Balearics told to look to example of Turkey

THE Balearics have been warned to diversify their offer and to look to tourist destinations such as Turkey or Bulgaria if they want to continue to prosper. The warning came from British tour operator First Choice, which is currently holding a convention in Benalmádena (Malaga) to debate strategies in the sector. Richard Calvert, purchasing director for Spain and Portugal, said “nowadays, the secret is not to have a generic hotel, the same as all the others, because when you have that you always have to compete pricewise.” He advised Spanish hoteliers to “look to other countries such as Turkey, which five years ago was nowhere near the level it is now.” First Choice brings a million visitors to Spain a year, and the Balearics is one of its chief destinations.
It is now diversifying with concepts such as Holiday Villages, the first of which will open in Benalmádena next week.
This concept offers alternative activities such as soccer, swimming or theatre classes and children's clubs.
A second Holiday Village is planned for Lanzarote this summer, while next year will see one in Majorca and one in Turkey.
The Benalmádena hotel, with 360 rooms, will be run by First Choice as an “all inclusive” and “bed only” establishment for an initial period of five years, thanks to an agreement with the Peñarroya group. Calvert said that its results in Spain this year are expected to be similar to last year. “This is very satisfactory,” he said, as the sector is going through “a difficult period” because of the strength of the euro against the pound and the increase of competition from countries such as Turkey or Bulgaria. But, referring to the Balearics, he predicted that Ibiza would have a worse year than 2003, while the situation in Minorca and Majorca, would be similar to last year. Asked about prices, Calvert said that they had to be adjusted when there was more competition, but he admitted that it was necessary “to maintain standards of service,” and this is a very difficult balance to achieve. The March 11 terrorist bombings in Madrid have had some repercussions, he said, but one becomes accustomed to living with them, as in recent years there have been various attacks. First Choice have dropped the Costa Brava (Catalonia) for next year, because the standards of the hotels have dropped sharply. Calvert said that their planes will be moved to other destinations, not to any one in particular. And he repeated his warning that Turkey and Bulgaria are functioning better than some parts of Spain because their costs are lower and they are not in the euro zone.