At the auditorium on the ParcBit technology park in Palma on Thursday, there was a conference with the title 'Opening the circular transition'. Organised by the public-private Fundació Impulsa for Balearic competitiveness, it brought together some one hundred politicians, businesspeople and others and included specific presentations such as 'Transitioning towards a circular tourism system in the Balearic Islands'.
President Armengol said that for the Balearics to continue being a leading tourism destination, "we need to have policies and strategies in terms of circularity and sustainability". "The passing of the new tourism law last year marked the roadmap that we now have to develop together through public and private investment in order to be the first circular tourism destination in the world."
The president stressed that there is commitment to quality tourism and not quantity as well as to regenerative tourism for social and environmental cohesion. "Linking the productive sectors helps the competitiveness of companies and the tourism sector. The tourism sector has to be a driver of the entire Balearic economic productive fabric. Circularity must be linked to energy efficiency and the elimination of plastic waste, for which 60 million euros of public resources have been allocated so as to make structural changes in tourism a reality."
Carmen Planas, president of the Fundació Impulsa and of the Confederation of Balearic Business Associations, emphasised that businesses and unions are clear in their commitment to sustainability being the central axis of the islands' future development. "And within sustainability, a basic element is circularity, championed since its inception by the foundation's board of trustees.
"There are five keys for transition towards a circular tourism system - comprehensive water management; the provision of and efficient consumption of clean and accessible energy; recycling of materials; regeneration of the food chain; and mobility oriented to the movement of people and goods." She concluded that transition towards a circular tourism system needs to be pursued "without sectoral barriers and with synergies to shape the future that we imagine for the Balearic Islands".