John S. Nunn.MaóThe recent World Travel Market trade exhibition held in London has served to highlight the problems being experienced in Menorca´s tourist industry.
There is a distinct stagnation in the market for the type of holidays on offer here, which is worrying the representatives who travelled from the island to attend the exhibition. These representatives were drawn from the Island Government, ASHOME and the Fundació Turisme.
In affirming their determination to correct the trend of stagnation, their intention is to redouble their efforts to stimulate trade through changing the face of what the island has to offer. With this objective in mind, recreational activities such as walking, boating and cycling have all been highlighted as activities where the infrastructure needs improvement and further development.
Bookings through the website visitmenorca.com brought in 18,000 tourists this year. The necessary steps to achieve a doubling of this figure are being taken according to hoteliers´ boss Juan Juanico.
With regard to current indications of booking figures from all sources for the coming year, spokesmen are stating that there is no need for alarm, but neither are they unduly optimistic.
New logo
One day of the exhibition was devoted to the promotion of the Balearic Islands. This coincided with the launch of a new logo to promote Menorca. The president of Fundació Turisme Menorca emphasised the importance of a distinct logo that defines Menorca as a tourist destination in its own right.
The Fundació strengthened its links with major tour operators such as Saga, My Travel and the airline GB Airways, by proposing economic incentives linked with growth in sales.
The profile of the "Balearics Day" was raised further by the presence at the exhibition of tennis star Rafa Nadal, from Mallorca. Since then he has travelled on to China, to Shanghai. He has continued his work as an ambassador for general trade with the islands whilst on his Far East visit.
