- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
- Huge protests in Argentina over public university cuts
- Rally in oil prices loses steam on mixed day for global stocks
- South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- Biden official says port strike deal not as far as parties think
- Mexico's new president offers apology for 1968 student massacre
- Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion
- Mixed US car sales in Q3 as industry hopes for post-election bounce
- Thunderstorms are a 'boiling pot' of gamma rays, scientists find
- Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- Facing backlash, EU moves to delay deforestation rules
- US private sector adds more jobs than expected in September: ADP
- Boys out of critical condition after Zurich stabbings
- Spain logs record summer tourism as inflow draws protests
- Hedi Slimane quits as Celine's artistic director
- Oil prices extend rally on Iran attack
- Spain welcomed record number of tourists this summer
- France says coming tax hikes on the wealthy to be 'temporary'
- Why are Thailand's roads so deadly?
- Oracle to invest $6.5 bn in Malaysian cloud services region
- Parkrun marks 20 years of a free weekly jog, run... or walk
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong soars again
- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
CMSD | -0.04% | 24.93 | $ | |
BCC | -1.33% | 139.53 | $ | |
NGG | -1.85% | 68.78 | $ | |
SCS | -2.56% | 12.87 | $ | |
BCE | -1.13% | 34.44 | $ | |
RIO | -0.48% | 70.82 | $ | |
GSK | -2.15% | 39.45 | $ | |
BTI | -1.33% | 35.97 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.78 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 32.37 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 59.99 | $ | |
JRI | -1.12% | 13.38 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.14% | 6.91 | $ | |
RELX | -0.11% | 47.29 | $ | |
AZN | 1.14% | 79.58 | $ | |
VOD | -2.16% | 9.74 | $ |
'Like Covid never happened': Ibiza's nightclubs reopen
A crowd dances to the pulsing beat of electronic music, hands in the air, at the Pacha nightclub near the main marina on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza.
On this warm June night, the pandemic is a distant memory.
"It is like Covid never happened inside here," said Michelle, a 31-year-old British healthcare worker at the entrance to the club, which is packed with 3,500 people.
After being closed for two years because of Covid-19, the Mediterranean island's famous mega-clubs have reopened their doors, drawing throngs of partygoers.
"It has exceeded our expectations," said Paloma Tur, the spokeswoman for Grupo Pacha which runs the hulking white nightclub that includes a rooftop terrace and garden.
"We still can't say for certain that the numbers will be better than 2019, but everything indicates yes."
As in many other venues, almost all of the famous nightclub's 150 staff received help from a government furlough scheme during the pandemic when Pacha was shut.
Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for 84 percent of Ibiza's gross domestic product, for which clubbing is a major draw. The health crisis was "a real disaster", said Juan Miguel Costa of the island's tourism board.
The pandemic affected all sectors but the leisure sector -- which employs over 3,000 people directly and indirectly -- was the last to fully open up after virus restrictions were lifted.
- Mass tourism complaints -
Roberto de Lope, the director general of nightclub operator Ushuaia Entertainment, said it was a "relief" to finally open their club on the island on April 30 and start selling drinks.
"But we are still affected, with a lot of loans that we must pay back," he added.
On the southeast coast of the island, one of the group's clubs Hi Ibiza, which can hold 5,700 people, was preparing to open at midnight.
But the party was already in full swing across the street at its other venue, Ushuaia.
As the sun set over the Mediterranean, more than 7,000 tanned partygoers danced around the swimming pools of this outdoor club, which last year was only allowed to open its doors for a few days and with a reduced capacity.
Scotland's Calvin Harris, one of the world's top earning DJs, was performing that night.
Tickets at the door cost 90 euros ($95), and cocktails sold for around 20 euros.
But while the mega-clubs draw deep-pocketed tourists from around the globe, many Ibiza residents argue the island does not need to rely on hard partying to draw visitors.
They point out that Ibiza and the neighbouring island of Formentera drew 1.9 million tourists in 2021, a little more than half pre-pandemic numbers, even though most nightclubs were shut.
"I think Ibiza has realised that we don't just live off parties," said Jaume Ribas, the spokesman of an association called "Prou", or "enough" in Catalan, which has for years lobbied against mass tourism on the island.
- 'Feel free' -
Blessed with scores of stunning coves and beaches, Ibiza is home to just 152,000 people but its population swells to up to 450,000 during the peak summer holidays.
The influx causes traffic problems and has been blamed for a rise in crime related to the drug trade as well as a shortage of housing for locals.
"The problems have accelerated this year," said Ribas.
The regional government of the Balearic Islands, of which Ibiza is part, said it is working to strike a balance between tourism and sustainability.
"Ibiza's tourism model is evolving," said Costa of the island's tourism board, citing efforts to close illegal rentals on homesharing sites like Airbnb and shut illegal raves.
"Obviously leisure is an essential product for us, we are a world-renowned brand thanks to electronic music," Costa added.
"But it is not the case anymore that the tourism season started when the nightclubs opened and ended then they closed."
Ibiza's association with partying remains strong, however, especially as global tourism bounces back.
Sara Borrego, 32, came to Ibiza from Cadiz in southern Spain with a group of friends to celebrate her upcoming wedding, which was postponed due to the pandemic.
Dressed in white and wearing a crown that said "bride", she did not stop dancing amid the crowd at Ushuaia.
"There are no more restrictions, we don't have to wear a mask, we feel free," she said with a huge smile.
Ch.Lefebvre--CPN