Ahead of the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid, the Mesa del Turismo, a private sector organisation, announced on Tuesday that Magalluf will be the location for an international conference on the renewal of mature tourist destinations.
The general secretary of this organisation, Germán Porrás, said that Calvia (Magalluf) had been chosen as the location because Magalluf has been the first resort in the world to have achieved this renewal and transformation. "It is the clearest example of what can be done through private and public-sector collaboration." He added that this was in contrast to Playa de Palma, where transformation has yet to materialise along lines envisaged several years ago.
The conference will be attended by some seventy people, who will be able to see how a mature resort can be changed. They will also go to Platja d'en Bossa in Ibiza, where private investment - led by the Palladium Group - has brought about change.
The UN World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has been influential in bringing the conference to Magalluf. Its executive director, Manuel Butler, said that the Balearics are on the WTO's agenda and that the choice of Magalluf is "recognition of what has been done there".
