Call for greater government investment in tourist resorts

The national ministry of industry, trade and tourism has announced that it will be making available fifteen million euros to "mature" resorts in the Canary Islands so that infrastructure can be improved. At a conference in Palma, hoteliers and tour operators said that there should be a similar arrangement for the Balearics. Hans Müller of Thomas Cook noted that public investment was all the more necessary in order to complement the 1,500 million euros of investment in recent years by hoteliers in their establishments. "Investment is necessary to improve the quality of life of both residents and tourists."

Hotel groups like Meliá and Riu observed that that there is change in the tourism cycle which means that resorts where there isn't modernisation will suffer because of competition. The Majorca Hoteliers Federation stressed the efforts made by hoteliers in recent years, especially in Playa de Palma. It noted that there should have been public intervention under the redevelopment plan for Playa de Palma but that cutbacks, the economic crisis and the diversion of funds to other purposes meant that it was never pursued. Instead, it acted as a model for Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife.