The Balearic Islands has committed to allocate 60 million of European funds to the tourism sector to carry out the transformation reflected in the new tourism law, to which representatives of the hotel sector have committed themselves. This law, passed last year, aims to raise awareness of the importance of being a fully sustainable and circular destination, as well as the transition to a new tourism model.
The Minister of Economic Model, Tourism and Employment, Iago Negueruela, made the announcement at the closing ceremony of the round table “Balearic Islands leads the transition to the tourism of the future”, in which he explained that there are more than 34 million in place in calls for proposals already launched. The aim is that “the Balearic Islands can be a benchmark in sustainability”, he emphasised. For her part, the President of the Government, Francina Armengol, acknowledged that the Balearic Islands has “significant support from 245 million European funds for tourism infrastructure and investment”.
The CEO and executive vice-president of Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer, the CEO of Garden Hotels, Gabriel Llobera, the vice-president and CEO of Iberostar, Sabina Fluxà and the marketing director of Six Senses Ibiza, Marisa Martín, shared their experiences in applying the regulations during the round table and emphasised the “fundamental role” of the new regulations in the transformation proposed by the law.
Good forecasts for the summer season
On the opening day of the international tourism fair FITUR, the President of the Government took stock of the domestic market, which is 13% above the records for 2019, with an expected 3.17 million domestic visitors in 2022. This national tourist spends more than before the pandemic (646.7 euros, compared to 596 euros in 2019). In the coming days, several meetings are planned with airlines such as Iberia Express, Air Europa and Ryanair to boost the domestic market.
According to Armengol, the forecast for the next tourist season is good. Also for the workers, thanks to the existing pre-agreement in the hospitality sector, which provides for an 8.5% increase in wages over two years and an accumulated increase of 25% since 2017.
For her part, the president of the Popular Party in the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, admitted that “the forecasts are good, but the Government has to get to work to be prepared as a destination and avoid the feeling of saturation this summer”. In this sense, she added, “public transport, infrastructures and the hydraulic network must be well planned, inspection activity must be planned in the face of illegal supply and intrusion, and there must be a plan for managing human flows – with information for visitors and taking advantage of new technologies – to avoid the negative externalities that we experienced last summer”.
The primary sector calls for a greater role
Farmers, stockbreeders and fishermen have claimed the “fundamental role” of their activity in the tourism sector. The participants in the round table “Balearic Islands: Boosting the primary sector and local produce” stressed the need to increase the consumption of local produce and to make it more ecological, with the dual aim of helping to combat climate change and enabling people to make a decent living from this work.
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