Forbes España has celebrated its tenth anniversary with a dinner and conference in Palma. The CEO of the Spanish version of the leading US business magazine, Ignacio Quintana, announced on Tuesday that a new publication will be launched in January - Forbes Turismo. And during a Wednesday conference discussion with the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, he said that there were "many possibilities" for this new project to be headquartered in Palma.
The mayor expressed his full support for this initiative, "as we are the de facto centre of tourism knowledge", adding that Palma "is the best city in the world to live and to come to".
Martínez, while acknowledging that a "mismatch" caused by illegal holiday lets in the city contributes to problems with housing, pointed to incentives which will be offered to alleviate these problems and voiced his rejection of "the demonisation of tourism and tourismphobia".
Also in discussion was President Prohens. Speaking with the editor of Forbes España, Andrés Rodríguez, she said that the intention for tourism is "to grow in value, not in volume". "We must change the paradigms of tourist success through attractions such as culture and sports throughout the year and so beyond sun and beach, without detracting from this segment. The key is air connectivity."
The president stressed the need for "sustainable, responsible and respectful tourism". "Quality tourism is not just luxury tourism. For family tourism, there also has to be improvements to the quality of the offer and to the hotel stock. We are a safe destination, where we have the best labour agreement for hospitality in Spain."
Prohens added that in 2024, more than 50% of tourist tax revenue will be invested in specific tourism projects with the rest being for sustainability and the water cycle.