Balearics at WTM in London to 'reassure and encourage' British tourists

Kicking off next week in London, the WTM is, along with FITUR every January in Madrid, one of the dates on the calendar tourism authorities across Spain rarely miss, and many have decided now is a good time to appeal to the British market to stay with them in light of the Thomas Cook crash and the country's imminent departure from the European Union.

The Balearic stand will be nearly 400 square metres in size and will cover all the inhabited islands – Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera – for the duration of the WTM fair, which runs from this coming Monday, November 4 to Wednesday, November 6 inclusive.

“In the current context of international uncertainty – with the recent collapse of Thomas Cook and with Brexit on the horizon and still not resolved – visitors from the UK appreciate aspects such as safety, legal security, quality of facilities, good value for money, friendly and helpful service, and good weather,” says the Balearic regional tourism board.

Sustainability, too, is 'a key element for any tourist destination' and the Balearic government wants to stress that this is also key to them in any development or industry-related services.

In effect, the Balearic Islands wants to keep encouraging Brits to visit and hopes to eliminate or mitigate any upheaval Brexit may have on European holidays for UK residents, and to assure them that they will be safe legally and financially – a particularly crucial issue after the Thomas Cook crisis left hundreds of thousands of British nationals stranded across the continent.

Staff at hotels in the main Thomas Cook destinations in Spain reportedly came into work the day after the collapse, despite knowing they were already out of a job, to help the panicked holidaymakers.

At next week's World Travel Market, regional president of the Balearics Francina Armengol and minister for tourism, work and the economy Iago Negueruela, together with representatives from the different islands, will visit the various exhibition 'windows' at the Balearic stand and analyse data on the current state of the British holiday market.

On day two, the regional government team will make a formal presentation to the UK media about the wealth of attractions on the islands which, of course, go far beyond just beaches and sunshine and include such unique elements as Mallorca's Caves of Drach, with their underground lakes, the artists' colony of Deià, home to the late British novelist Robert Graves (I, Claudius, and Goodbye to all That, among others), and Valldemossa, where French author George Sands and Polish-French composer Frédéric Chopin spent a winter at the monastery.

Formentera's tranquillity and famous mineral mud baths, Menorca's remote bays and fishing villages and stunning historical city of Mahón, the designer shoe industry, dramatic mountain countryside and delicious cuisine, will also be on the list of top year-round attractions the region offers.