"Between 2021 and 2022 we will recover all the lost GDP, which is a positive sign of the strong recovery in tourism activity that we have had throughout this summer and that we hope for next year." So said Balearic minister for the economic model, tourism and employment, Iago Negueruela, on Sunday, who observed that this recovery will be from the level in 2019, "one of the best in the history of the Balearic Islands".
The minister explained that 2020 closed with an "historic" drop of more than 20% of GDP. Although this was less than initial forecasts had predicted, it was double the decline in the Spanish economy and almost four times greater than that of the European Union.
"Last year we suffered a shock due to the fall in tourism that caused a decrease in GDP of more than 20%. But that phase has passed and the islands will this year record very strong growth of over 11.5%."
"This summer has been better than expected and we saw some significant second-quarter figures as well." The government is now awaiting the third-quarter results, "which is the most important of the year for us".
Given the sharp fall of the Balearic economy due to the weight of tourism, Negueruela indicated that the government is looking to European funds as a means of diversifying the region's economic model. "This is an economic model which is very much based on tourism," he acknowledged, while also highlighting synergies between tourism and other sectors. "We are a tourism power, but this needs to be compensated for by other sectors."