Realign tourism in the Islands

In the last article in ARA I focused on the sociological aspects of tourism. In this second one, I would like to analyze some elements that surround the sector and that mark its evolution in the Islands. With the irruption of tourism, in its initial moments (subdivisions, constructions, sale of places to tour operators), the traditional activities of the Balearic Islands lost strength. We do not know what would have happened without tourism, but we do know that, from an entrepreneurial point of view, this new activity ended up swallowing the others, being as it was much simpler than the traditional industrial one. Without a doubt, for those who had surpluses to spend, the business alternative in favor of tourist promotions and associated activities was very tempting.From here we have entrepreneurs enriched in real estate transactions (buying to resell) and others who have made an industry out of the tourism offer (production cycle, with infrastructure and job creation). Without regulation, they all want, even today, more: more developable land, more hotel rooms, more licenses for bars and restaurants. Some think that the existence of more visitors gives more possibilities for new places or restaurant terraces to be filled. But it is a reality that increasingly more visitors are needed to achieve business, as a growing part escapes this legal offer and planned consumption (where they sleep, where they eat, where they spend). And, of course, when we turn on the tap we cannot later separate it by types of water. Thinking that our boots are fuller by putting water in them not only serves to deceive ourselves, but also ends up spoiling the good initial wine.The industrial hotel entrepreneur, neat with his offer and respectful of his surroundings, will take care of integrating consumption and preserving the brand. All we have to ask him is that he does not expect the business to work on the basis of volume, subsidized by the State and with broad discretion from the administrations. As I have commented in other articles, the sector receives multiple and diverse aid (low taxation, incomplete costs, water prices, quite lax labor regulation) because it suits the State to increase stays (we mean foreign currency) at any price, if necessary subsidizing costs to maintain demand at low prices. The good entrepreneur knows, however, that all this cannot have a future.Every islander comes to think that in one way or another they live thanks to tourism. In some cases directly because of the job they have, and in others because of the auxiliary services that external demand inflates for a few months. Undoing this web is very difficult today. That is why it is always advisable to emphasize that the feasible alternative is not to do more of the same, but to improve the tourism we already have; not to make the web more extensive, thinner, and with more risk of a gust of wind carrying it all away. But the workers in the sector themselves must be clear that, to secure their jobs, the solution is not to grow more with employment that we do not have and that we must seek elsewhere. Employers have been complaining for years that they lack workers: carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, technical engineers, minimally trained labor. But by now it should be evident to everyone that, in the past, all the increase in the new population has been absorbed by the hospitality industry, which requires less training, with tasks for "seasonal discontinuous" workers that do not allow for the desirable stabilization and professional integration. And every year we continue the same. This is not a question of immigrants yes or no, but of straightening out our own vocational training once and for all!Opting for more people to come is as easy as it is wrong, and then socially complex to manage. For example, regarding Menorca, since we are not a "province", the INE does not say how many residents of the island were born on the island, but in certain population segments we may no longer reach half. It is not at all clear how we will maintain the country's language and culture, social cohesion, and commitment to the inherited heritage.Warning, ultimately, when ecosystem solutions are proposed: since everything ends up depending on everything else, it is usually a great excuse to do nothing (perhaps one doesn't know where to start?). Be attentive when the recipe is the need for a "cultural change", an "institutional" reform, the wait for "political consensus", the modification of "capitalism's structures", or the extension and achievement of more "social awareness"... While all are correct factors, thinking this way doesn't solve what we do in the meantime. It's tiring that some want to pull our leg with new studies, future initiatives, and various occurrences. Meanwhile, the Balearic Islands are the place with the most housing access problems, with the highest cost of living, with clear symptoms of depleting resources... And as of June 30th, it was the autonomous community that had increased visitors the most and created the most employment. But with what is happening, regarding gross disposable family income, in real terms of purchasing power, they don't say a peep!