The Formentera Council's Office of Trade and the Patronat de Turisme, Formentera's tourism advisory board, are in the final stages of a process that will put a database of tourism professionals within the reach of the island's business community. The goal of the process, which is being carried out across the turijobs.com jobseekers' portal, is to put Formentera tradesmen in touch with qualified professionals to fill 130 vacant positions in tourism establishments on the island.

Said Ferrer: “We are announcing a new, extended deadline (until April 30) to give Formentera residents interested in being considered for the database enough time to sign up.” Ferrer explained that if sufficient demand exists, a day of selections will be organised on the island to put jobseekers in direct contact with employers. Interested individuals can register on www.turijobs.com/minisites/formentera, where a section of the site is exclusively available to Formentera residents.

At the end of March, 9,114 individuals had uploaded CVs to the turijobs site. The applicants whose profiles best matched the offers took part in staff selection days in Madrid, Sevilla, Bilbao and Barcelona from April 4-7. Suitable candidates will form the basis of the database of experienced tourism professionals.

It's important to bear in mind that the actual hiring process will be conducted by each individual business, though the Council has offered to share its technical expertise if employers wish to conduct video interviews, for example. The initiative benefits from the support of the Eivissa-Formentera chamber of commerce and the Pitiüsa islands' federation of SMEs (PIMEEF). Councillor Ferrer called the project “pioneering” in Europe and referred to its potential to “set Formentera apart as a quality destination for tourists”.

In a press conference today, the Office of Tourism of the Formentera Council unveiled plans for the fourth Formentera 2.0, a series of conferences slated to take place May 5–8. The presentation was attended by Alejandra Ferrer, CiF tourism councillor, Carlos Bernús, head of the tourism advisory board and Rosa Castells, organiser of the event. The series, noted Ferrer, is part of a campaign dubbed Descobreix Formentera al maig (Discover Formentera in May), a push to attract tourists with special programming in the off-season. The councillor also talked about the potential of such an event to “put Formentera at the centre of the buzz surrounding information technologies and social media,” a possibility she hailed as “very good for tourism.”

According to organiser Rosa Castells, Formentera 2.0 has become a benchmark for IT-related events and includes high-calibre contributing speakers. Among the renowned speakers participating in talks this year are Salvatella founder Genís Roca; director of digital and social media at Iberdrola, Carlos Fernández Guerra; Gestmusic director Tinet Rubiera; director of digital marketing at Banco Santander, Sofia Mayoral; IT digital manager of FC Barcelona, Abraham Clotet; Naciódigital.cat director Karma Peiró; one of the founders of Vasava, Toni Sellés and Marketingdirecto.com director Javier Piedrahita.

Networking and experience-sharing

Also noteworthy, said Castells, are the high skill levels of participants, a factor that has allowed the conferences to become “places of experience-sharing and networking”. Over the 4-day course speakers and attendees will go in-depth on important subjects like digital transformation, social media and branded content, television, social networks and “360º creativity”.

Formentera 2.0 is sponsored by the Formentera Council and the Patronat de Turisme, the island’s tourism advisory board. Included in registration (€220) are entry to all associated events and discounted accommodation. For more information, contact www.esfreus.com

Updates can also be found at www.formentera20.com

The Formentera Council Office of Tourism has issued details about the Formentera Fotogràfica festival. In a presentation this morning on the upcoming fourth year of the festival, tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer announced: “Renowned photographers from the national and international stages will once again take part in Formentera Fotogràfica, placing our island in the line of sight of anyone involved in the world of photography”. What is more, the councillor said the festival would be included in Formentera's calendar of off-season events.

Festival organiser Francesc Fàbregas called on fans of photography, multimedia and videos to participate in the event. “Come out and enjoy magical Formentera,” he said, “and share your experiences with a wide range of photo industry professionals”. Registration for Formentera Fotogràfica costs 250 euros and can be done at formenterafotografica.com. The festival runs April 28 to May 1.

“Formentera Fotogràfica is an eclectic event that encompasses numerous specialty areas. Over four days, conferences, workshops, hands-on activities, screenings and low-key gatherings will serve as an opportunity for professionals and participants to meet and share their experiences,” added Fàbregas.

Invitation to Formentera residents

One of the goals of Formentera Fotogràfica organisers is also to grab the attention of Formentera residents. With island locals in mind, this year's festival will include an open-house screening of a documentary by Tony Catany, Thursday April 28 at 10.00 pm. In addition, Sunday May 1 at 12 noon, residents are invited to attend a free screening of a documentary by Joana Biarnès and Silvia Omedes.

With the help of jobs portal turijobs.com, the CiF office of tourism and trade has got the selection process under way that will provide a reserve of seasoned tourism industry workers for Formentera businesses this summer. “Signups yielded 9,114 candidates for the 130 jobs that our island businesses have proposed,” explained tourism councilor Alejandra Ferrer. “From that initial pool, 400 individuals were contacted for phone or Skype interviews,” she reported.

As part of the Formentera Talent Tour, interviews with the 400 preselected candidates will be conducted this week. “The first 100 interviews are scheduled at the Marriot Princesa in Madrid, with similar proceedings taking place tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday in Sevilla, Bilbao and Barcelona, respectively,” explained Councillor Ferrer. Business owners and operators themselves will then select employees based on the information obtained in interviews. The Council has pledged to provide any required technological support – like setting up video conference calls so that employers can establish initial contact with the job seekers.

Ferrer said the project arose from an interest among Formentera’s business community in having access to trained, experienced professionals “to fill positions not just in infrastructure but also the service sector”. So that hiring businesses know which contenders are already here on the island and have got housing, a particular section of the workers pool will be dedicated to Formentera residents. The initiative has received additional support from the Eivissa-Formentera chamber of commerce and the Pitiüsa-based SME federation, PIMEEF. It has been financed by the Formentera Council to the tune of €35,000.

Moreover, Councillor Ferrer announced her office would be giving a presentation today in Madrid before members of various media outlets. The presentation will focus on two initiatives: the Descobreix (‘Discover’) campaigns that spotlight the perks of Formentera in the off-season months of May and October and the island’s network of green trails. The councillor described the Council’s set-up in Madrid which combines a stationary bicycle and virtual reality goggles to give would-be visitors a preview of our little corner of paradise.