Attending the meeting were Bill Murray, head of economics and public policy at the British Embassy in Madrid; Sarah Jane Morris, the British Consul for Madrid and Alicante; and Lloyd Milen, the Consul for the Balearics and Catalonia. The resorts are all of particular interest to the British tourism market.
Between them, the eight municipalities represent just 0.92% of the total Spanish population. By contrast they accounted last year for 13.5% of all Spain's foreign tourism - more than eleven million tourists in the eight municipalities combined.
The AMT is concerned about competition that Spain faces on a global scale and also about new demands being made by tourists. To meet these, there are increasing commitments to digitalisation, sustainability, safety and accessibility. In order to meet the challenges and raise competitiveness, the AMT is pressing for improved financing from the Spanish government.
The mayor of Calvia, Alfonso Rodríguez, said yesterday that there is a need for the government to reintroduce financing programmes for many resorts. "In order to pursue the quality that will enable our leadership, there has to be a commitment to our tourism industry. The state budget should consider this financial aid, which disappeared some years ago."
During the meeting, the mayors of the eight municipalities raised their concerns about unknowns surrounding the Brexit negotiations. Nevertheless, both parties concurred that the British tourism market has a positive perception of Spanish resorts and that there is a good commercial relationship between the UK and Spain when it comes to tourism.
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