Tourism activity in the Balearics in 2014 was, for the second year in a row, above the level that had existed before economic crisis. The GDP contribution from tourism rose by almost 3% to 12,000 million euros, the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Between 2010 and 2014 tourism activity grew by 3.5%, while overall economic growth was 0.6%, according to a report by the regional government and the Exceltur alliance for tourism excellence. Tourism was, therefore, the key factor in bringing about economic recovery. The 2014 performance constituted 10% of the total economic impact from tourism in Spain as a whole and meant that it comprised 44.8% of Balearic GDP. In 2010, this had been 40%.
In the years from 2010 to 2014 there was also a growth in tourism-related employment. In 2014 this increased by 3.1% to 150,346 jobs. Employment levels were, therefore, greater than those pre-crisis, with tourism contributing 32% of total employment in the Balearics.
In presenting the report, the executive vice-president of Exceltur, José Luis Zoreda, emphasised the importance of measuring tourism performance in terms of the economic and social impact on the islands and not just through the number of tourist arrivals. The report, named Impactur, highlighted the need for the public and private sectors to work together in generating information on which decision-making can be based.
Biel Barceló, the tourism minister, said that the government was willing to consider developing other indicators to complement the socio-economic data contained in the Impactur report in order to have a broader view of areas associated with creating tourism sustainability in the Balearics.