Jaume Bauzà: "FITUR is one of the best showcases for the Balearic Islands".
"FITUR is one of the best showcases for the Balearic Islands and the ideal place to present our projects", according to its Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Jaume Bauzà Mayol, who also explains that this community has focused its tourism strategy on deseasonalisation. Although ‘sun and sand’ continues to be its star product, the Government believes it is necessary to prioritise tourism that is compatible with any time of the year and is associated with cultural and sporting activities.
What tourism promotion strategy are you carrying out in the Balearic Islands?
The inland villages, the cultural and sporting events, the gastronomy, the festivities and the historical heritage of the Balearic Islands offer lots of hidden gems that have yet to be discovered by most of our visitors.
What role does sustainable and responsible tourism play in this new model?
This is the kind of tourism we want for our islands. The current model has reached its height and it is time to change direction. Fortunately, this perception is shared by both civil society and the tourism sector. It is obvious that we must stop, reflect and look for a new formula that will lead us towards a more sustainable and responsible tourism at all levels.
The Government of the Balearic Islands has also decided to redefine the purpose of the Sustainable Tourism Tax, which from now on will be allocated to projects aimed at five areas: sustainability, circularity and energy efficiency; the water cycle; improving the destination; training; and sports and cultural projects as a formula for deseasonalising tourism.
What other goals have you set for the sector in the coming years?
Our main objective is the transformation of the tourism model. And to tackle this, our president, Marga Prohens, has launched a pioneering measure in Spain: the round table for the social and political pact for the sustainability of the Balearic Islands.
This is an open and participative space in which the citizens of the Balearic Islands, as well as the associative and business network, will be able to contribute data and ideas to shape the new tourism model of the Balearic Islands. A model that will be based on sustainability, balance and plurality. We are currently in a phase of data gathering, which will then be transferred to various working groups that will produce the proposals on which this new model will be based.
How does your participation in FITUR each year contribute to boosting tourism in the Balearic Islands?
Without a doubt, FITUR is one of the best showcases for the Balearic Islands. It is the ideal place to present our projects and to present our destination in a different way, focusing on culture, heritage, gastronomy and leisure. Because the Balearic Islands are a destination that can be heard, smelled, tasted and enjoyed all year round with an endless number of activities for all kinds of audiences.