1. Local actors in Mediterranean mass tourism development: the Majorcan case Dr. Joan Amer Universitat de les Illes Balears CeMoRe Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword. Introduction. The Majorcan transition to a tourist economy. The beginnings of hoteliers. The entrepreneurial culture. The political articulation of hoteliers. The political impact of hoteliers. The debate of tourist and land-planning policies. –Balearic government period of centre-to-right forces (1983-1999). –Balearic government period of centre-to-left forces (1999-2003). Conclusions.

3. FOREWORD The presentation is based on the author’s PhD dissertation “Tourism and politics. Majorcan hoteliers”. This is a work-in-progress paper. Case-study approach. Present stage: –Search of contextualisation within international theoretical framework in tourism studies, specifically about tourism, power and politics. –Search of comparative contexts on other tourist islands (specially Mediterranean).

4. PHD AND BOOK The book (published 2006)

5. INTRODUCTION Mallorca as a “pleasure periphery” and as a “global beach”. Local entrepreneurial participation. Why hoteliers? Majorcan hoteliers creating new pleasure peripheries. “Local politics” level: The political impact of Majorcan hoteliers. Historical perspective and case-study approach. Historical narration.

6. LÖFGREN’S DEFINITION OF GLOBAL BEACH (1999): LEGO PARADISA Löfgren: “This bricolage of props and activities comes from different settings and epochs all around the world and now, integrated and globalized, becomes a familiar place to play at being a tourist.” (1999:215)

8. INTRODUCTION Mallorca as a “pleasure periphery” and as a “global beach”. Local entrepreneurial participation. Why hoteliers? Majorcan hoteliers creating new pleasure peripheries. “Local politics” level: The political impact of Majorcan hoteliers. Historical perspective and case-study approach. Historical narration.

9. THE MAJORCAN TRANSITION TO TOURISM ECONOMY (1) DIMENSIONS OF THE TOURIST CHANGE 1959 321.222 tourists. 324.560 inhabitants. 47% services share of the gross product. Source: Balearic Savings Bank reports and Balearic Government data (2007) 2006 8.596.000 tourists. 790.763 inhabitants. 85% services share of the gross product.

10. THE MAJORCAN TRANSITION TO A TOURIST ECONOMY (2) Insular pre-tourist society: rural o industrial? Characteristics of the Majorcan transition: –Cela’s theory (1979): Europe-Mallorca, core- periphery relationships. –Manera’s theory (2000): Mallorca, industrial society. Complementary visions.

11. Hoteliers: new entrepreneurial class. Hoteliers and tour operators. Hoteliers and banks. Hoteliers and Franco dictatorship. THE BEGINNINGS OF MAJORCAN HOTELIERS

12. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE Political conservatism. Island entrepreneurial culture, according to Miquel and Reina (2001), is determined by: –Agrarian-social relations within a tourist-service based economy. –Sense structures, perceptions and social networks of contemporary Mallorca which are generated within the framework of pre-tourist society.

13. THE POLITICAL ARTICULATION Franco’s era (1959, beginning of mass tourism, to 1975, Dictator's death). ―Corporatist framework. Transition from dictatorship to democracy (1976-1983). ―The establishment of the Majorcan hotel federation. Autonomous/regional governments (1983-2003). ―The Majorcan hotel federation as a pressure group.

14. THE MAJORCAN HOTEL FEDERATION The Majorcan hotel federation counts 77% of the total hotel allowances in Mallorca. The percent of members is high; therefore, positions and actions of hotel federation are significant for the whole of the hotel entrepreneurs.

15. THE MAJORCAN HOTEL FEDERATION Functions of the federation: –To represent hoteliers in their negotiations with the Balearic government, Spanish government and trade unions. –To offer legislation services to its members.

16. THE POLITICAL IMPACT The political impact through the Majorcan hotel federation. –The symbolical impact. –The technical impact. The political impact undertaken directly by the hotelier. Ibizan and Minorcan hoteliers.

17. THE DEBATE OF TOURIST AND LAND- PLANNING POLICIES Spanish government transfers tourist and land- planning legislation to the Balearic autonomous community government in 1983. Generation of an island framework debate for tourism and land-planning policies. Hoteliers vs. Property-developers. Government periods: –Centre-to-right forces (1983-1999). –Centre-to-left forces (1999-2003).

18. GOVERNMENT PERIOD CENTRE-TO-RIGHT FORCES (1983-1999) Tourist policies. Cladera’s decrees (1984 and 1988) and Tourist accommodation plan (1995). Land-planning policies. Natural Spaces Law (1991 and 1992). Division of interests hoteliers and property- developers. The two “speeds” of Balearic government in tourism and land policies.

19. CAUSE ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL CHANGE The shift from centre-to-right government to centre-to-left government (1999) “The incipient environmentalist sensitization and political mobilisations, against the “concrete- development policy”, impacted decisively in the parliamentary political sphere. The environmental factor becomes a key factor for the political transition to centre-to-left forces, provided by a favourable political opportunity structure –with an internal crisis and corruption cases within the Spanish centre-to-right party.” (Riutort and Valdivielso, 2004: 292-293).

20. THE GOVERNMENT PERIOD OF THE CENTRE-TO-LEFT FORCES (1999-2003).THE “ECO-TAX” DEBATE. -The “eco-tax”. -Structural debates behind the political debate of the “eco-tax”. –Motives for the opposition of hoteliers to “eco- tax”. –Motives for the support of Balearic government to “eco-tax”. –Characteristics of political impact of hoteliers in the “eco-tax” debate.

21. CONCLUSIONS (1) Political positions of hoteliers. –Economic approach. –Cultural approach. –Political approach. Heterogeneity of configurations and political positions of hoteliers. –Transnational. –Medium-size. –Independent.

22. CONCLUSIONS (2) Duality of interests. Hoteliers vs. Property developers. Hoteliers: economic relevance and political impact. Majorcan hotel federation, hoteliers and land- planning policies.

23. CONCLUSIONS (3) Interest groups that defend hotel and property- developers positions are clearly differentiated, but need to determine the level of participation of hoteliers in the state development sector. “Local politics” level: Insular tourist and land planning. Final considerations of local entrepreneurial participation in mass tourism development.