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Palma de Majorca.—Tourism Director on Palma City Council, Alvaro Gijon (pictured) was confirming yesterday how the new Tourism Foundation, set up to promote all-year-round tourism in the municipality of Palma, is going to operate.

Palma City Council has made a point of marketing the new campaign as a largely privately funded organisation which will only eat minimally into public funds, but Gijon made it clear yesterday that Palma City Council, the Balearic Ports Authority and the Spanish National Airports Authority (AENA) - all public authorities - are going to be footing 50 percent of the bill. The remaining half is going to be funded by 16 separate companies who are largely considered as “heavyweight” in the tourist industry.

Constitution
Both public and private members of the Foundation will each be providing 60'000 euros for the official setting up of its constitution and statutes, and the mapping out of its strategy and operations. Its constitution will then be put up for full approval by Palma City Council on 26th January. An extraordinary session of the Council will be held at the end of January to formally approve the Foundation. Each sector will later be investing 1.8 million euros by way of the Tourism Foundation's annual budget, said Gijon.

Technical studies carried out prior to the forming of the new organisation formally concluded yesterday that the structure of a business foundation was the one most suitable for the work which the private and public sectors envisage.

According to Gijon, the Foundation could be legally operational as soon as March this year. All collaborating organisations will contribute their professional experience to boosting tourism activity in Palma. They are also committed to providing full information and promotional material at tourist offices and to creating an image- conscious logo in which visitors can have confidence. Focus will be on market niches in gastronomy, shopping, culture, fitness, conferences, golf, sailing cruising and sports.

With the creation of the new Tourism Foundation, Palma Council will dissolve the former Majorcan Tourism Institute (Imtur).