Since the pandemic began and tourism was paralyzed practically all over the world, there have been many destinations that have been working all this time to be ready when the time comes to receive travelers again.
This is the case, precisely, of the Balearic Islands, since the Ministry of Economic Model, Tourism and Labor of the Government of this Autonomous Community has been working on recovering the image of the region as a safe tourist destination in the de-escalation, and continues to work for the reactivation of tourism during the so-called new normality in which we find ourselves.
To achieve this, the Balearic Islands Tourism Pilot Plan was promoted, an example of public-private collaboration that allowed the archipelago to become the first tourist destination in Spain that received foreign visitors on June 15 in a safe way for residents, workers and their own tourists.
Cathedral of Palma de Majorca. istock
This plan, which ended on June 22, had a total of 14 flights operated -13 of them to Mallorca and 1 to Ibiza- and around 2,000 passengers. The arrival of the flights was staggered with the aim of making it easier for the authorities to control and monitor travelers and to preserve, at all times, the safety of all the people involved in these journeys.
As stated by the Balearic Government, thanks to this test, the Islands had the opportunity to demonstrate that they are a safe, quality and rigorous destination, and it was a recognition of the work carried out by the Government in conjunction with the private sector, the trade unions majority and the rest of the local institutions to recover tourist normality and promote an initiative of this type.
The Pilot Plan for the islands had a great impact on the UK and German markets
Likewise, it is worth highlighting the positive balance made by this executive of the plan, with an advertising economic impact of more than 35 million euros in Germany and the United Kingdom, and a total repercussion of more than 58 million people. Precisely, these are the two most important markets for the tourist industry of the Balearic Islands. In fact, in 2019, the number of tourists from Germany exceeded 4.5 million for the fourth consecutive year.
From the Ministry they insist that, thanks to this plan, the Balearic Islands managed to show themselves to the world as a safe destination and the image of all the islands benefited worldwide from this promotion.
The King and Queen of Spain have also put their grain of sand in this task of promoting the archipelago, as they chose the island of Mallorca as the second visit of their recent tour of Spain. In fact, they thanked the first tourists they met on Palma beach and welcomed them to Spain.
This, specifically, is one of the areas of Palma hardest hit by the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic caused by covid-19, since of the 47,900 hotel beds in the city, 73% are in this area, that is seeing how little by little the demand is increasing.
Aerial view of Es Vedrá from the old tower of des Savina in Ibiza. istock
According to the Hotel Association of Playa de Palma, during May and June only 11 hotel establishments opened, while it is estimated that 47% of the total will be open in July. Throughout the island, the forecast -according to the Hotel Business Federation of Mallorca and the Association of Hotel Chains (ACH)- is that by the end of July some 500 hotels may open their doors depending on the demand registered by the market British.
Reinforcement of measures
Other measures that make the Balearic Islands a destination prepared for the arrival of tourists is the preparation of occupational health guides by the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with IBASSAL, Salut and the AETIB, to guarantee the safety of visitors and workers.
Another initiative has been the launch of campaigns to revalue the tourism product of the Balearic Islands and the strategic tourism segments (SET).
For its part, in legislative matters, and as it is extracted from the Balearic government’s web portal, it is planned to draw up a plan to boost private investment for the modernization of the tourism industry, and promote family tourism to the detriment of excess tourism. In relation to this issue, protection measures and inspection operations have been reinforced in strategic areas and, recently, leisure areas have been closed to avoid crowds and contagion.
Finally, the air and maritime connectivity of the Balearic Islands will be enhanced with marketing campaigns to recover lost routes and encourage new operations after covid-19.
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