Billboard Buggins: Tourism minister interviewed

There was an interview with the Balearic Government's tourism minister in "The Bulletin" yesterday. Had you trawled through a few articles on the state of the islands' tourism over the past few months (years even), you could have supplied the answers. It's a miracle of space-filling that two whole pages can say precisely nothing that hasn't been said before, many times over in certain cases. The last person you probably want to be talking to about local tourism is the tourism minister, unless, that is, you want to hear the same old platitudes, side-stepping and pie-in-the-sky that form the ministerial guide to Mallorcan tourism. It's not really her fault. Joana Barceló got the gig under the principle of Buggins's turn and thanks to the permanently revolving door at the tourism ministry. All she has to go by is the manual. An opening question might have been - what qualifies her to be minister?

I'm not going to outline what she said, for the simple reason that you have heard it all before. Politicians are interesting only if you look to interview them into a corner, not to let them merely engage in repetition: tourism ministers would never survive a round on "Just A Minute". As such, therefore, the interview was revealing for what was not asked and answered. One question that seemed to have been missed was a direct one about what she was going to do about prices. It had after all been previously flagged up (2 April: The Last Supper). Maybe it was left out as we already knew the answer. Nothing. Because there is nothing she can do.

There were other questions that were missed. What incentives, or additional incentives, are to be offered to hotels to stay open in the off-season? Why would tour operators or airlines want to offer holidays or flights in the off-season? What evidence is there that cultural, historical etc. etc. tourism is anything other than a small holiday niche? Is it not all a bit of a myth? Why are there not major tourism attractions all year round? What will be the impact of Gran Scala near Zaragoza (the first phase of which will open on 23 April)?

She was asked about all-inclusives, but she was let off the hook. Minimum standards will be adhered to, she said, and then wandered off into gastronomy in the heartlands of the islands for some unknown reason. Where was the question about the impact of all-inclusives?

Where was the question about the constant attack on the holiday-let sector? Where was the question about the fact that the government, along with the unions and the hoteliers, had decided that the principal problems facing tourism were the lack of winter tourism and that holiday-let sector, when the principal problem is clearly the bread and butter of summer? Where was the question about spending money on a dubious celebrity campaign (Nadal) and for adverts to appear on obscure television channels at strange times? Where was the question about regulations facing bars and restaurants - terrace times, keeping doors closed, smoking? Where was the question about the impact of the IVA rise? Where was the question as to whether she has a clue what goes on at the tourism coalface?

Where, oh where? The problem is that a nice little chat ends up with nice little answers about not a lot and with what is a mix of vague statements about "re-thinking" tourism (as if this hasn't been spoken about previously) and sounding like a promotional brochure. The interview as billboard.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.