20/05/2004 00:00
TW
0
Staff Reporter REPORTS in the Spanish and German media regarding the presence of actor Michael Douglas at the Berlin tourism fair, which he attended as goodwill ambassador for the Balearics, reached an audience of 58.5 million people.

This was announced yesterday by Balearic tourism minister Joan Flaquer, quoting a survey conducted by a German consultancy firm.
He added that he was very satisfied at the repercussions this new promotional image had found in the international media. He said that although the figures quoted in the survey related only to Spanish and German media, the news had also been widely covered in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Douglas is committed to attending three more international tourism fairs, and Flaquer said that this would “practically cover” the 4.2 million euros which the Balearic government paid the Oscar-winning actor and producer for the Costa Nord cultural centre in Valldemossa and the cost of a promotional film featuring Douglas.

Flaquer claimed that the actor's presence at the Berlin tourism fair was worth more than one million euros in advertising.
He said that in Germany, the event was covered by 14 television stations, eight radio stations and 177 newspapers and magazines. In Spain, apart from local coverage here in Majorca, it was covered by four television channels and 15 newspapers and magazines.

The survey cost 9'000 euros, and Flaquer said that it had been commissioned to show how valuable a promotional tool the actor's presence is.
It was also meant to silence critics who claim that the government paid too much for Costa Nord. “The promotion which Michael Douglas is carrying out is an added value which is free for us.” Flaquer declined to comment on the uproar caused in Ibiza, when Douglas said in Berlin, after praising Majorca and Minorca, that he was “too old” to visit Ibiza, but his son thought it the greatest place on earth.

Douglas also attended the World Travel Market in London, but Flaquer admitted that he did not have any figures indicating the impact of that visit.
London and Berlin were the first two of the five fairs which Douglas is committed to attending to promote the Balearics after the government purchased the Costa Nord centre, which he set up in Valldemossa, where he spends part of the year.

The remaining three fairs have yet to be decided.