Private Information: Tourist offices

A few years ago a friend (Jake from the Giant Maze) and I came up with an idea for a separate and private tourist information office (in Puerto Alcúdia). Part of the concept would have been to heavily feature technology, for example video display screens, which would have formed a key means of generating revenue from major advertisers.

I am reminded of this idea, which came to nothing as it would have been too expensive and was potentially too risky, when seeing that Palma town hall is considering the privatisation of its tourist information offices.

Palma has set up its own tourism "foundation", in other words a group that comprises various businesses and organisations that will undertake the "365" promotion of the city. An annual budget of 3.6 million euros has been set aside (ten grand a day then). Despite this new source of finance, the town hall is addressing the cost of running its information offices, which would amount to half this budget.

Is privatisation of tourist offices a good idea? It happens elsewhere. For example, Berlin has a privatised tourist information company, in Cornwall they are looking at privatisation and in Adelaide, Australia, there is a privatisation process underway, but it is one that is requiring an independent inquiry to ensure there is no conflict of interest in the sale and that the sale has the correct controls.

Without knowing fully what the state attorney-general in South Australia is concerned about, the fact that he has raised a concern should be enough to induce wariness as to how privatisation might operate in Mallorca.

Palma has in mind that the offices should be able to generate revenue to meet part of their running cost (without being exact) and that to do so, they would cease to be as tourist offices currently are (in theory at any rate) - neutral in matters of promotion.

The tourist offices would, in effect, become like shops, able to sell tickets for various attractions and events which currently they do only occasionally. For example, the offices in Pollensa sell tickets for the music festival, but this is a specifically Pollensa cultural event, one to which the town hall contributes funds. Otherwise, and although tourist offices are full of publicity for this or that, they are supposed to steer clear of indulging in what might seem like direct promotion or favouritism.

From my experience, tourist office staff are pretty professional in this regard. And as an example of how the offices seek to retain neutrality, last summer Pollensa town hall was forced to issue a warning to businesses which have publicity material in the outdoor display units in Puerto Pollensa to stop indulging in a publicity war and interfering with each other's material.

But once the tourist offices are obliged to make money, the rules change. In Palma, one line of revenue would be from restaurant promotion. Whether restaurants would be willing to pay is one issue, but were they to, then a can of worms could potentially be opened.

A problem with making the offices revenue generators is whether, in the pursuit of "sales", their core role of simple information provision would be compromised. If you have ever, like I have, spent time observing what happens at tourist-office desks, you will have come to appreciate that much of the tourist encounter involves questions of the how-do-I-get-to, where-do-I-go-to variety. One office told me that one of its most frequently asked questions was where were the nearest toilets.

The tourist encounter can be repetitious, basic and extremely time-consuming. If tourist office staff have to also sell tickets for this excursion or that attraction, then delays in handling enquiries will increase.

Technology, you would think, could be made to eliminate many of the repetitious and basic enquiries. Possibly so, as also it could be made to handle other information. One town that has been embracing technology is Artà, not a town with a massive tourism industry but one that has adopted the use of audio guides and now also QR (quick response) codes which are photographed with mobiles in order to provide information in five different languages.

Whether the privatised tourist offices in Palma would make use of technology or not, there is an altogether more fundamental question. Where are they? In October, when mayor Mateo Isern was first talking up the Palma 365 promotion campaign, it was being pointed out that Palma's tourist office provision was abysmal by comparison with, for example, Barcelona and even with neighbouring Calvià. They can privatise the offices all they like, but they won't make money if tourists can't find them.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.