1.3 million to be spent on first promotional campaign

Forty firms to collaborate in promoting island to tourists

Signing. Representatives of the firms and Foundation

The forty signatories represent all walks of local life, including Councils, banks, construction companies, estate agencies, transport companies etc.

CHRISTINE M. WATTERSON.Maó

The president of the Balearic Government, Jaume Matas, last week defended the concept of collaboration between public and private enterprises as a key element in guaranteeing "efficient" actions to the benefit of the tourist sector. The head of the autonomous government made the declaration during the signing of collaboration agreements between 40 Menorcan firms and the Menorcan Tourism Foundation, under which each body will provide a minimum 3,000 euros for promoting the island as a tourist destination.

The signatories represent all walks of island life; Town Councils, construction companies, public transport, banks, car-hire firms, estate agencies, supermarkets, hotels, department stores, the shoe industry, villa management companies, investment companies, etc.

Matas emphasised that the "strategic alliance" between the private and public sectors was a "guarantee of success" and explained that the administration had to work to create an adequate framework to improve the tourist product and innovation, whilst the private sector had the responsiblity of encouraging tourist activity. He urged the signatories to project an image of Menorca in which the price of the destination is not too high for the quality.

Francisco Tutzó, the president of the Menorca Tourism Foundation, said that "tourism is too important to the Menorcan economy to be the object of political confrontation" and believed that there is an urgent need to define the sort of tourism wanted for the island. In his opinion, it is not enough to say that a sustainable tourism which respects the natural environment is required; an in-depth study should be made of controversial themes such as golf courses and marinas.

The Foundation´s initial campaign to promote the island requires an investment of 1.3 million euros. This will cover actions such as: drawing-up promotional tourist plans with different tour-operators; signing agreements with low-cost airlines; designing a corporate image for Menorca; and creating a web page.