The luxury tourism segment in Mallorca is urging the government to optimise tourism research and intelligence in order to increase this market segment's purchasing power. This objective is said to be in line with what tourism strategy should be regardless of political colour - greater spending but without a dependence on increasing volume (numbers of tourists).
Essentially Mallorca, the association that represents companies in the luxury segment, is working with the government's AETIB tourism strategy agency on positioning the island in what is a generally increasing market. Despite the competitive level of Mallorca and the Balearics, direct rivals in the luxury segment, such as Marbella, surpass the islands in terms of tourist intelligence and studies.
The first step is a study of the economic impact of the luxury segment on Mallorca's tourism. At the same time, the use of big data is crucial for maximising the strengths of Mallorca and the Balearics and for minimising weaknesses. The association says that this is something which has yet to be done in the Balearics and is an example of where other destinations are "years ahead".
According to the Tourism Competitiveness Index compiled by the Fundació Impulsa in the Balearics, the islands rate highly when it comes to issues such as health and safety, the social prioritisation of tourism, air and sea connections, infrastructure and natural resources. But there are severe competitive deficiencies in respect of administrative facilitation of businesses, technological integration, territorial planning, human capital and the labour market.
From Impulsa big data for 315 European regions, Essentially Mallorca points to three destinations in the Mediterranean that currently rank as the island's main competitors in the luxury segment: Marbella, Mykonos and Tuscany.
Despite being natural competitors, the association leaves out the Algarve and Antalya with better index rankings in terms of prices. When it comes to the objectives of the Balearics, the association does not necessarily consider that cheaper prices in these two destinations is a negative. "What we intend is to stop a dependence on low-cost tourism."