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Summer 2007 was a season of change for Ibiza. The entrenched conservative government lost power in May to the Socialist party, which wasted no time in making its presence felt with closure orders for Amnesia, DC10 and Bora-Bora. Though all the clubs eventually got back on track and the peak season numbers were strong there was an undercurrent of tension. Discontent reigned. Reports of police aggression against individuals were coupled with the public trials faced by everyone from Ibiza Rocks (who had one of their nights shut down) to swanky nightspot El Ayoun which battled licensing difficulties.

The new PSOE government's open hostility to clubbers and club culture has continued post-season with the passage of a new law banning after-hours clubs and promises to continue cracking down on private parties. While none of this has exactly come as a surprise it is still deeply distressing. You hear the same sentiment expressed by the big-time promoters who pump millions of Euros into the economy each summer, the party kids who save up all year for a few precious days in the sun, the camareros who serve beers to tourists all night then hook up with their friends to dance the morning away: without the parties, Ibiza as we know it would cease to exist. Not only in an economic sense (though no one has adequately explained how Ibiza will make up the massive income loss should the government actually succeed in alienating the party people) but at a fundamental, almost spiritual level. Since ancient times Ibiza has been a place of dancing and celebration, a welcoming enclave for anyone who came in peace.

The Voice believes passionately that to drive away the dancers, the free spirits, the lovers, the partiers, would be to scrub out something fundamental to Ibicenco life and history. Accordingly, we spent the summer tracking the government's reactionary behaviour and standing up for the rights and freedoms of party people. However, there are problems that need solutions: noise complaints, environmental pollution, water shortages, road safety… problems all thrown into sharp relief at the height of the season.

So far it seems everyone - especially the politicians - has simply looked at ways of re-jigging the pieces of the summer puzzle. But perhaps the answer lies in the other eight months of the year; Ibiza's fallow winter season. You may be thinking, who would come to Ibiza in winter? It's too cold to sunbathe, half of everything is shut, the only big-name club open is Pacha and, well, you can't bloody get here anyway.

All of this is (partly) true. What people who have never been to Ibiza in winter don't know is there is a gracious side to island life you only see in the off-season. There is a real sense of community, people are friendlier, the beaches are clean and peaceful, the best restaurants (i.e., the ones the locals frequent) are still open and service is relaxed and welcoming. And if you don't like Pacha, well, there's Underground, Grial, Guarana, Blu… plenty of pockets of nocturnal activity. Yes, flying to Ibiza in winter is a pain, involving long, tedious stopovers, but surely that's a problem that could be addressed?

The benefits of opening, even marginally, the doors to Ibiza in winter seem obvious. As well as allowing visitors to sample real Ibicenco life winter tourism would help even out the island's economic cycle, reducing the mad pressure to make a year's income in just four months. The knock-on effects of that include everything from stabilising employment patterns to reducing crime to potentially increasing tax revenues. But would DJs stay and work? Do the locals prefer their enforced holiday? Would increased winter tourism take the shine off the summer season?

In part two of this special feature Ibiza-Voice further explores pros and cons of winter tourism in Ibiza, with input from a local businesses, promoters, DJs and residents.

Stay tuned as the discussion continues…