07/04/2013 00:00
TW
0
PALMA SPAIN'S Secretary of State for Tourism, Joan Mesquida has signed five funding agreements with the Balearic government to the tune of 4.55 million euros. The money is to be used for international promotion of the Islands.

For the first time, the accords have been made with the individual island councils, an arrangement which will allow them to invest separately in tourism advertising during 2009. One of the agreements, with the regional Ministry for Tourism is in the sum of 950'000 euros - of which 650'000 is being paid by the Central Government and the remainder by Ibatur, the Balearic Institute for Tourism. Amounts invested in the three island councils of Majorca, Ibiza, Minorca and Formentera total 1.5 million euros.

Ninety percent of the final agreement, which is with the Balearic government, will be spent on traditional methods of tourism promotion whilst 10 percent will be allocated to an on-line campaign directed at client markets in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Russia.

Regional Minister for Tourism, Miquel Nadal, said yesterday that “faced with an uncertain future after the economic crisis” the government is planning “shock tactics” to generate more business in the tourist industry from the United Kingdom and the rest of Spain. He added that the fact that the funding agreements have been signed on this occasion with the individual island councils means that “another step” has been taken in consolidating the powers of the regions.

Joan Mesquida, who is also a Majorcan, said that the promotional campaign needs to be underway “as soon as possible” so that the Balearics will be at the back of peoples' minds when the time comes to choose a holiday. Money spent on advertising, said Mesquida, is essential although he recognised that clients were taking longer this year to decide where to go - or indeed, if they could afford to go at all.

The Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism has 32 offices around the world which have launched 220 campaigns advertising the Balearic Islands. The activity has generated no less than 367 articles in newspapers and magazines - “equivalent to the value of 9 million euros,” said Mesquida. He added that Spain is one of the countries where reservations have remained steady, unlike other countries where downturn in tourist trade has reached 46 percent in some instances. Mesquida said that the international impact of Spain as a holiday destination remains undiminished.