Formentera’s president and chief of tourism was joined today by the head of the tourism authority at the first in a series of meetings with figureheads from some of local tourism’s key industries. The gathering was attended by representatives of businesses involved in meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (“MICE”), health/wellness and luxury—three of the so-called “Strategic Tourism Sectors”, or “SETs” on Formentera.
President Ferrer described a meeting spent explaining not only how SETs committees will work, but also the prospects for their involvement in promoting tourism. The Balearic Agency for Tourism, or ATB, receives SETs funding from the “Sustainable Tourism Levy”—money which can in turn be used for collaborative, sector-level public-private initiatives and targeted product upgrades.
In all, eight different SETs exist in the islands: gastronomy, culture, active tourism, eco-tourism, sports tourism, health and wellness, luxury and MICE. In the days ahead, spokespeople from the remaining sectors will be tapped for meetings that are expected to take place twice yearly. Formentera businesses in these key industries must sign up to take part in SETs. By doing so, they share in decision-making about funding to promote tourism and can offer suggestions to increase the competitiveness of particular sectors or the island at large.
Promoting Formentera in 2020
Meeting participants also heard about promotional efforts planned by the Formentera government in 2020. According to President Ferrer, whether at travel expos, workshops and presentations, Formentera will “put particular emphasis on courting domestic, Italian, French and Portuguese travellers, without forgetting more entrenched markets such as those in the UK and Germany”.
The local tourism chiefs also pointed to professional development opportunities in the offing this April. The trainings will be geared towards islanders employed in tourism and eager to gain expertise promoting the island to potential visitors—a blind spot identified by a recent round of exit surveys intended to serve as a barometer for tourism satisfaction.
4 February 2020
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera
Ecovidrio, the nonprofit responsible for recycling glass collected in street-side bins, is teaming up with the municipal and island governments of Formentera and Eivissa to present a recycling push dubbed ‘Glass for Posidonia’ (Vidrio por Posidonia). Training its sights on football clubs, the educational push aims to show sportspeople why recycling glass waste is so important.
Formentera’s culture department announces that this evening at 8.00pm, the island’s municipal gallery, the Sala d’Exposicions ‘Ajuntament Vell’, will pull the curtain back on Baleàrics, 10 Mediterranean artists.
Formentera’s culture department unveiled details today about the activities scheduled to enliven local libraries this February. One the star features —a book launch centred on Rebecca torna a Manderley— is set to take place at 8.00pm this Thursday 6 February in the Marià Villangómez library.
Formentera’s office of citizen participation has rolled back the clock on its previous deadline for project ideas in the 2020 round of “Participatory Spending” (Pressupostos Participatius), signalling that island groups will have until 10 February to submit proposals. Nineteen proposals came in before the original application period concluded on Friday 31 January.