Cultural and gastronomic tourism will form the focus of Balearic promotions at the Fitur travel fair in Madrid from 20 to 24 January. This fair is one of the three large annual European events for the travel and tourism industry - the other two being Berlin’s ITB and London’s World Travel Market.
The Balearics will primarily be promoting to the Spanish market, and Thursday, 21 January will be the Balearic Islands’ day at the fair, when there will be a presentation to the national media. This will, among other things, be highlighting Palma as a cultural destination through its association with the artist Joan Miró, the candidature of Minorca’s Talayotic heritage as a Unesco World Heritage Site, and Formentera for its culture and nature. There will be other presentations with a cultural theme on behalf of Llucmajor (“365 days of culture a year”), Alcudia, Ibiza Jazz Week and “tir de fona”, i.e. slingshot competitions.
As for gastronomy, there will be showcooking in the central area of the Balearic stand which will feature three renowned chefs: Tolo Sintes (Pastelería Artesana Menorquina, Alaoir); Juan Ramón Cobo (the restaurant at the Hotel Es Marés, Formentera); and Miquel Calent of Can Calent in Campos.
From the Thursday until the end of the fair, there will also be pastries on display at the stand, with a cafeteria showing off products such as the Majorcan ensaimada, Minorca’s carquinyols and Ibiza and Formentera’s flaó, each accompanied by a cup of hot chocolate.
Balearic tourism representatives and personnel from the Balearic Tourism Agency will be holding various meetings with tour operators, the Spanish tourism offices overseas and others with an interest in the Balearics.
As a novelty, during the days when the fair is open to the general public (22-24 January), a photography contest will be organised via Twitter, with winners receiving a prize for two people to travel to each of the Balearic Islands. For this, participants will have to take a photo in the photo booth and upload it to their Twitter accounts with a hashtag for any of the islands.
The Balearic stand will be of 560 square metres with a cafeteria in its centre as well as a small workshop at which various pastries and sweets will be available. The four islands will have their own spaces as well as zones set aside for meetings.
At the Majorca part of the stand, nine municipalities will also be represented: Alcudia, Calvia, Campos, Felanitx, Llucmajor, Manacor, Palma, Pollensa and Ses Salines.
The stand will also have three radio booths for live broadcasting, a presentations’ area, a press room, a meetings’ room and storage and wardrobe spaces.