The president of the Consell Insular de Ibiza, Vicent Marí, said this Thursday during the inauguration of theXII Ibiza Tourism Forum that the key to guarantee the future of the tourism sector is a firm management, with control and planning, which allows to turn the current challenges into development opportunities.
“Tourism is not fought, it is not criticized. Tourism is defended, it is managed,” said Marí, who advocated a solid strategy based on real data, regulation, diversification, and collaboration with the private sector.
In the framework of the XII Ibiza Tourism Forum, held in Santa Eulària des Riu with the slogan “Positive tourism: real solutions for a tourism with impact, coexistence and shared value”, Vicent Marí has asked to face the challenges posed by the main and only economic industry of the island.
“No one is unaware that tourism, not only in Ibiza but also in all destinations in general, is living a decisive and challenging moment,” he warned, recalling that these challenges affect both the sector and those who have the responsibility to govern.
“What is done here, is followed.”
For the island president, Ibiza has a leading position that carries a great responsibility. “Ibiza is a leading destination, which has marked a way of understanding tourism. What is done here is followed by other destinations,” he remarked.
Marí pointed out that local challenges -such as pressure on natural resources, mobility or the coexistence between tourists and residents- have taken on a global dimension, which obliges the island to be at the forefront and set trends in solutions as well.
“Today the debate is focused on management, on the ability to know and adapt to reality. More no longer means better,” he said.
Vicent Marí insisted that managing means planning, innovating, continually evaluating and working, and that only a well-defined strategy can guarantee a tourism model that “is perceived as a real opportunity for those who live on the island”.
“Management is the tool to transform challenges into benefits and achieve balance from control, regulation and diversification of supply,” he said, stressing that tourism should not be understood as an enemy, but as an engine of progress that needs direction, not confrontation.
Tourism intelligence and data
The island president stressed that for the first time the island is being managed “from reality, from data”, and gave as an example the Tourism Intelligence system, a tool that allows the development of effective policies and anticipate decisions.
“Without data there is no strategy. And without strategy there can be no future,” he warned.
One of the initiatives supported by this system is the vehicle regulation law, whose objective is to control the load capacity of Ibiza’s road network, betting on a more efficient, accessible and sustainable model.
Marí also stressed the efforts of the Consell in terms of control and inspection, as well as in the fight against intrusion in the tourism sector.
“Illegal activities compromise the quality of the offer, deteriorate the service and damage the image of the destination,” he warned. In this sense, he placed value on direct collaboration with the sector, as in the case of the elimination of all illegal ads on digital platforms, which he described as “the beginning of a path of no return.”
Vicent Marí closed his speech with a strong message about the identity of the destination: “We are a tourist island, an island of success. And we want to remain so based on responsibility, quality and respect”.
Continue reading:
-
Santa Eulària reinforces its ‘slow life’ tourism model at the WTM fair in London
-
The Consell d’Eivissa recognizes with the seal ‘Ibiza Family Moments’ to the referents of family tourism on the island
-
Vicent Marí: “Family tourism is the historical engine of Ibiza and a value that we must preserve”.
-
Artificial intelligence and emotional sensors: the new in MICE tourism presented in Ibiza
