Tourism Promotion And Decree

In the past week we have witnessed a flurry of activity at the Balearics tourism ministry. First there was the announcement of the "158 actions" for tourism promotion in 2015 and then there was the tourism decree, both linked by the pressing concern to limit seasonality and both rather underwhelming. The promotional actions will continue the low-cost theme started two years ago of focusing on travel fairs and journalist/blogger famtrips (familiarisation trips), which are reasonable enough endeavours but ones which fail to impress an industry (and a wider public) that craves greater dynamism. The promotional spend, up by 10% to three million euros, is aimed at the niche products which form the core of off-season tourism, such as cycling, and this emphasis merely serves to reinforce an absence of promotion for the main season. The impression one has is that the good numbers of tourists in recent years has made the regional government believe that the summer sells itself, and up to a point the government would be right. However, this past season was notable for its unevenness; a record-breaking autumn but a slow spring. Sun and beach, much though tourism officials think otherwise - or wish otherwise - is key to the spring, far more so than the alternative, niche products. The experience of 2014 should tell these officials that a greater effort might be required in order to produce less unevenness.

The tourism decree, a headlining aspect of which was the offer of incentives for businesses that are open for a minimum of eight months, was essentially a reinforcement of what was already in the 2012 tourism law. As yet, there is little evidence to suggest that such an offer is having a great deal of impact. News from Santa Ponsa over the past few days which refers to a lengthening of the season would appear not to have been influenced by incentives but rather by hotelier initiative, and the news was really only to do with Pirates Village, which intends to open by mid-March, a season of seven and a half months until the end of October. Incentives may be welcome, but more is needed in order that greater numbers of hotels will open earlier than mid-March and indeed remain open into November. But then, I think we all know this to be the case and what prescriptions there might be.

To place the Balearics promotional spend in context, the Andalusian regional government is to spend 18 million euros as part of its "emergency plan" against seasonality. While the Balearics tourism ministry was issuing its "urgent measures" in the form of its decree, the Andalusians were clearly considering that there was far greater urgency required, and this for a region which already well outperforms the Balearics when it comes to off-season tourism. Andalusia is admittedly a much bigger region geographically than the Balearics, but a notable aspect of its plan (a "strategic objective", according to its tourism ministry) is the creation of a "network of municipalities against seasonality". Andalusia wants to involve as many stakeholders as it can, and these include the towns and cities. Compare this with the Balearics where all bets are on Palma and Palma alone and where, moreover, the bets are mostly made by the private sector without public funding. The Andalusian government is far more involved than the government in the Balearics, and the latest plan follows on from previous efforts to stimulate the off-season; Andalusia has been adopting incentives for businesses for longer than the Balearics.

One final note regarding the activity at the tourism ministry. Jaime Martínez may be able to boast that the number of promotional actions is to increase, but on one promotional front - that of the use of social media and web technology - he was silent. When, oh when are the Balearics going to catch up in this regard? We've been promised action, so where is it?