EVER since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Spaniards have been complaining about a serious cost-of-living hike in their day-to-day lives. But British tourists are also noticing a rise in prices, particularly when it comes to buying their favourite alcoholic drinks.
Once-affordable resorts such as Magaluf in Mallorca are increasingly too expensive for visitors from the UK, according to a report in the Daily Mirror.
“We won’t be back. It’s the last time we’re paying €10 for a gin and tonic and €12 for a large white wine,” complained Bobby and Marie McQueen from Glasgow, who were visiting the tourist favourite for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill back in early 2020.
“Plus the measures are a lot less. They used to fill the glass up three quarters with the gin, now it’s less than half,” they added.
Mojitos and other cocktails such as a Sex on the Beach now cost up to €10, according to the Daily Mirror, while a pint of lager is around €5. The newspaper’s reporter found that a glass of Sauvignon Blanc could cost anywhere between €4.75 and €12 in the resort.
The owner of Scottish bar and restaurant Sinky’s, Cathy Sinclair, also complained about the finances of doing business on the Balearic island.
“Every penny counts and you’re not taking what you did years ago,” Sinclair, 69, told the paper. “People are not drinking as much. Businesses are struggling badly here. The cost of living here has gone up a lot.”
Among the costs she cited were the gas canisters for the beer taps, which originally cost €36 before the pandemic but now run as high as €74, as well as Social Security contributions for her staff, which cost around €700 a year for a full-time employee.
“That’s a big expense and tourists don’t understand that we have that,” she told the Mirror.
