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Palma.—The President of the Balearic Chamber of Commerce, Joan Gual de Torrella, yesterday urged the recently elected Partido Popular President to back up the small to medium-sized businesses of the Islands in their struggle to emerge from the economic crisis and to boost the export of “knowhow” in tourism. He claimed the region has accumulated decades of experience in the field.

Gual de Torrella said that the priority at this moment in time was economic recovery through the regeneration of production in business sectors dominated by small to medium-sized traders.

He praised the new package of measures that the new regional government is preparing for the sector but said that the slow-moving wheels of bureaucracy were still a millstone round the necks of those who were trying to get a small business up and running. Gual said that the Balearics were also perfectly placed to develop trade overseas exporting tourist industry “knowhow”, following in the footsteps of Majorcan hoteliers who made the leap some 20 years ago.

The large hotel chains are merely the vanguard of what could be a flourishing industry of smaller businesses following in their wake, said Gual de Torrella, educating the host country in everything from purchasing land to employing trained staff and running a tourist establishment.