From now on, its advisory role will carry real weight, it will be a point of reference when presenting proposals, and it will incorporate members of Mallorcan civil society.

The Minister of Tourism of the Consell de Mallorca and president of the Fundació Mallorca Turisme (FMT), José Marcial Rodríguez Díaz, accompanied by the island's director of Tourism for Demand and Hospitality, Susanna Sciacovelli, and vice president of the FMT, announced on Wednesday the decision to give the FMT Advisory Council a boost so that its advisory role has a greater presence in decision-making.

To this end, he stated after a meeting of the Advisory Council itself that “its advisory role will carry real weight and will be a benchmark when it comes to presenting proposals that are subsequently put to the vote by the Board of Trustees.”
Rodríguez stated that “the Advisory Council is a body of the utmost importance, as it acts as the voice of Mallorca's tourism, social, economic, and academic entities. Its vast experience, in-depth knowledge of the reality, professionalism, and long history make it an invaluable resource. It is therefore essential that its contributions be taken into account in decision-making in order to consolidate responsible tourism.”

Advisory and promotion functions

The company Schôolers, through Juan Manuel Martínez, has been responsible for promoting and advancing this new initiative. Martínez has indicated that the proposal is based on promoting a new FMT Advisory Council whose ultimate goal is to promote responsible tourism and ensure the coexistence of tourism and citizens. This action stems from the Pledge, Commitment to Responsible Tourism, Mallorca's tourism management roadmap that aims to develop the island's main industry under strict criteria of sustainability, transparency, participation, innovation, equity, and responsibility.

This professionalization of the Advisory Council means that its consultative nature, born of consensus and debate within its meetings, will be a point of reference when the Board of Trustees makes decisions on developing policies and strategies for transforming the tourism model; identifying risks and opportunities that facilitate medium- and long-term planning; and monitoring the impact of the projects implemented by the FMT.

In this way, the aim is to ensure that decision-making is always based on professional criteria that take into account the real tourism situation and the needs of the different environments of the economic and social ecosystem in order to evolve in a responsible and sustainable manner, ensuring coexistence.

In order to make this representation as broad as possible, the minister has announced that he will propose the inclusion of several new entities that have attended today as guests, such as the Impulsa Foundation, represented by Antoni Riera; ASPAYM, represented by Alessandro Marinelli; the Cercle d'Economia, represented by Pepe Novas; and the Forum Societat Civil, represented by Jaume Garau.

The current Advisory Council is composed of a broad representation of the island's socioeconomic context, including the Hotel Business Federation (FEHM), the Hotel Chain Association, Tourism Promotion, the Mallorca Chamber of Commerce, the University of the Balearic Islands, the Balearic Islands Travel Agency Business Association, the Assembly of Mayors of Mallorca, trade unions representing the tourism sector, the Federation of Local Entities of the Balearic Islands, the Palma 365 Foundation, Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA), the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB), the Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of Mallorca (PYMEM), and individuals of recognized prestige in the tourism sector.
Mallorca, epicenter of responsible tourism.

At the same meeting, the Director of Tourism for Demand and Sustainability, Susanna Sciacovelli, announced that next October Mallorca will position itself internationally as the epicenter of responsible tourism. The reason for this is the holding of four major meetings at the highest level.

Thus, on October 17 and 18, the III Sustainable Destinations Summit will be held, organized by the FMT in collaboration with the UNWTO. On the 21st and 22nd, it will be the turn of the Green Film Forum, led by the Mallorca Film Commission, an entity that depends on the FMT. Previously, on October 16, the island will be the meeting point for the annual meeting of the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO network), and on October 16 and 17, the renowned Sages & Scientists meeting of the Deepak Chopra Foundation will be held for the first time in Europe.