#chiringuito

Chiringuito Café, Rizhao Beach, Shandong Province, China

Chiringuito de Cala Benibeca

📍 La Sirena.

Fotografía © jm7photo

Junio 2024.

Torre del Mar, Málaga.

A few days ago, I was surprised to read this news article. At this point we are all well aware of the effects of tourism and how things like AirBnB are destroying so many cities and islands in our country with gentrification and making everyday life impossible. But I was not expecting that foreign companies would even want to buy (for HUGE amounts of money that of course families from the island can’t afford!) the xibius beach stalls. Offering 173,000€ for a little wooden building that you have to assemble and disassemble every year is a monstrous amount.

This case is only one example of this trend, and it’s for sure not the one that affects the most people, like the housing crisis. But it’s a case where it becomes clear how big foreign companies can and will take everything away from working people and erase the local personality to turn everything homogenous and boring, as long as they’re allowed it.

I’ve translated the article to English:

..............................................................................

Foreign funds set eyes on Formetera’s xibius: their last year on the hands of families?

Foreign investment funds and capital have made big offers to get the allocation of the traditional wooden beach xiringuitos [beach kiosks] in Formentera, which until now were in the hands of families.

There’s controversy in Formentera with the traditional wooden beach xiringuitos, also known as xibius. This year’s concessions to manage them left out the families that have run them for decades and opened the door for foreign investment funds. In the end, however, the Consell Insular [Formentera’s local government] has confirmed to the old managers that they will be allowed to continue one summer more.

The kiosks are eight wood installations located in different beaches. Every year they are disassembled. This year, the Consell Insular organized a tender to award the contract of management and the hammock and umbrella service.

The tender initially left out the previous managers, because the offers from foreign companies and new interests were superior. For some of them, such as the one located in the terrace of cala Saona, they have offered 173,000€, [that is] 100,000€ more than the second highest bidder.

The kiosks’ situation has raised a great controversy in the island. The tender gathered 60 allegations. And a report from the University of the Balearic Islands was favourable to let the old managers keep the xibius this summer. All of this has stopped the process, for now.

Among the island’s historic kiosks there is Bartolito, which is the oldest one in the island managed by the same family. Piratabus is another one. Now they fear that a foreign investment and capital fund will take them and turn them in what they call “beach clubs”.

The process has been so long that the kiosks have not yet been assembled.

With the Consell Insular’s decision, the families renew the licence this year, but it’s unclear what will happen next year.