This morning, in the congress center of the Hotel Torre del Mar, has been developed in X Congress of Tourist Dwellings of Ibiza, organized by the Association of Tourist Holiday Homes of Ibiza and Formentera (AVAT), integrated in PIMEEF.(AVAT), integrated in PIMEEF.
A round table has addressed the theme “The future of tourism on the island“, in which the following participated Juan Miguel Costadirector of Tourism Promotion of the Consell de Ibiza; Pedro Matutes BarcelóCEO of Sirenis Hotels, with presence in the Caribbean, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia; Juan Antonio Martínez, director of Island Hospitality; Alfonso Rojopresident of the PIMEEF; and José Antonio Llano president of AVAT.
One of the key points of the round table has been the need to recover family tourism. In this context, the president AVAT has offered the Consell to participate in the recovery of family tourism, a policy that is being promoted and that has been in evidence recently with the award of a contract to Fomento del Turismo of 100,000 euros for the creation of a product club itself. In this sense, the new project “Ibiza Family Moments” has been launched. Ibiza Family Momentsproject has been launched with the aim of promote family tourism on the island. on the island. This initiative seeks to reposition Ibiza as an ideal destination for families, following the first results of the Ibiza Tourism Intelligence System (SITE). Tourism Intelligence System of Ibiza (SITE)which have shown a decrease in this type of tourism due to the increase in the prices of flights and hotels..
Benefits
For this reason, several of the participants in the round table have defended the benefits of recovering family tourism. The island director of Tourism Promotion, Juan Miguel Costa, said that it is very important to “recover middle-class tourism”, which is a product of “very high value and complementary purchasing power“. In addition, he remarked that “the middle class balances and would avoid this year’s downturns“, minimizing risks such as the uncertainty that exists due to the socio-political situation. For Pedro Matutes, meanwhile, the loss of family tourism is a threat to tourism and, therefore, defends its promotion for the contribution it makes to Ibiza being a “more varied” destination. This would avoid the risk that the island is heading towards the unidirectionality of nightlife as the only engine. “The loss of diversity“, says Pedro Matutes, “threatens the destination”, while valuing that “families provide stability and balance”. In addition, during the meeting it has been remarked that the pattern of tourist behavior has changed to shorter trips, even with more than one arrival at the destination in the same summer. In contrast, family tourism presupposes longer stays, which helps to avoid the drop in occupancy on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Ecotax
As expected, it has also been the protagonist of the colloquium and of the debate the Government’s measure to double the eco-tax in July, August and the months of July, August and September. In this regard, Pedro Matutes said that the problem does not lie in the amount of the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS), but that the focus should be on what is done and how the funds collected are managed. In addition, he warned that, through the collectionIn addition, he warned that, through the collection of the tax, there is a risk “of sending the message that we do not want tourism to come”. This has also been endorsed by the president of the employers, Antonio Llano, who said that the explanations that try to link the rise of the eco-tax with the tourist saturation “is a wrong message that can be very harmful”.
