The City Council wants more American tourists to come to Palma

PalmaAlthough Palma has witnessed the most important anti-saturation protest in the Balearic Islands this summer, Cort is determined to attract more tourists from the United States and plans to carry out two major promotional actions in the North American country. The Palma 365 Tourism Foundation has awarded a contract worth 217,800 euros (including VAT) to the company Corporacion Comunicacion Iberoamericana Barcelo y Asoc. S.L. to carry out the "planning, organization, production and execution of a tourism promotion program aimed at travel agents specialized in high-value tourism from the North American market", according to the justification report of the tender available on the Public Sector Procurement Platform.

The promotion will be carried out in two phases: "a road show —a kind of itinerant presentation— aimed at travel agents on the east coast" of the USA, which will take place between October and November; and "a B2B professional event —a meeting between companies— with travel agents and tourism companies from Palma in New York" in February 2027.

"In recent years, there has been significant growth in direct air connectivity between Palma and the North American market, which has favored the increase in tourist interest from this source market", the report points out, in addition to recalling that United Airlines has been operating direct flights between Palma and New York since 2022. In fact, the document highlights that the increase in frequencies has been constant: three per week during the summer season in 2024; and four in 2025, with an increase in flight capacity. "The offer of seats on this route has increased by more than 50% compared to previous years", the report emphasizes, and also that "the period of operation has been extended until the end of October".

"The reinforcement of this route confirms the growing interest of the North American market in Palma as a destination and the potential development of this issuing market. Therefore, it is considered necessary to launch a structured program of promotional actions and professional meetings in the United States, aimed at strengthening Palma's presence in the North American market and favoring the generation of commercial opportunities for the local tourism sector," the document defends.

Curiously, the contract conditions include a special one: "In the execution of the events, the company must adopt measures to reduce their environmental impact," says the text, which states that single-use plastics must be avoided and digital brochures used. However, the report says nothing about the increase in emissions or the depletion of resources caused by more tourists in Palma.