/ Town Hall
Wednesday, 19th April 2023
CALVIÀ TOURISM FORUM MEETING
Today, the Calvià Tourism Forum met prior to the start of the tourist season and to report on the investment forecast for 2023-2024 in tourist areas. A meeting, which is held periodically with the sector, which was attended by the mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, the general director of Tourism and Coastline of Calvià Town Hall, Xavier Pascuet, and today also by the general director of Tourism of the Govern, Isabel Vidal, to provide information on the European Funds in the tourism field.
On behalf of the Town Hall, the meeting was also attended by the deputy mayor of the Local Police, Nati Francés; the deputy mayor for Urban Planning, Commerce and Activities, Marc López, and the councillor for the Environment and Ecological transition, Rafel Sedano, as well as the head of the Calvià Local Police, Francisco Darder.
The mayor has indicated, in the previous analysis, that the prospects for this season are confirmed to be good, along the same lines as last year, when good data was obtained well into the month of October, extending the season with high degrees of occupation and hiring.
The general director of Tourism, Xavier Pascuet, has informed, on his behalf, that the efforts in sports tourism (events, training camps, ...) will continue, which for Calvià means that for every euro invested, 20 return to the municipality. Likewise, he has indicated that there will be an impact on continuing to promote local heritage, in order to encourage family tourism.
Finally, he referred to the Smart Calvià project, from Red.es, which has already been awarded, and which will provide important data that will help tourism management with actions such as intelligent pedestrian crossings, educational radars, sensorisation of loading and unloading, capacity control and modernisation of the screens in the Tourist Offices, interactive screens throughout the municipality, or a tourist intelligence system to learn more about the tourist's feeling that will be complemented with surveys on the beaches, as well as sensorisation on the 4 largest beaches to have information on the number of people accessing, 15 smart buoys that will provide data and biochemical parametres, etc.
Investments 2023-2024
The Govern's general director of Tourism, Isabel Vidal, has informed the representatives of the different sectors that have attended the Forum, about the calls for European Funds, pointing out that Calvià is one of the most active municipalities in the different calls that have taken place, which has resulted in obtaining these subsidies. Likewise, she recalled the European funds that the govern manages for circularity or for the acquisition of elevating beds, amongst others.
Finally, she has informed about the 16 million euros of European Funds, for the purchase of obsolete or not very viable accommodation establishments (hostels, one or two star hotels, etc.), whose property is interested in selling, to allocate to the regeneration and renaturation of spaces, as pointed out by Europe. She has pointed out that it will go hand in hand with the city councils and their urban planning.
Regarding the decree of excesses, she was grateful that Calvià assumed the sanctioning powers because they were a great success in the 2022 season.
On investments in tourist areas, the mayor has reported on the calls to which Calvià has submitted to obtain European funds. Of the European funds granted by the Ministry, through the tourist sustainability plans in destinations, projects have been presented every year, granting 4 million € for the Magaluf coastline (whose first phase is now in tender to start works in winter); 600.000 € for the improvement of Torà square and pinewood in Peguera, and in 2023 the project for the Peguera boulevard improvement has been presented to complement the 'bolsa de plazas' (tourist bed bank) allocation.
Regarding the ordinary sustainability plans that the Ministry of Tourism convenes annually, for years, he explained that financing has been obtained for the renewal of Jaume I avenue in Santa Ponça, whose works are also scheduled to begin this winter.
On the other hand, he has reported other calls from which funding has also been obtained, such as funding of a European Programme for the reform of public buildings with heritage value, of 3 million € for the comprehensive reform of the Galatzó public estate houses.
Finally, he referred to the funds from the ITS (Sustainable Tourism Tax), with which the Puig de sa Morisca Archaeological Museum has been built, and the funds obtained from the 'bolsa de plazas' (tourist bed bank) for the improvement of the entire archaeological park. From the ITS, he recalled, financing of 3.4 million € was also obtained through the Ministry of the Environment to expand the distribution networks for recycled water carried out by the Water Regeneration Station that was built in the treatment plant of Santa Ponça, and which will allow up to 80% of gray water to be reused for irrigation and other uses that are not drinking water. The investment will allow this water to reach large consumers.
The Calvià Tourism Forum
The Calvià Tourism Forum, created in 2016, is established as a space for debate, dialogue and collaboration between all the agents directly linked to the tourist activity that takes place in the municipality of Calvià. Its main functions revolve around the analysis of matters directly related to the tourist activity that takes place in the municipality of Calvià and the issuance of reports and recommendations in this regard with a merely advisory and non-binding nature.
The Forum is made up of: the mayor and councillors involved in tourism matters, the Calvià director general of Tourism, the political groups with municipal representation in Calvià, the Chamber of Commerce, Fomento del Turismo, Fundación Calvià 2004, the hotel associations of the municipality, federations and business groups (commerce, restaurants, complementary offer, leisure and services), UGT and CCOO (unions with majority representation in the municipality), the UIB, neighbourhood representatives of the areas with the greatest tourist activity and consumer organisations, amongst others.
