Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, said on Monday that the government is preparing, in a decisive manner, with the whole of the tourism sector to ensure the recovery of UK tourism in 2021. Next year's season will be "key and strategic, and we trust in the recovery of the British market, which is very important for the islands".
Negueruela was speaking during the Balearics presentation at the virtual London World Travel Market (WTM). He added that "we have the safety protocols to show that businesses are up to the task; the workers and the unions, too, as all have made the effort being highlighted at the WTM".
For next season, the Balearics will focus on "each island's strategic tourism segments" through collaboration with the island councils, as each island aspires to attract "a different type of tourism". This collaboration, he stressed, is important "at a time when health decisions are marking developments day after day in guaranteeing the health and safety of tourists". "We are clearly a safe destination, with superb health infrastructure. Coming to the islands will be a way of being able to rest and relax whatever the activity."
Andreu Serra, the Council of Mallorca's councillor for tourism, presented a video which highlighted the degree to which Mallorca has sought to be "a leader in safe tourism". "Hotels, leisure, restaurants, shops have implemented strict safety protocols based on social distance, health measures and prevention." Serra stated that "Mallorca is ready to take care of you" before presenting a separate video, the one narrated by Rafael Nadal in which the message is "we're striving to make life the same again".
There were also presentations for Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The president of the Council of Minorca, Susana Mora, highlighted the declaration of the island as a Biosphere Reserve in 1993 in promoting Minorca's conservation, "exceptional marine environment", archaeological sites, culture and gastronomy.
Briton Martin Davis, who has lived in Ibiza for 27 years, presented a video which indicated that the island "has everything - culture, nature and the people" as well as Roman and Phoenician archaeological remains and magnificent churches. Ibiza's director of tourism, Juan Miguel Costa, stressed "the very special relationship between the island and the UK".
The head of tourism in Formentera, Carlos Bernús, said that the island can only be reached by sea and that, although it is only small, it has "more than 75 kilometres of sandy beaches and pristine sea". He highlighted the benefits of Formentera for sport and activities such as bird watching, while also emphasising the sustainability that has been worked on for the past two decades by preventing new construction.