UK tourists warned over big change at Majorca bars and restaurants
UK tourists have been warned over a big change to restaurants and bars in Majorca. Customer self-payment is coming to the Balearic Island's restaurants, a European Union island news outlet, the Majorca Daily Bulletin, has reported.
The president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, Juanmi Ferrer, says that a lack of staff is forcing more and more bars and restaurants in the island to implement a customer self-payment system. "It is the only solution to be able to stay open", he said.
He says that some businesses are introducing the option of paying from the table with a QR code. Ferrer explains that at 85 per cent of restaurants in Italy, especially the day-to-day ones, orders and payments are made at the till when customers arrive.
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"The owner of the establishment is usually at the cash register," he said. At Palma's Can Joan de s'Aigo, one of the most famous cafes in Majorca, manager Anselmo Cardona says payment at the till started during the Covid crisis and pandemic.
Ferrer believes that "automation is unstoppable", though he doesn't think it will signal the end of waiters and waitresses. "In the hospitality industry, human warmth will always be necessary," he told the island news site.
Responding to the story, one reader said: "Security at the door to stop those opportunists leaving with a free lunch For those who pay cash, not welcome. Strange plan." A second said: "And this before the working week is shortened by, give or take, 10%."
The warning on payments comes after it emerged up to 541 cruise liners carrying nearly two million people were expected to arrive on Majorca this year. A new forecast for this year forecasts an influx of tourists will come to the island on cruise ships via Palma - the island's main port city.
Around 50 vessels are expected to flock to the sunny island in 2025, according to a forecast by the Balearic Port Authority’s forecast.