Catalina Cladera speaking in London on Tuesday. | MDB

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Amidst all the apparent storm over whether or not there should be tourism promotion of the Balearics and indeed the Balearic government's role at the London World Travel Market, examination of the government's budget for 2023 indicates that there is funding for promotion - 6.4 million euros.

The Aetib tourism strategy agency will be using this money to coordinate promotion "in the low and medium seasons"; to develop communication strategies for markets which supply tourists; for attendance at events and strategic fairs; and for communication campaigns to promote tourism in the Balearics.

In addition, Aetib has 2.8 million euros for actions to diversify supplier markets, to reduce "dependence" on traditional markets, while also maintaining air connectivity.

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As well as the government, there is the Council of Mallorca, to which responsibilities for promotion were transferred at the start of this year. The Council hasn't presented its 2023 budget yet, but in London on Tuesday the president, Catalina Cladera, stated that Mallorca is continuing with its tourism promotion strategy based on the "unwavering premise of sustainability".

During her presentation, Cladera highlighted advances in sustainability and accessibility, Mallorca being a destination that is "sustainable and prepared to welcome people with disabilities".

She added that, in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization, Mallorca will be hosting the second International Sustainable Tourism Summit in March next year. In this context, she emphasised that Mallorca must be an open destination which is "prepared to welcome all visitors who want to enjoy the island".

* Tourism promotion has been much the same for several years. Even when the Partido Popular were in government from 2011 to 2015 and when the promotion budget was lower than it is now (austerity policies did admittedly influence this), the emphasis was on the low and medium seasons and primarily on actions such as attendance at travel fairs.