NEWS — HOT STORIES 4
Abta teams up with Spanish Tourist Office to promote responsible tourism in Balearics
for the destination, which welcomes 3.3 million British tourists a year, and “not representative” of the Balearics tourism sector. An Abta spokeswoman said: “This issue has come
up before and we are in close contact with the Spanish tourist officials.” New laws are being introduced to control pub
Juliet Dennis
The Spanish Tourist Office (STO) is in talks with Abta and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to look at ways to encourage responsible tourism in Magaluf after a video showing sex acts during an organised pub crawl went viral. The STO said it was also speaking to the Balearic authorities and private businesses following the release of the video showing activities on a pub crawl, organised by entertainment company Carnage Events, and now the subject of a police probe. An STO statement said: “The aim of the discussions
is to agree a series of measures to encourage responsible tourism in the Balearic Islands.” It added that the video was damaging
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crawls in Magaluf with operators and entertainment organisers having to apply for licences to operate such activities. Derek Moore, chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, welcomed any moves to encourage responsible tourism. “It is heartening to know the Spanish tourist authorities are taking this seriously.” Thomas Cook-owned youth brand Club 18-30 said it would adhere to any new regulations.
“It is heartening that the Spanish authorities are taking it seriously”
A spokesperson said: “We encourage customers to
behave in a sensible manner and ensure the activities we organise in resorts, such as boat parties and club nights, are supervised responsibly.” A spokeswoman for Tui Travel’s youth brand
2wentys said: “We are fully supportive of these new restrictions. This is a positive move.”
Agents urged to capitalise on cruise show Hollie-Rae Merrick
Princess Cruises’ UK boss has insisted a reality TV show about life onboard one of its ships will be positive for the sector – despite admitting there had been some “extreme views” about the first episode. Paul Ludlow, managing director UK and Europe, said agents should take advantage of the publicity around ITV’s The Cruise Ship, which was filmed onboard Royal Princess. The first episode on Friday
attracted 3.1 million viewers and there were more than 1,000 tweets related to the show. Ludlow said social media often reflected
“extreme views”, but insisted that feedback from agents had been positive and supportive. He said: “When you do something as big as a
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travelweekly.co.uk — 17 July 2014
TV show, it is always going to attract different views. This is putting the spotlight on the whole industry and it’s exciting. Agents need to make sure they capitalise on it and engage their customers about it.” Comments on
Travelweekly.co.uk reflected a mixed response to the show. One poster claimed to have had to reassure a customer who had enquired about cancelling a booking with Princess. But GoCruise’s Flavia Gray said the
show was helping her with enquiries. “I did an event on Saturday and it
was a great talking point,” she said. “Some loved it and some said the passengers were off-putting, the fact they had seen it means I can engage with them.” Claire Brighton, of Advantage Travel Partnerships,
said the show had focused too much on personalities and failed to showcase the true on board experience. ❯ Letters, page 28
MORE HOT STORIES
A Magaluf pub crawl is the subject of a police probe
“Agents need to make
sure they engage customers about it”
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