The regional ministry for productive sectors and the Majorca Chamber of Commerce have launched an investment plan for promoting local retailing.
At a press conference on Thursday, details were given of the plan, which will have 200,000 euros investment. The minister, Juan Pedro Yllanes, said that the objective is to tackle the economic impact of the health crisis on small local businesses. The plan involves town halls, with ten agreements expected to be signed this year for the revitalisation of urban centres and the creation of "open-air" shopping centres.
Yllanes explained that the first agreement is with Inca town hall. The agreement was signed last month. Over the coming weeks, there will be agreements with Arta, Manacor, Palma, and town halls in Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
"Now, more than ever, local businesses must be supported in order to be competitive," Yllanes stated, calling on other town halls to form part of a plan "that will stimulate municipalities socially and economically".
The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Antoni Mercant, said that promoting local trade has been a "strategic line" that the Chamber has been developing for a long time. It was now "essential" that aid was strengthened in order to "recover dynamism as a generator of jobs and life on the streets". The Chamber will be organising seminars to explain sales and digitalisation strategies and specific ways of improving shop profitability. There will also be business and economic training courses for town hall councillors and those involved in local development.