Monday, 5th December 2016

The Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal and the Deputy Mayor for Tourism, Antonio García Moles, attended the Press Conference convened by the hotel associations of Peguera-Cala Fornells and Santa Ponça to give a balance of the tourist season. Following the data provided by the hotel associations, the Mayor has welcomed that this summer it has been possible to manage the success of a very good occupancy rate, which in Peguera has been 90% on average throughout the year, and that in Santa Ponça it has been on average 82% from April to October, according to the data given by the associations.

He also pointed out that the data help to see that deseasonization is improving and that hotel refurbishments, wtih category increase, is a clear commitment to quality that is the element with which resorts of Calvià will be able to face the competing destinations. In this sense, the president of the Hotel Association of Santa Ponça, Antonio Roses, pointed out that in 2017 there is a clear tendency to open hotel establishments earlier: half of them will open between 10th and 20th March, and the rest will open the first week of April, so a month and a half will be gained. On his behalf, the vice-president of the hoteliers of Peguera-Cala Fornells, Alejandro Garrido, explained that in his area 7 hotels are open throughout the year, and in February 60% of establishments opened; the forecast is that this 60% will increase between 10 and 15% in February 2017. In the same line, the mayor has mentioned unemployment data that in March 2016 was reduced by 10% compared to the same month of 2015 ; In September 2016 it fell 15.3% compared to September 2015, and in November 2016 it fell 16% compared to November 2014. The goal we are pursuing, he said, is more work and more time to work.

Alfonso Rodríguez Badal also recalled the actions that the Town Hall will take in the same line of improving resorts. In 2017, in Santa Ponça, the works of the coastal walkway will be put out on tender for 450,000 euros; the viewpoint of the Malgrats will be improved (260,000 euros); 320,000 euros have been invested in the sports center where there are sports and seasonal events; Calvià 2000 will invest 1 million euros in improving the flow of wastewater to the treatment plant (to avoid spills to the beach, as happened occasionally this summer); Investment will be done in the treatment plant (about 4 million euros) so that in 2018 it produces tertiary water suitable for irrigation. In Peguera, in 2016, Eucaliptus street works have been carried out, a new pumping has been installed on Palmira beach to avoid the greening of the water, and in both Santa Ponça and Peguera, municipal car parks will be improved with The Smart City project. He has also pointed out the sporting events that take place to extend the season, such as the football beach tournament or the Santa Ponça Cup in Santa Ponça; and tennis, hiking, k42, beach volleyball or the Challenge in Peguera, where this type of events is being promoted through the 'Sport Region'.