Tourism guru summit dogged by complaints

Majorca hosted its first gathering of the specially formed International Committee of Tourism Experts yesterday, but the meeting of ten tourism “gurus” was criticised by the Hotel Federation and Tourist Board because they were not invited to form part of the commission, set up to analyse the condition of the troubled Balearic tourist industry. President of the Majorcan Tourist Board, Miquel Vicens, said that any conclusion drawn from the conference will have little bearing on the reality of the situation “because a vitally important sector, the hotel sector, has not been included.” President of the Majorcan Hotel Federation, Pere Cañelles, used the event for a further swipe at the controversial tourist tax and highlighted the lack of co-ordination and co-operation between Balearic Minister for Tourism, Celesti Alomar, and the hotel sector. Alomar for his part, denied that he has marginalised anyone: “the doors to this conference are open to everyone, if someone is missing it's because they don't want to come, not because they have not been invited”. The conclusions to the first meeting of the international committee will be presented in around six months time, when they will be studied and some, if appropriate, acted upon, even made government policy, Alomar said last month when he first announced the meeting.