complete and
utterly ridiculous naivety and business acumen – not just on La Marina but
along the Costa Blanca. The acumen of
“you’ve got a successful business so I’m going to open a similar one close to
you and be just as successful” only
works if you’ve done your homework and your market research. It has most certainly been the case in La
Marina – and I can imagine elsewhere too – that the “too many venues and not
enough people to go around” scenario is a principal cause of many problems in
the area.
The
tourists will always come to Spain (and, to remind some, there are other
nationalities – not just British) in their millions as long as those “4 S’s”
are in abundance. A few people who may say
that they won’t come here again because the odd handful of bars that can’t get
on with each other and can’t come to any compromise with their local residents,
that might not be allowed to have their twice weekly dose of someone purporting
to be Michael Buble or Kylie Minogue due to the police doing their job, will NOT
leave the Spanish Tourist Board or Ryanair losing much sleep!
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