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With 18 million visitors a year to an island of one million residents, Mallorca is at the forefront of modern sustainability concerns, from overtourism to the effects of climate change. 

The , supported by UN Tourism, was held on the Balearic island in October this year and senior figures in tourism gathered to outline plans for sustainable tourism developments. The difficult process of meeting the challenges of modern tourism, while also balancing economic needs and quality of life, has involved consulting with residents, businesses and visitors at length. The outcome is a pledge signed by multiple organizations that vows to promote sustainable tourism and preserve the nature, values and beauty of Mallorca.

The conference heard from Mario Picazo, a meteorologist and the host of the event, who predicted that rising summer temperatures would result in visitors coming to the island during the low season.  

“Where we choose to travel doesn't necessarily have to be in the peak of the usual travel season of June, July, August and into September,” he told the delegates. “People will come to Mallorca at a time of the year where they never expected to go before; now our changing habits of work and lifestyle permit us to do that, I think that's going to be a tendency.”

Leaders in responsible tourism

The conference delved into the practicalities of implementing sustainable practices such as examining how best to work with tourism operators and how to marry academic data to practical methods of working. One common theme that emerged was that travelers generally agreed the best places to travel were also the best places to live.

A new initiative of interviewing residents to gather their thoughts and feedback on the island began this year, Susanna Sciacovelli, Director of Tourism in Mallorca, told the conference. “We are doing this to understand the values behind the brand of Mallorca. We will be continuing these interviews for the next few years to understand what Mallorca means to residents."

“Since the 1950s we have been leaders in tourism, but we now want to be leaders in responsible tourism. To be able to do that you have to communicate it through your brand, so this is the first step – communicating  these values.” 

Sciacovelli reflected on the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism from 2002 and how the lessons from there are being interpreted in Mallorca today.  

“Responsible tourism is essentially tourism which makes better destinations to live in and better destinations to visit, and it's based on four principles or four Cs. The first one is climate – how can we take care of our natural resources, our environment and our water resources? The second is coexistence: between the resident and the tourist.  It is not just about the satisfaction of the tourist, it's also about the satisfaction of the resident.  And then the collaboration between us as a public entity and the private sector is the third consideration. The fourth one is the communities: being aware of the local produce, the traditions and the artisanal products.”

The Mallorca Pledge

The Mallorca Pledge invites individuals and companies to commit to help preserve the nature, values and beauty of the island while ensuring long-term prosperity for visitors and residents.  

Sciacovelli explained: “We have areas in Mallorca that a lot of people know – Magaluf or Playa de Palma – popular with Germans and English visitors. We need to show them our  and we are saying to them, ‘We welcome you but please take care of Mallorca as if it were your house.’ What we're doing is raising awareness through the pledge. We want visitors to take care of our Island. If you come, don't buy something made in China in a souvenir shop, go to an artisan, because our artisans need that."

Miguel Sanz Castedo, Director General of the Spanish Tourism Institute, told the conference: “What Mallorca is doing with the pledge is telling the world and also, the local community, the residents and the local business people, this is where we are going, these are our objectives and this is something that we all have to do. This initiative places Mallorca in the heart of the debate of sustainable tourism.”