Sport For All (Except Mallorca)

The World Travel Market in London takes place from 8 to 11 November. What is described as "the premier global event for the travel industry" will this year be devoting considerable attention to sports tourism. Which is why the Balearics will be concentrating on promoting wine.

At the WTM a report on sports tourism will be launched, one that will present a "road map for lucrative opportunities within the sports tourism industry". According to the WTM organisation, sports tourism is flourishing where traditional tourism is in decline. It goes on to say that tourism boards need "to be more proactive in identifying events and activities which (will) attract visitors and promote their destination to a wider audience".

Sports tourism falls into two categories - spectator events and participation. The reporting of the WTM in November has focussed on the first, with particular attention being given to the "legacy" and "minefield" of major sporting events. For Mallorca, this is something of an irrelevance. There have been attempts, unsuccessful ones, at staging major events - well, one, the America's Cup - but otherwise they have been pipe dreams, such as Formula 1 in the streets of Palma. This was the brainwave of former president Jaume Matas. A trip he made to Valencia as part of this idea is just one of the many items that has cropped up in the list of allegations he faces.

Unfortunately, anything that smacks of something even vaguely "major" ends up smelling less than rosy. Another great Matas venture, the Palma Arena velodrome, was the prime cause of all the allegations that started to flow in his direction. The velodrome itself has hardly been a huge success. The Mallorca Classic golf tournament, from which the current government pulled the financing some three years ago, even managed to find itself caught up in corruption investigations when the police paid the Pula golf course a visit earlier this summer. Then there were the ambitions for Real Mallorca, further pipe dreams, those of the man with the piping business, Paul Davidson. All those tourists flocking to watch the team - so he had hoped. Last heard of, Davidson, having been removed from the board of his own company, was in the US looking to flog a gadget that plugs oil leaks. Shame he couldn't have come up with something that plugs leaks in a football club's finances.

When it comes to the "lucrative opportunities" of sports tourism, Mallorca probably has to settle for less of the lucre through participation rather than events. Which brings us inevitably to the familiar themes: golf, cycling, canoeing, Nordic walking. Stifle that yawn.

If only the promotion of this tourism was done effectively, there might be grounds for some optimism. But it isn't. Take golf. In 2008 a promotional campaign was devised under the bizarre slogan of "much more than golf". What was this supposed to mean? It is probably as well that the tourism promotion agency IBATUR has been scrapped. Not because it was allegedly up to its neck in corruption, but because it was useless.

At least we can console ourselves that the bay of Alcúdia "Bienestar Activo" brand of canoeing, hiking etc., etc. has been revived, albeit with far less money. I say console ourselves, not that it is any clearer what it all entails than it was when it was ditched in September because of lack of central funding.

The WTM organisation very kindly points out that sports tourism "will post record profits and contribute an astonishing 14% of overall travel and tourism receipts by the end of 2010". There's a nice thought. For someone. Somewhere other than Mallorca. But if not sports tourism, then how about a bit of sacred-sites tourism? At the WTM there will also be sessions on what is a fast-growing sector of tourism - visits to ancient places of worship. Well, I suppose there is always Palma's cathedral.

Sports tourism. Sacred-sites tourism. It sounds like things will be a bit slow for Mallorca and the Balearics at this year's WTM. Just as well there's all that vino for them to get stuck into and to promote. And all those thousands of wine-buff tourists to anticipate. If only.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.