Today through Sunday, March 13th, Formentera will be showing visitors of ITB Berlin everything it's got in terms of sporting events and cycling trails. The aim is to “attract more German visitors to the island in the low season”, explained tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer at the Balearic community's official presentation at the trade show, an event also attended by CiF president Jaume Ferrer. Over the coming days, the Balearics will be billed as the ideal destination spot for sports and green tourism.
At the trade fair, Formentera will be positioned as a destination to visit in the off-season. In that respect, the councillor pointed to two campaigns – Discover Formentera in May and Discover Formentera in October – as “clear examples of the perks that our pre- and post-season visitors can look forward to”. Plus, “German tourists are used to chillier climates, and are usually quite pleased with the island at these times of year”, Ferrer said. She also pointed out that “Germans are typically very respectful of the environment, which, given the importance we place on sustainability, is exactly the kind of visitor we want to appeal to”.
Travelling to Formentera, virtually
Formentera's reps will use the ITB to offer a virtual visit of Formentera's Ses Salines park with the help of virtual reality goggles and a (stationary) bike. Councillor Ferrer described it as “a way to show people the main attractions on the island”. Moreover, in a bid to increase footfall at the archipelago's shared stand, Formentera, with a space slightly removed from its neighbours, hopes to offer personalised attention and hand out information about propositions for nature lovers. There is also a dedicated sports area within the stand where potential visitors can find out about the more than 20 off-season sporting events scheduled for 2016. Those events, together with a packed cultural calendar, bring the total number of events on the island to over 60.
Today was the first day of the BIT (for Borsa Internazionale del Turismo, or International Travel Fair) in Milan, one of Italy's most important tourism trade fairs. Hence, through Saturday, the promotions office of the Formentera Council has got one fairly simple goal: «Build loyalty among Italian travellers». As department head Carlos Bernús indicated, «Formentera shares a stand with the other islands of the Balearics and we've used our space to tout our green trails and publicise events like our very first beach volleyball tournament, to be held at Cala Saona beach in May». Bernús says the office also hopes to see more tourists coming to the island in the low season.
Earlier today, the Formentera Council's office of tourism reported on the results of its most recent campaign to get property owners to register accommodation rented out to tourists. From the ratification of a municipal ordinance and establishment of registration fees in 2011 to this month's 17 January deadline, 757 new licences have been made available to local hotels and apartment complexes for add-ons to existing accommodation or brand-new vacation housing. Likewise, 253 rooms have been registered at already existing tourist accommodation. Tourism department head Alejandra Ferrer notes the number of available licences for tourist-use rooms has gone from 1,195 in 2009 to 185 today. Ferrer reminded property owners who have yet to request a permit for add-ons or brand-new rooms they can still do so. The numbers, says Ferrer, prove many Formentera tradesmen have done their homework and proceeded accordingly, motivated by a desire to make improvements at tourist accommodation or just make sure their rental accommodation has a legal standing.
The doors opened today at Madrid’s International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR), where the Formentera Council was ready to show would-be Spanish tourists the door that forms the heart of the island’s patrimony. By promoting our outdoor attributes, the Council hopes to appeal to Spanish travelers, a group that over the last three years has even begun surpassing Italians in numbers at certain periods of the season. Tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer explains: «The national market helps us fill out our numbers in the pre- and post-season. It also happens to be the closest one to us geographically and getting away to Formentera for a few days is more feasible for them».
According to Formentera's tourism advisory board director, Carlos Bernús, over the next week local tourism reps will highlight the island's «family-friendly and nature-loving side» to crowds at three different holiday destination fairs. The goal, he said, is to attract tourists from Northern Europe at the beginning and end of the summer vacation season. «Over the past few years», Bernús pointed out, «these populations have demonstrated a growing interest in our island and are starting to bring increasingly large numbers of tourists along with them».
