tourism
Hotels in Mallorca should become greener
Balconies at a hotel on Arenal Beach. The hotel industry in Mallorca should improve the working conditions of its employees and become more environmentally friendly. Photo: Clara Margais/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The Balearic Islands are massively dependent on tourism. In the hotel landscape, however, it should now be more environmentally friendly. The head of government has ambitious goals.
The hotel industry in Mallorca should improve the working conditions of its employees and become more environmentally friendly. This was announced by the regional head of government, Francina Armengol, as reported by the “Mallorca Zeitung” on Tuesday.
“The Balearic Islands will be the first tourism region in the world with a circular economy,” said Armengol.
The politician explained that EU funds of 55 million euros are available for the ambitious program. In the future, the hotel stars should not only give guests information about the facilities, comfort and service of the hotels, but also about their environmental friendliness and the working conditions of the employees.
Height-adjustable beds
In order to make the particularly hard work of making the bed, which is mostly done by women, a little easier, the hotels on Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera are to buy a total of around 300,000 new, height-adjustable beds over the next five years. In addition, the houses should be obliged to measure the temperatures in all parts of the building and to ensure good ventilation – even in those areas that are only accessible to employees.
In order to receive the hotel stars, the hotels must also create an analysis of their own resource consumption. A five-year plan to reduce energy and water consumption and a waste avoidance strategy must then be submitted. Hygienic disposable packaging should be a thing of the past. The use of rainwater should also be promoted. In addition, the kitchens must offer food that is produced regionally as far as possible and generally identify the origin of their products. Oil heaters must be replaced with natural gas or electric boilers.
Like the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands are particularly dependent on tourism. In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, around 16.5 million visitors were counted. Among the foreign guests, the Germans and the British regularly make up the largest proportion. In both island regions, the industry accounts for around 35 percent of regional economic output.