The Department of Tourism of Consell de Mallorca held this Monday in the Cap Vermell auditorium in Cala Rajada the 1st Forum on Governance and Sustainable Tourism in the Llevant of Mallorca, one of the main tourist areas on the island and the first of eight meetings that will be held throughout 2024 in different areas of Mallorca.
Throughout the day, the more than 100 attendees were able to listen, participate, and debate the future strategies and objectives that the newly created Island Directorate of Tourism, focused on governance and sustainability, has for Mallorca. Both its head, Pedro Mas, and the Minister of Tourism, José Marcial Rodríguez Díaz, outlined the main lines that will govern the department's term in office at the opening of the forum.
The President of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, was responsible for closing the forum. During his speech, he stated that "the island institution is committed to a responsible tourism model within our environmental and social limits" and that "this is where tourism governance plays an important role, because it is essential to work in the destinations." Galmés pointed out that "the active participation of the community and the sector in decision-making regarding tourism is fundamental. And, therefore, the role of the city councils is essential." Finally, the President of the Consell de Mallorca emphasized that "in 2023, all records will have been broken in arrivals, profitability, and occupancy. Therefore, it is key to continue supporting Mallorca's tourism sector, because it supports our economy."
The day began with an opening address by Marcial Rodríguez, in which he highlighted the importance of leveraging "Mallorca's leadership to change the way people view us from abroad, achieving effective social and environmental coexistence within a framework of sustainable tourism development."
"Our goal is coexistence, and to achieve this, we are promoting an initiative aimed at fostering a new era of responsible tourism on our island, in Mallorca," the Minister added shortly before referring to the pledge, the "Mallorca Responsible Tourism Commitment," which represents the starting point for a much broader objective and will entail a complete change in the model for promoting and positioning Mallorca abroad.
Pedro Mas, for his part, announced shortly afterward during his speech that since taking office in July of last year, he has already visited "30 town halls in Mallorca, held 160 technical meetings with the institutions, and, in addition, we have 20 of our own projects underway through this new island directorate that I lead, which aims to highlight the work of the town halls and help them."
"Collaboration with all the town halls will be active and ongoing throughout the entire term, in order to gain firsthand knowledge of the development of activity in each territory and at each moment. We start from the conviction that they are all different," he added.
Mas also detailed that his island directorate is currently managing 18 projects in the Llevant area of Mallorca in total, divided into two PSTDs (sustainable tourism projects in the destination), 15 from the CBAT (Consortium of Tourist Accommodation Exchange), and the GR East Mallorca project. All of them valued at €9.77 million.
In addition to these presentations throughout the morning, a roundtable discussion was held, attended by the mayors of Capdepera, Artà, Sant Llorenç, Son Servera, and Manacor, moderated by Pedro Mas and Marcial Rodríguez. These discussions included a presentation of two success stories.
First, the presentation of the GR-226 Llevant route in Mallorca was led by the island's Director of the Environment, Luis Rubí. Finally, the president of the Sant Llorenç and Son Servera hotel consortium, Inés Batle, addressed European funds and, specifically, the RESCO project.