MINISTER SAYS “WE´VE GOT TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH ALL INCLUSIVE”

By Humphrey Carter
THE Balearics is going to have to learn to live with “all inclusive” holiday complexes the Minister for Tourism, Joan Flaquer said yesterday.
Flaquer, who addressed students at the Balearic University's Hostelry School yesterday morning, said that all inclusive resorts and holidays are becoming increasingly popular and the market is growing in all destinations, not just here in the Balearics where the market is expected to grow by 200 percent for next summer. However, Flaquer claims that where the Balearics could steal the march on other competing all inclusive destinations, is by offering the very maximum level of quality and value for money. He added that the government intends to start strictly monitoring the quality of services and facilities offered by the all inclusive complexes.
Flaquer said that the Balearic tourist industry is having to deal with three key changing factors.
The first is that competing destinations are offering visitors a more varied programme.
Secondly, demand for holidays is slowing down and thirdly, people are becoming more adventurous and are looking for new experiences.
Flaquer said these are the challenges and these are the goals, “what we must no do is to start dropping our prices. “We can't start matching other competing destinations on price and lowering our prices will not only lead to a reduction in quality which in turn will lead to unhappy customers; the very worst kind of publicity,” the Minister for Tourism said. Flaquer said that the Balearics has to work together as a whole. “Tourism is what keeps us all alive,” he said.
The Minister believes that by using the very latest technology to follow a carefully designed tourism plan, “we can create the perfect environment, offering variety, excitement and quality, not only to visitors but the whole Balearic community,” he said. He admitted that changing booking habits and economic strife in some key satellite markets such as Germany, have not helped the Balearics, “but we've got work around these problems by doing it together” he said.