At the end of October last year a summit of European tourism ministers was held at Palma’s Palacio de Congresos. The principal aim of this summit was to discuss the social sustainability of tourism. Its outcome had in fact already been agreed prior to the gathering. The ministers enjoyed a day or two of late-season Mallorca (Palma) in order to rubber stamp what was referred to as the ‘Palma Declaration’ but which was a document that member states and the European Commission had been working on for months.
What did this declaration contain? Well, it took account of sustainability matters – it couldn’t have done otherwise, as these were why the ministers had met up – and these included concerns about illegal holiday letting. Fine, and then …? We had already known, for example, that Brussels was moving in the direction of decreeing obligations for websites. Which they may or may not take notice of. Most will. Airbnb have a habit of being the one that puts a spanner in the works. But to come to the summit specifically, its conclusions were non-binding. What was the point of the summit therefore?
The least one can say about this meeting was that it did merit the title of ‘summit’. One takes summit to refer to gatherings of politicians, usually higher up the food chain than tourism ministers, but still just about justifiable. Thus there was a certain kudos. Oh look, Palma’s hosting a summit. Lucky old Palma.
Immediately prior to this summit, there was something called the European Tourism Forum. It was also in Palma. And what had this been about? If there had been any doubts, then President Prohens had removed them – a commitment to tourism sustainability in terms of its economic, social and environmental aspects. Social sustainability was therefore given two airings in a matter of days.
A year on and there has just been another summit. This one didn’t merit the title. But call it a summit and an assumption will be that this is serious stuff. It was, given that the subject matter was the same as twelve months ago, only more serious as the failings of Mallorca’s tourism model in terms of social sustainability have been so publicly exposed by this year’s protests. Forum or conference would have been more appropriate, but no, the Summit of Sustainable Destinations was duly held. And what did the summit discuss? Social sustainability and related sustainability, e.g. environmental, just as EU ministers, President Prohens and others had discussed in October 2023.
In underlining the fact that summit was a pretentious title, there was a general absence of politicians. The Council of Mallorca’s president, Llorenç Galmés, and Spain’s secretary-of-state for tourism, the Mallorcan Rosario Sánchez, bookended the two-day affair. Otherwise it was a typical parade of usual suspects such as Maria Frontera of the hoteliers federation, TUI and other tour operator representatives and the odd academic. Commitments to sustainability, commitments to harmonising tourist and resident coexistence (a key facet of social sustainability). They all made much the same point. What else were they going to say? We aren’t committed?
The so-called summit attracted good amounts of publicity, which was partly the purpose of the event. Gatherings of this type can seem to exist solely for their publicity purpose. For disgruntled residents taking to the streets, the meetings say … here, we’re discussing what matters to you. We’re listening to you. I’m in no doubt that they are listening, but a summit – or whatever you want to call it – changes nothing. We’ve heard it all before and we’ll continue to hear it. Very soon.
Organised by the Council of Mallorca, the ranks of speaker and discussion participants were swelled by individuals from the Council’s tourism department. In a week or so’s time, Galmés and his colleagues will be saying much the same things when they land in London for the World Travel Market. The summit was a rehearsal. We know exactly what is going to be said in London. Prohens may not have been in attendance, but we know what she will be saying; again, we’ve heard it on enough occasions. Commitments to this, commitments to that.
Once one removes all the ridiculous publicity self-aggrandisement of the numerous photos, events like tourism fairs do serve more purpose than summits. They are conferences in their own right, even if the media has no interest in these, for it is the messaging that matters. For Mallorca it is paramount, as the Council has said that there is no need for there to be promotion to main markets like the UK. That leaves the communication. Above all else, this was the point of the summit. Running the messages by an audience unlikely to ask awkward questions but nevertheless willing to offer insights that sharpen the messages.
But once the messages have been conveyed, then what? Surely not more summits to go over issues that everyone is acutely aware of and which require meaningful interventions not influenced by interests that run counter to the well-being of residents. Social sustainability is what. If only one could believe it.
