This morning Alejandra Ferrer, Vice President and Councillor of Tourism, and Bartomeu Escandell, Councillor of Economy and Finance, met with Xisco Mateu, managing director of the Strategic Tourism Agency of the Balearic Islands (AETIB).

At the gathering the three started work on the proposal that the Consell de Formentera has submitted in response to the call for Plans for Sustainability in Tourist Destinations (Planes de Sostenibilidad Turística en Destinos, PSTD). Three projects were included in the administration's €3.9 million request:

- Improvements and rehabilitation of Carrer Gregal in La Savina, opening a new side of the village towards Ses Salines.
- Expansion of pedestrian area in Sant Francesc and pedestrianisation of Carrers Santa Maria and Es Vedrà and a portion of Carrer Antoni Blanch.
- Improvements in the historic environment with a view to connecting La Casa del Poble and Plaça de l'Església and creating a large walking area in the centre of El Pilar de la Mola to showcase various nearby features of local heritage.

Councillor Escandell explained that the projects continued in the line of "making the villages of our island friendlier, designed for people and for social and economic revitalization".

The officials also discussed a special line of PSTD funding approved in 2021 which includes €2 million to implement the following Consell de Formentera projects:

For the green and sustainable transition, €250,000 to improve and apply smart solutions regulating access to Ses Salines Natural Reserve and ensure that people enjoy the unique and highly protected natural space in ways that are sounder and more sustainable.

€1,150,000 to instal solar panel-equipped pergolas in public car parks with recharge points for electric vehicles.

For the digital transition, €250,000 for massive data processing to drive tourism research, a project under development through the Data Observatory.

Finally, €350,000 to improve management of the formentera.eco project to regulate vehicles brought, driven and parked on Formentera with an expanded remote system of controls on in-bound vehicles.

30 March 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Today Ana Juan, President of the Consell de Formentera, and Bartomeu Escandell, Councillor of Economy and Finance, met at the head offices of local government for a presentation from Rafel Ballester Salvà, Chair of the Economic and Social Council (Consell Econòmic i Social, CES); Josep Valero, CES Secretary, and Ana Garau. Ballester, Valero and Garau's report focused on the economy, employment and society in the Balearic Islands in 2020. After the meeting, representatives of media outlets sat for a presentation as well.

President Juan began by calling the CES's work "essential" and said the independent body of participation and analysis "serves to offer an accurate picture of the current situation in the Balearics and helps us to rethink our future". The 2020 report emphasises "the highly seasonal nature of our economy and the significant summertime strain on Formentera" – strain which, she insisted, "is more acute than on any of the other islands". She offered, "These aspects should make us reflect on the path we have travelled and the future we want for the island".

The CES representatives described a report marked by the impact of COVID-19 on the region. As for data that speak to the economic outlook, the Balearic archipelago has been the most affected of all the regions of Spain. Gross value added (GVA) shrank 20.7%, tourism shrank 81% and spending on tourism fell 83.9%. Dependence on international tourism drove the Pine Islands' GVA down 24.6% – the most marked adjustment in the archipelago.

Compounding things further, at €11,275.50, Formentera's gross disposable income per capita was the lowest in the region: 28% below the Spanish average and 30% below the Balearic average.

On Eivissa and Formentera the service sector accounts for 71.1% of the total GVA – a higher proportion than elsewhere in the region (83% of Formentera companies registered with social security operate in the service sector).

The 80.3% drop in tourism on Eivissa and Formentera was very similar to that of the Balearic Islands as a whole. Differentiating by place of origin, in the Pine Islands, foreign tourism fell 87.8% and national tourism 50.1%.

Meanwhile, construction, which fell in 2020 in the Balearic Islands as a whole, increased on Eivissa and Formentera: by 0.8% in terms of construction permits and by 4.8% in terms of housing permits.

On the job market, social security registrations sagged 15.3% on Formentera – twice as much as across the archipelago. At 123.3%, Formentera's seasonality index rating outstrips all of its regional neighbours'.

From a demographical perspective, 28.69% of Formentera's population is foreign-born and 64.53% were born outside the Balearics Islands.

24 January 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

El Consell de Formentera, a través de l'àrea d'Economia i Hisenda, informa que Formentera rebrà 2 milions d'euros del Pla de recuperació, transformació i resiliència del govern central per l'estratègia de sostenibilitat turística en destinacions que s'invertiran durant aquest 2022 en quatre projectes. "Aquest pla persegueix millorar la sostenibilitat de la destinació Formentera amb l'impuls de projectes diferents però interconnectats entre si", segons ha explicat el conseller d'Economia i Hisenda, Bartomeu Escandell.

"Els projectes previstos emanen dels objectius perseguits en els quatre eixos que planteja l'Estratègia de sostenibilitat turística en destinacions", segons ha detallat el conseller. En l'àmbit de la transició verda i sostenible, tipificat en l'eix 1, es preveu una inversió a millorar i aplicar solucions telemàtiques intel·ligents a la regulació d'accés al Parc Natural de ses Salines i les seues reconegudes platges, fent més sostenible i racional l'ús d'aquest espai natural singular i altament protegit. Per aquest projecte s'ha aprovat una dotació de 250.000 €.

Pel que fa a l'eix 2, de millora de l'eficiència energètica, s'ha aconseguit una dotació d'1.150.000 € per la instal·lació de pèrgoles fotovoltaiques en aparcaments públics i la col·locació de punts de recàrrega per a vehicles elèctrics en aquests aparcaments. "Amb aquest projecte seguim el camí cap a la mobilitat sostenible en què des de fa anys es treballa des del Consell i que vol impulsar la substitució del vehicle convencional per l'elèctric, entre d'altres", ha matisat el conseller Bartomeu Escandell.

Amb referència a l'eix 3, de transició digital, es preveuen actuacions en matèria de tractament de dades massives per a la recerca turística i per obtenir dades per valorar l'evolució de les mesures encaminades a aconseguir la sostenibilitat de l'illa, així com per estudiar noves mesures a aplicar. Per aquest projecte, que impulsarà la feina que es fa actualment des de l'Observatori de Dades, s'ha reservat una partida de 250.000 €.

Per últim i pel que respecta a l'eix 4, relacionat amb l'increment del control telemàtic de l'accés limitat de vehicles a l'illa, s'han reservat 350.000 € que es faran servir per a la millor gestió del projecte formentera.eco de regulació d'entrada, circulació i estacionament de vehicles a l'illa de Formentera.

21 de gener de 2021
Àrea de Comunicació
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Economy and Finance is pleased to report that from 2022, owners of homes incorporating solar-power for their energy needs will see their property taxes reduced up to 50%. The measure received initial approval when local decision-makers gathered for the island’s monthly plenary assembly and is now pending final approval.

FOEF chief Bartomeu Escandell said the rebate was about “promoting sustainable energy and helping us care for our environment” and described it as “part and parcel of local government has been advocating for years”.

Homeowners who receive a 40% rebate can save as much as €600 over four years if they have existing or future installations generating at least 4 kW of electricity and can provide proof from the installer. Installations rigged to feed surplus electricity back into the grid will mean 50% rebates for a maximum of €700 over four years.

Approvals fast-tracked for new installations

The Consell de Formentera has also simplified things for islanders interested in equipping their homes with solar-panel installations. Collector panels can be installed have only to notify local government and deliver related documentation to the OAC or OVAC at least one working day in advance. The tax on such installations is also being subsidised by up to 90%.

5 October 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera