Barceló's Cook's Tour

Biel Barceló, the vice-presidential minister for Balearic tourism, certainly knows how to fill the column inches of the local press. You can't miss him as he's all over the media. Is this pure publicity-grabbing? It doesn't seem so. Bear in mind that we are in August, a time when Mallorcan politicians traditionally take to their holiday fincas and disappear into the sultry heat (and occasional rain) of late summer. Barceló has not long been in his post. He hasn't necessarily done anything to deserve a holiday yet, but he has avoided the temptation to relax by doing what all tourism ministers should do - he has been getting around the resorts of Mallorca at the peak period in order to see for himself.

He won't of course see everything, but thus far his Cook's tour of the island has found him in resorts on the east coast and in the south-west. Think what you will of Barceló - and much of the thinking will revolve around the eco-tax - but he appears determined to take his portfolio seriously, to be seen to be taking a genuine interest in the concerns of the resorts which constitute the principal motor of not just the tourism economy but the economy of the whole of Mallorca. He should be applauded.

The contrast with his immediate predecessors is great. Neither Carlos Delgado nor Jaime Martínez went out on such fact-finding missions. Martínez in particular was more at home drawing up legislation, a task that befitted his bureaucratic background: he was hardly a man of the tourism people. Barceló does seem genuinely different, though all the glad-handing with local mayors and others will seem simply like a PR stunt unless it turns into meaningful actions. If badly needed investments for certain resorts result, however, then he will be able to take some of the credit.

Down Calvia way he heard of a desire for an amplification of the British police project, but this is something he should be wary of. He faces a colossal PR challenge with the eco-tax, the consequence of the negative publicity it will be bound to attract in the foreign press - the British, for instance. If, allied to this, greater negativity in the British media is heaped upon Mallorca because of greater numbers of "bobbies", then he could have a double-whammy of poor PR to contend with. Nevertheless, at present he's showing himself to be willing to take close interest in the resorts. We wish him well.

The uncertainty over the timing of the eco-tax is beginning to look less uncertain. A schedule for its introduction, which would seem to now have general agreement, will see its approval by the cabinet in January. This will be followed by its passage through parliament during 2016 with the objective of its being implemented in 2017, albeit a precise time in 2017 has yet to be identified. But if the legislative channel seems less clogged, there remains the fundamental of how the tax will be collected. The option for doing so through ports and airports requires state approval and the practicalities of such an option may leave it dead in the water.

As part of the PR battle to convince everyone of the need and fairness of the eco-tax, a member of Barceló's party, Més, has added his voice to the argument. The deputy mayor of Palma, Antoni Noguera, who will become mayor in mid-term under the pact agreement for governing the city, has attacked hoteliers' portrayal of themselves as "victims" of the tax by alluding to the non-harmful impact of tourist taxes elsewhere. With Berlin, as an example, he is on solid ground, but London? There has been talk of a tax there but by individual councils - both Westminster and Camden have been looking at it. A misunderstanding may arise because of the VAT applied to hotel bills, but Noguera needs to be careful in making comparisons which aren't valid. More appropriate to Mallorca, in any event, are the experiences of the likes of Catalonia, Croatia, Bulgaria and France, though even these are unlikely to cut much ice with many travellers. They are interested in Mallorca alone, not what happens on the Costa Brava or in the Black Sea resorts.