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 surrounding the sector 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. Undoubtedly, for those who had surplus 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 sell again) and others who have made an industry of the tourist offer (productive cycle, with the creation of infrastructures and employment). Without regulation, they all want, even today, more: more buildable land, more hotel rooms, more licenses for ba5824317rs and restaurants. Some think that the existence of more visitors gives more possibilities for new rooms or restaurant terraces to be filled. But it is a reality that more and 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 the tap is opened, we cannot separate by type of water afterwards. 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 hospitality entrepreneur, neat with his offering and respectful of his environment, 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, sufficiently lax labor regulation) because it suits the State for us to increase stays (we mean foreign currency) at any price, subsidizing costs if necessary 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 for the job they have, and in others for 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 taking everything away. But the sector's workers themselves must be clear that, to secure their jobs, the solution is not to grow more with employment that we don't have and that we have to 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 newcomer population has been absorbed by the hospitality industry, which requires less training, with tasks for "permanently 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!Choosing to have more people 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 groups, we may no longer reach half. It is not at all clear how we will maintain the language and culture of the country, social cohesion, and commitment to inherited heritage.Beware, finally, when ecosystem solutions are proposed: since everything ends up depending on everything else, it's usually a great excuse for doing nothing (perhaps not knowing 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 "capitalist structures", or the extension and achievement of more "social consciousness"... While all these are correct factors, thinking this way doesn't resolve what we do in the meantime. It's tiring that some want to pull the wool over our eyes 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 resources being depleted... And as of June 30th, it was the autonomous community that had increased visitors the most and created the most employment. But with what's happening, regarding gross disposable family income, in real terms of purchasing power, they don't say a peep!
