The decline in British travellers to the Balearic Islands in July this year reached double digits by 10% compared to the same month last year, raising concern and concern in the local, tourist “family” about whether this decrease can be attributed to the movement against overtourism. A movement particularly active in Mallorca, but also in the rest of the islands of the group, in the context of which a series of demonstrations and protests took place during the summer.
To limit the potential impact of the movement against overtourism on Balearic tourism, already, the Balearic Government’s Office for Tourism Strategy (AETIB) was in contact with the Public Relations Offices in the UK, Lotus, and Germany, GCE, about a media campaign.
As part of the campaign, announcements were sent to the media, as well as tour operators and travel agencies, both in the UK. The aim is to convey messages of reassurance that tourists are perfectly welcome on the islands and should not fear a hostile reception or manifestations of ‘danger of tourism’.
The Spanish AETIB office cited an example of how foreign media can have a distorted picture of the situation. A Sunday Times reporter recently met the Balearic Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauzá, having arrived in Mallorca, expecting to face hostile behaviour. Although he encountered a general awareness of the need to address the issues caused by overtourism, the journalist found that an anti-tourist image was completely wrong. This emerged from conversations he had on the street with ordinary people on the streets, with taxi drivers and others.
While the tourism industry in the Balearic Islands welcomed the campaign in the media, there are many who express concerns and doubts about its effectiveness, citing the phrase “Kill a tourist”, written on a wall in Mallorca, and circulating around the world in the context of recent protests against mass tourism on the island. “As much as the media claims that everything is OK, if potential visitors see on TV a picture with a slogan that says ‘kill a tourist’, they will think twice,” they claim.
AETIB has also been in contact with the Public Relations Office in Germany, GCE. Announcements with the same messages were sent to German media and tour operators. However, Germany, in terms of July tourist figures, presented a different picture to that of the UK, with the number of tourists having increased by 12%.
In terms of smaller tourist markets than those of the UK and Germany, France recorded an increase of 22% and Italy a decrease of 11%. Domestic tourism fell 13 percent, but foreign tourism grew overall by 4.3 percent in July.
As for the UK market, since April monthly figures show an increase of 0.3% (in April), a fall of 5.9% in May and a rise of 2.4% in June before July’s fall of 10%.
