CiF tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer has announced the addition to the Council's arsenal, from today, of three new display stands to organise the informational material it offers to tourists and locals. Eager to maintain the look and feel of existing public works projects, the administration has tapped local artist Jordi Peñaranda, who designed the tourist information office in la Savina as well as outdoor signage at the Sant Francesc office.

Two of the display cases will be used by the office of tourism. Of those, one is slated for the Sant Francesc office and the other —the larger of the two— will go to la Savina. According to the councillor, the two specially-designed stands will be the ideal way to greet Formentera's visitors, not only at the point of entry but also at the main nerve centre of the island. The third stand was bought by the CiF's office of agriculture and will be used to disseminate information about the Formentera farmers market and other related activities.

All three of the pieces boast rust finishing and locking wheels. Priced at €870, the XL model (for the la Savina tourism office) measures 1,500 centimetres wide by 1,600 cm tall and 640 cm deep. The other two stands measure 700 cm x 1,600 cm x 640 cm and had a cost of €720. Informational material will be affixed with magnets to ensure the long life and optimal appearance of the cases.

CiF president Jaume Ferrer has met today with Japan's consul general in the Balearics, Catalunya and València, Hiroyuki Makiuchi. Ferrer welcomed the visit, which provided an opportunity for the two men to discuss “Formentera's prospects as a travel destination for the Japanese”. The president referred to “steps we can be taking to open Formentera's doors to Japanese visitors”, particularly, he said, during the island's traditional low season.

For his part, Makiuchi described Formentera as “the ideal island destination for senior Japanese tourists”, who he said would be receptive to proposals of active tourism like walking and cycling. According to Makiuchi, one in four Japanese is elderly and has got the time, money and get-up-and-go to visit “exotic” destinations like Formentera. Eager to make headway on the issue, President Ferrer and Consul Makiuchi said future meetings —as well as organised outings with travel agencies— would soon follow.

The Formentera Council, by way of the administration’s department of trade and the local tourism advisory board, has announced plans to use the employment website turijobs.com to select 130 qualified professionals to fill positions this summer in different tourism sector companies on the island. “The idea is to propose qualified workers to the tourism sector,” explained director of the board Carlos Bernús, “and in so doing improve the quality of tourist services here on the island”.

The selection process began one week ago and, according to Xavier Martín, head of the Turijobs portal, more than 4,000 candidates have already expressed interest. Martín says the process will create “a reserve of tourism professionals” in order to meet the need for quality personnel this summer.

Interested applicants have until 31 March to send their CVs to the site –www.turijobs.com/minisites/formentera. CiF councillor of tourism Alejandra Ferrer reported that the most qualified applicants will be asked to participate in face-to-face staff selection events held between 4 and 7 April in Madrid, Sevilla, Bilbao and Barcelona. Ferrer noted, “interviews in Formentera will also be organised if the need for local staff arises”.

In the end, business owners themselves will decide who they hire, with the Council offering support for video conferences or other technical needs. The Eivissa-Formentera chamber of commerce has also offered its support for the initiative. In the words of Bernús, “this is a project we are spearheading at the European level”. He added that “it will set us apart in terms of quality tourism”.

This morning, head of local tourism advisory board Carlos Bernús accompanied a group of Chinese journalists on a jaunt up to the island's quintessential lookout spot, el Mirador de la Mola. After taking in the views, Bernús and the team -composed mainly of writers for travel magazines- capped their tour of la Mola with stops at the Majoral workshop and Terramoll's wine cellar. Their itinerary yesterday had the group ambling through the Ses Salines national park and, as the day wound down, taking in a sunset at the Es Cap de Barbaria lighthouse. On the heels of the tour, Fang Fang, head of the Spanish tourism office in Peking and organiser of the adventure, reported that “the journalists were blown away by the sights here on the island”.

The goal, explains Bernús, is for the journalists to get to know Formentera so they can spread the word once back home. “This trip was organised to get the Chinese media talking about the island,” he said, adding that most of the visitors write for niche travel magazines like National Geographic Traveler China. “The kind of tourist we're targeting is one with high purchasing power, whose tour of Spain will include shopping on the mainland and time to wind down afterward,” said Bernús, who pointed out that Formentera fits in perfectly as a relaxing, natural setting to crown a journey.

Last year, Formentera reps promoted the island at Shanghai's tourism trade fair — a trip Bernús indicated has already begun to pay off “with visits like this one”. The Formentera Council picked up the eight-person troupe's travel fare from Eivissa as well as their accomodation and expenses. In the words of Bernús, Asian markets could be a fantastic way to ensure off-season visitors to the island.