The tourism and finance ministries are working to try and dig the government out of the hole that has been created with the budget for the Aetib tourism agency. An amendment to the government's 2019 budget that had been raised by Podemos received what initially seemed to have been the mistaken support of the Partido Popular. It later transpired that the PP had apparently backed Podemos as a way of trying to drive a wedge between Podemos and the government parties - PSOE and Més.
The upshot was that 2.7 million euros of the Aetib budget was reallocated to social housing. This has therefore reduced Aetib's tourism promotion capacity, while it also threatens some jobs.
Tourism minister Bel Busquets said yesterday that there is a risk that the Balearics might not be represented at the big tourism fairs in Berlin and London: the ITB in Berlin is in March and the World Travel Market in London is in November. There will definitely be representation at the Fitur fair in Madrid later this month.
Busquets stated that games shouldn't be played with something as important as tourism, which creates wealth for families and also generates benefits that can help to diversify the economy. The two ministries are giving priority to finding a way out of the mess caused by Podemos and the PP and in salvaging attendance at fairs and other initiatives, such as the flights agreement easyJet have with the Council of Minorca.
