Vice-President Biel Barceló, the Balearic minister for tourism, has highlighted the importance of sports tourism as a means of attracting “a quality tourism that is active, healthy, off-season and respectful of the land”.
Barceló was speaking at a government occasion in honour of the Majorcan triathlete Mario Mola, and he added that sports tourism activities are “a priority in the tourism model that we wish to develop,” singling out triathlon as being important among these activities.
Mola was being recognised for his sporting excellence. He received a commemorative plaque during an act at which the efforts of the Balearic Triathlon Federation were also recognised; it has recently surpassed one thousand licences.
Those making the award, in addition to Barceló, were the minister for culture, Esperança Camps, the director-general for sport and youth, Carles Gonyalons, and the president of the triathlon federation, Abilio García.
This year’s silver medallist at the Triathlon World Championship, Mola said that he was “very grateful” for the recognition. “The schedule means that we have to go all over the world, so it’s undoubtedly an honour to be awarded for sporting achievement while at home, and I am very pleased and grateful to those who have made it possible.”
Camps praised “the work, the effort and the dedication that lie behind the successes” and said that it was important “to emphasise values such as humility and meeting challenges in arriving at sporting excellence”.
With this theme in mind, the sports and youth directorate will be introducing a programme for educating school-age children through the values of sport. Camps also acknowledged the work by sports federations in developing sport in the Balearics, and she announced the reintroduction of assistance to all the federations that had lost it under the previous government.