Oh no, here we go again; the headline-grabber of tourism spend being up and likely to reach record levels. Why does this garbage refuse to be ignored? It's difficult to do so, if the statistics office and tourism ministry insist upon shoving it down people's throats.
The facts, such as they are, are these. Tourism spend in the Balearics during April was up by 35%. For the first four months, it rose by 7%.
If you weren't paying attention before, let me remind you how this spend statistic is arrived at. The process of information gathering is by questionnaire; some 100,000 interviews at airports, ports and border crossings across Spain being conducted annually. Just think about this for a moment, and how thinly spread the exercise is.
Of the information that is gathered, only two of its five categories actually relate to spend on things other than accommodation, transport and the tourism package. There is, for example, no specific provision for spend in shops; just for restaurants and excursions. On-the-ground spend is limited, therefore, to 40% of the overall statistic (transport can include local spend, but equally it means spend on flights).
The good-news story of the increased spend is not all it seems anyway. An average spend per tourist of 866 euros is still some way lower than what used to be a more regular figure that was quoted, of plus-900. And, as ever, there is a huge discrepancy between what the statistics suggest and the reality.
Various bodies, those representing restaurants and other sectors of the so-called complementary offer, have been quick to point out that this spend is not translating into tills rolling over. Well, it wouldn't, if much of it is skewed towards things other than the complementary offer.
One has to be careful where the statistics that these bodies produce are concerned as well. When they say that some establishments are suffering 50% falls in revenue, this doesn't mean that all establishments are (5% appears to be an average). Nevertheless, there has been evidence to suggest that genuine and quite dramatic declines in revenue have been experienced.
The shops are probably the worst-affected sector of the lot, especially the souvenir shops. Yes, there are too many of them, just as there are too many bars and restaurants, but time was when over-supply didn't really matter. It isn't only the shops flogging siurells and what have you, but also those selling "different" stuff. One shopowner I know well was suffering an 80% loss at stages of last season, and he is not someone inclined to lapsing into BS.
The blame is, of course, directed at all-inclusives. The restaurant and other bodies have called for a debate within Balearic society to be opened to consider the increase in all-inclusives and the effect they have.
What on earth have they been doing for the past ten years? The trend was clear ages ago, and what precisely would this debate achieve, other than to reiterate everything that has been said about all-inclusives, time and time again? The organisations recognise the power of the tour operators, but still they want a debate. Well, let them. It won't do much good.
The other great power in the tourism game, the hotels, defending themselves of course, say it is better to have tourists rather than lose them altogether. Which is fair enough, but they are also complaining that tourists aren't spending money. And why would that be, do you think?
One of the elements of the tourism spend statistic should be looked at especially closely - the tourism package. This doesn't exclusively mean all-inclusives, but how much are they a factor in this part of the spend (and others) and how much is the on-arrival upgrade to all-inclusive a factor?
To get a handle on spend by all-inclusive tourists, you need to refer back to the research TUI have done in Turkey, the research which revealed that, behind the tour operator's assertion as to the benefits of all-inclusives, a mere 11% of spend found its way into the local community.
For the tourism spend statistics to ever be more than irrelevant, they need to be more precise and focused, but logistics as well as political expediency will mean that they won't be. It is the headline of 35% up that is all you are meant to know, not what the figures really represent.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for May 2011
Alcúdia: potential coalition - 27 May 2011
All-inclusives, tourism spend and - 31 May 2011
All-inclusives, TUI and - 15 May 2011
Architecture, bad - 3 May 2011
Beach management - 18 May 2011
Can Picafort and mayoral election - 14 May 2011
Corruption as an electoral argument - 2 May 2011
Crossing the road - 11 May 2011
Cultural tourism: lessons from Greece - 10 May 2011
Day of reflection and protests - 21 May 2011
Election day in Muro - 22 May 2011, 23 May 2011
Elections, the new regime and the - 24 May 2011
Estación náutica and Spanish market promotion - 12 May 2011
Expatriates and local elections - 19 May 2011
Hoteliers' federation and tourism politics - 16 May 2011
Hotels that forget their markets - 29 May 2011
Inca market - 20 May 2011
Ironman 70.3 triathlon, Alcúdia - 5 May 2011
La Gola, dead fish in - 26 May 2011
Mallorca Rocks, threat to - 25 May 2011
Market research, tourist - 30 May 2011
Muro and mayoral election - 1 May 2011
North-south divide in Mallorca - 17 May 2011
Osborne bull - 4 May 2011
Partido Popular: what it really is - 28 May 2011
Pollensa's mayoral candidates - 8 May 2011
Posters, election - 9 May 2011
Spanish pensioners - 25 May 2011
Tourism orthodoxy - 6 May 2011
Tourism spend and all-inclusives - 31 May 2011
Tourist supermarkets - 7 May 2011
Webcams - 13 May 2011
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