Balearic tourism minister Iago Negueruela was asked in parliament on Tuesday if he believed that the tourist pilot plan had yielded the expected results. The Partido Popular's Salomé Cabrera raised this question, noting that the plan had "ended prematurely".
Negueruela replied that despite the plan having been curtailed because of the earlier opening of Spain's borders, it had been "better than expected". He referred to last week's government analysis which estimated that the plan had been worth the equivalent of 35 million euros in terms of tourism promotion. This was because of the media coverage. The New York Times, Le Parisien, Time; these were among publications which had covered the plan.
He also mentioned the 74 journalists from seven countries who had been given accreditation for the presentation of the plan. Negueruela highlighted the media interest in Germany and the UK and an audience reach of 60 million people in these two countries.
Cabrera criticised the plan. It had focused on Majorca, where the German tourism market is the largest. The flights were to Palma, while those to Ibiza and Minorca were "pre-existing" flights. Hoteliers in Minorca, she noted, had felt "humiliated". "All the islands need equal help," she said, expressing concern about what will happen beyond the pilot plan.
Negueruela accepted that the German market has a "special presence" in Majorca, but added that the pilot plan had "positioned all the islands" in the European market and that it had been a "valuable initiative".