/ Town Hall
Tuesday 22nd January 2019
CALVIÀ AT FITUR -THE ALLIANCE OF TOURIST MUNICIPALITIES, OF WHICH CALVIÀ IS PART PART OF, IS OFFICIALLY PRESENTED TO THE SOCIETY
The Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourist Municipalities total more than 60 million overnight stays and produce more than 20% of the total tourist overnight stays in our country
The Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourist Municipalities (AMT), formed by Adeje, Arona, Benidorm, Calvià, Lloret de Mar, Salou, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Torremolinos, has presented its objectives, priorities and challenges as pioneering tourist destinations in Spain.
At the press conference, the president of the AMT, Marco Aurelio Pérez Sánchez, Mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, the Vice President, Antonio Pérez Pérez, Mayor of Benidorm and Juan Molas, president of the CEHAT and ITH and member of the Technical Secretariat of the AMT, with the presence of all the mayors, have explained today, in Madrid, the challenges, objectives and priorities of the Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourist Municipalities for 2019, which subsequently have been transferred to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, in a work meeting attended by the mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal; the mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena; the mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga; the mayor of Lloret de Mar, Jaume Dulsat, the mayor of Salou, Pere Granados; the mayor of Torremolinos, José Ortiz; and the mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The president of the AMT, Marco Aurelio Pérez, explained that the 8 municipalities that form the Alliance have the same objectives in the tourism sector, so "these destinations have joined together to collaborate with each other and with other administrations in order to work, to carry out integration, promotion and development actions, cooperating in training and professionalisation of employment ".
On his behalf, the vice president of the AMT, Antonio Pérez, stressed the importance of breaking the seasonal standstill in tourist destinations, and for which these eight municipalities "are the spearhead that many countries want because they generate solvent, coherent and forceful wealth". In this sense, he has contributed a series of data as the eight pioneer tourism municipalities that make up the AMT represent 0.92% of the total Spanish population, but generate more than 4% of direct national tourism employment. These eight municipalities received 11,059,430 foreign tourists in 2017, representing 13.52% of the total received in Spain, and reached 67,143,208 total overnight stays, representing 19.75% of the total registered in our country. With an 82.65% average occupation and 86,185 employees in the sector, the valuable contribution of these touristic municipalities to the good results registered by Spain is more than patent, as they have pointed out in the presentation.
Improve the financing of tourist destinations
Given these data, the AMT claims the need for a specific financing system for tourist destinations that materialises in greater financial support by the General State Administration, in order to launch projects aimed at improving the competitiveness of the destinations, and therefore, the positive economic results that Spain has been registering in recent years in tourism.
In this sense, they have indicated that the petitions to the minister go in this line and for specific actions like the regulation of the local government financing Law that defines exactly what is a tourist destination, since, for instance, none of the 8 municipalities of the Alliance fits in with the definition, and this has effects in terms of investments, or that other products are found that allow financing these destinations so that they can maintain their competitiveness against other competing destinations.
The Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, reiterates, in this regard, the importance of the State Government to restart investments to again promote the conversion of mature areas while highlighting the commitment to Innovation and Intelligent Tourist Destinations as a driving force in the action of these destinations that have been pioneers in the tourism field.
Likewise, he has requested the minister a security reinforcement in the high season in the municipality of Calvià, with the increase of the State Security Forces and Bodies.
About the Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourist Municipalities
The Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourist Municipalities (AMT) arises from the initiative of 8 pioneer tourist destinations in Spain, such as Adeje, Arona, Benidorm, Calvià, Lloret de Mar, Salou, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Torremolinos, whose tourist singularity and commitment to the digitisation of the sector, sustainability, accessibility, and cooperation amongst destinations, represents a set of common strengths that will allow them to maintain their leadership position in the sector.
