Investing in gastronomic markets

In just 7 years, the municipality of Calviá has taken a lead in terms of hotel quality. 66% of the reservations are attributed to 4 and 5-star hotels, which is much higher than the average.  This compares to the island as a whole, where the proportion is only 27%.  If we take into account the reforms that are currently underway and expected over the next few years, we would see an increase to slightly more than 70%, which makes the proportion even higher than the national average.  In addition, of the reservations in the municipality of Calviá, only 13% are attributed to non-renovated hotels.

This data shows that Calviá is taking great steps in terms of quality, with great efforts being made by the different hotels to change the profile of the customer it is targeting by improving quality.  These efforts are already coming to fruition. In 2013, one out of every three tourists were young students.  This compares to 2018, where students only made up 16% of the total visiting tourists, while families, adult couples and senior tourists made up just under 80%.

In addition, Calviá has diversified the nationality of its visiting tourists. The British market in 2009 represented 60% of overall tourism, while in 2018, it was only 44%, with Spanish tourists totalling 11%, and central-European tourists growing up to 25%.

These examples show that Calviá is one of the only world tourist destinations that has been able to change its tourist offering.

The huge effort made by the hotel sector, which has invested more than 380 million euros in the area in recent years, is now beginning to pay off, and it is here that a great investment opportunity is available in the Calviá gastronomic market. 

The investment opportunity in this area is unrivalled because it is accompanied by the already existing investment made by the hotels, together with the support of Calviá City Council in improving public areas, cleaning and increasing security. All of these factors guarantee that the Food Hall Project has huge potential for success.

The Momentum Plaza, which is located just 7 minutes from the gastronomic market, provides a commercial space, which remains open all year round. This initiative has been very well received, not only by tourists, but particularly by the residents of Mallorca.  This highlights that the seasonal adjustment has already begun.  In addition, another example of seasonal adjustment is the Calviá Beach hotel, which opens all year round, which gives a huge boost to the local economy.

In a public-private collaboration, the Calviá Beach Project has been launched.  The Meliá company has invested almost 250 million euros in total, which shows the enormous interest that there is in the area and the possibilities that exist.

With the investment in the locality having been made, combined with the change in seasonal tourism, it means that the gastronomic market is a great opportunity, which sits in a privileged location, in the epicentre of these investments.

There are also projects being undertaken by the City Council to reform the surrounding areas of the market to create a park, which further increases the value of the area.

As mentioned before, the efforts made by hoteliers, in collaboration with the City Council, to change the profile of tourists that visit this destination have been extensive.  Due to the lack of quality services, the target audience would “escape” to places like Palma, Puerto Portals or Port Adriano in search of these services that are scarce in the municipality itself.  Although, as we have seen, large projects are beginning to appear, aiming to take advantage of the shortage of existing supply, which is important in the municipality. 

That is why, as the Momentum Plaza has proved, this shortage of supply should be seen as a great opportunity, as there is little competition, and the gastronomic market would, therefore, be one of the main attractions in this area, ensuring a strong flow of people.

Visitors of 4 and 5-star hotels are keen to spend money outside of the hotel in search of different eating and shopping experiences.  As a result, hoteliers have seen the demand for all-inclusive holidays reduce in favour of Bed & Breakfast bookings. Strong investment in the Momentum Plaza shopping centre backs it up. 

Evidence of the reinvention of this sector can be seen in reports produced by Meliá with respect to its recently renovated hotels in the Balearic Islands, which shows an improvement in income for 2019 for the months of April, September, October and November.  These are signs of the extension of the tourist season and is further evidence of seasonal adjustment in this area.

The strong support from the City Council, with its proposal Calviá Destino Turistico Inteligente includes, as its main objective, the creation of data collection and a management platform by different technological means, and the creation of a Big Data model that collects data and information with the intention of improving the experience of tourists and citizens, improving the environment and energy sustainability.

Thanks to this data collection, better decisions can be made at the municipal level, which includes smart buoys on beaches with the greatest influx that collect information on water quality, and surveillance cameras that improve the fight against illegal dumping at various strategic points, amongst others.