Formentera is promoted at ITB Berlin to reinforce a longstanding market valuing sustainability

foto 2023iii itb berlin AIn the days ahead, the Office of Tourism of the Consell de Formentera will promote the island at ITB Berlin, which is held 7 to 9 March. Formentera will be present with a stand shared with the rest of the Balearic Islands, where promotional material will highlight activities involving nature, culture, gastronomy, sports and health that take place on the island in the low season. The sustainable side of projects like Save Posidonia Project and formentera.eco will also be also emphasised, as well as the importance of taking care of the environment.

Originally catering to the general public as well, the leading German tourism trade fair has changed its format and now focuses exclusively on professionals such as tour operators, travel agencies, niche media outlets and more. Today Alejandra Ferrer, vice president and tourism councillor, presented the destination to representatives of the tourism industry and specialised sectors of the public.

Ferrer explained how early tourism on Formentera, despite bringing about improvements in residents' quality of life, represented a challenge to preserving the island and its identity. "Thanks to the efforts of many generations of Formentera residents, we have dealt with speculation and preserved the unique character of our island, and now face new threats that we must fight", said Ferrer. "To our visitors we ask that they come to the island with respect and a desire to discover our culture and people", she offered. To that end, attendees were shown a video entitled "Formentera, an island to take care of".

International Media Marketplace (IMM)
Yesterday Formentera also participated in Berlin's International Media Marketplace to promote the island among the large number of attending travel journalists. Both the IMM and ITB are geared toward a German-speaking public, which in addition to Germany, includes Switzerland and Austria. The number of Formentera's German visitors has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels; in 2022, 5.5% of the tourists who visited the island came from Germany.

"We do these actions to strengthen and recover the German public, a market that has traditionally been loyal to Formentera and one that tends to seek quiet destinations and give importance to environmental measures", concluded Ferrer.

7 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera