Our fourth mayoral interview is with Vicent Mari,Mayor of Santa Eulalia on Ibiza's east coast.
The borough encompasses family favourite
resorts Es Cana and Cala Llonga along with traditional villages San Carlos,
Santa Gertrudis and fast growing Jesús. It's popularity with the British is confirmed by figures which show that 54% of hotel bound Brits stay in Santa Eulalia.
Vicent Mari (photo left)
1. What type of tourism currently dominates the district of Santa Eulalia and what type of tourist are you trying to attract?
For the main part, we accommodate the
family sector of our tourism spectrum, although let's not forget the rise in numbers of senior holiday makers either. Over the coming years, we are intent in maintaining our efforts to improve the
quality of our current tourism and also maximise the potential of the congress market and incentive-based holidays, both of which are seen as key components in our overall tourism picture.
2. What facilities are on offer for the off season visitor?
We’re lucky in that the Santa Eulalia district covers 5 of the island villages, and with that the wealth of cultural and traditional activities and spectacles that lie within. Our churches are well visited and our borough also houses the island’s Ethnographic Museum; the Museum Barrau en Puig den Missa.
All these factors, plus the abundance of nature and picturesque scenic routes, which can also be visited by bike or even horse and cart; our gastronomic delights, hotels (75% of which are 4 and 5 star) and artisan markets make Santa Eulalia an ideal winter holiday destination. And of course, Santa Eulalia also boasts the Sailing Club (photo above) which is full of activity throughout the entire year.
3. What improvements are currently being carried out to the borough of Santa Eulalia?
Our long established hotels are
constantly striving to improve the level of quality and services. We are also pleased that a number of four and five star hotels have recently/are soon to open as well as the new Ibiza Congress
Palace, also situated within the Santa Eulalia municipality.
Jesús Church (photo)
4. What will be the impact and/or the consequences for the island of the new legislation on club closing hours?
Hopefully the two different tourist pastimes will soon be able to flourish side by side yet independently, as was the custom in the past. What we mustn’t permit is that the current focus on the
night-life alienates visitors looking for a different type of holiday.
5. What are your expectations for the coming season?
We are fairly optimistic about the upcoming summer season, although we’re reserving judgement until we see the general state of the economy in the national market, which obviously and as always, will have an effect on the number of visitors to the island.