On Thursday and Friday, the first Convention of European Tourist Islands was held in Gran Canaria. The islands/territories which participated in this convention called on Brussels to adopt a common European tourism policy that recognises their specific needs and provides solutions to problems facing them.
Signatories to the Canary Islands Declaration were the Canaries, the Balearics, Corsica, Crete, Madeira, Gozo, the Azores plus French Guiana. This declaration incorporates, among other things, an all-encompassing approach to sustainable tourism management, which values heritage and identity, combats seasonality and ensures the well-being of the communities.
A strategic action plan, to be worked on during 2023, will include research, information exchange and strategic multinational projects to be implemented with the assistance of the private sector and European Funds. All this, states the declaration, will place the European islands "at the head of the European Union in the urgent fight against climate change".
For the Balearics, the tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, stressed the need for common policies on climate change and highlighted a Balearic commitment to the circular economy, which has been included in the Declaration.
The president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Maria Frontera, emphasised the importance of air connectivity while also pointing to the risks of "over-regulation", which prevents specific requirements from being taken into account.