The Trasmed shipping company’s proposal to allow its passengers to spend the night on the ferry has been authorised by the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB), as it is something «regulated by law».
«It is a request for a stopover with an overnight stay by Trasmed, which has been authorised with the usual conditions of port services such as timetables and passenger services», told the Autoridad Portuaria to this newspaper.
The Consell de Ibiza, for its part, clarified that it can do nothing to prevent this activity since it is the APB who must approve it.
The shipping company’s proposal is simple: the ship leaves Valencia on Friday nights and returns on Sunday at midday. On Friday and Saturday nights, customers will sleep in the ship’s cabins, which will be anchored in the port, which will mean significant savings on the price of accommodation for its customers. The «TrasmedWeekend», initiative will be launched on June 27th until the end of September.
Reactions
The news has generated enormous rejection among Ibizan society. The Consell de Ibiza considered «unacceptable the news known this week that a shipping company has decided to go beyond its activity and act as an undercover hotel in the port of Ibiza». The shipping company, according to the institution, is acting «at a time of great social sensitivity to the externalities generated by unregulated tourism, and at a time when the local, island and regional administrations are aligned in achieving the containment of the number of tourist places».
On the other hand, the hoteliers have rejected this proposal. The Hotel Federation of the Pitiusas recognised that the proposal is an innovative business initiative, although it will contribute to the saturation of the island during the weekends and also will not generate business in the companies of Ibiza. Therefore, the employers association rejected the initiative, also questioning «whether the ports are prepared for people to spend the night on the boats and to be able to get on and off them normally».
On Wednesday, the socialist party in Ibiza said that this initiative is the sole responsibility of the president of the Consell, Vicent Marí, and the PP. This is because the president of the APB is an elected party position, and the island vice-president, Mariano Juan, is a member of the Port Authority’s Board of Directors.