BRITS FEEL THE BOOZE PRICE STRAIN IN SPAIN
Sunseekers put off by soaring cost of drinks
SINKING drinks in sunny Spain has become a whole lot more expensive for thirsty Brits.
A doubling of prices in bars and cafés means once-cheap resorts such as Magaluf in Majorca are now beyond some tourists’ budgets.
Bobby and Marie McQueen, from Glasgow, returned to the hotspot for the first time since Covid. They said: “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. Plus the measures are a lot less.
“They used to fill the glass up threequarters with the gin, now it’s less than half.“
Magaluf regular
Veronica Horwood,
62, from Bristol, was with pal Diane to get some sun.
She said: “Places like the Piano Bar, which we love, are definitely more expensive than this time last year.
“Even just by a euro for a G&T – but it all adds up. I’ve been coming to Magaluf for 20 years. Only four years ago it would have been just €5 for a G&T. I think after Covid they hiked the prices everywhere you go.
“But it’s a great bar and you can dance, so you are getting something for that drink.”
Tourists can now expect to pay up to €10 for popular cocktails such as a Mojito or a Sex on the Beach, and up to €5 for a pint of lager.
Although one beachfront café owner said there were pint price wars between neighbouring bars.
Our reporter found the price of a large glass of sauvignon blanc varied from €4.75 to €12. Customer loyalty has kept Scottish bar and restaurant Sinky’s open for 40 years. But owner Cathy Sinclair, 69, said it has been hard: “Every penny counts and you’re not taking what you did years ago.
“People are not drinking as much. Businesses are struggling badly here. The cost of living here has gone up a lot.”
She said, for example, cans of gas for the beer taps which were €36 before Covid are now €74.
In Spain, employers pay staff ’s National Insurance contributions which costs Cathy about €700 a year for a full-time worker.
She said: “That’s a big expense and tourists don’t understand that we have that.”
‘‘
The cost of living has risen. People are drinking less now