Calvià presents its blue tourism model at the SUN&BLUE Congress

The Mayor of Calvià, Juan Antonio Amengual, presented this Thursday, November 21, the environmental conservation strategies and their relationship with tourism and economic activity applied in the municipality. He did this during his participation in the Guardians of the Coast panel at the SUN&BLUE Congress being held in Almería.

The second edition of the SUN&BLUE Congress is taking place at the Cabo de Gata - City of Almería Exhibition and Congress Center. It is the most important international blue tourism meeting to take place in Spain, with the participation of 900 attendees from 21 nationalities, 169 speakers, 36 round tables, 11 conferences, and a schedule of parallel events. Blue tourism is defined as a tourism approach that prioritizes the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems while promoting the sustainable development of local communities. This strategy seeks not only to reduce the environmental impact of tourism but also to revalue the cultural and natural wealth of coastal destinations.

The mayor's intervention was based on the main axes of the municipal management of beaches and the coast: adapting beach services to responsible tourism offerings and proper use by citizens; zero discharge and commitment to water regeneration; the fight against microplastics ending up in the sea; awareness, commitment to volunteering and collaboration with other institutions, social entities, and private companies; and the management of posidonia on the coast.

Calvià has been revalidating the 15 Q for Quality Tourism flags awarded by the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE) for two years. It is the third municipality in Spain and the first in the Balearic Islands. 1 out of every 5 kilometers of Mallorca's beaches recognized with the Q belongs to Calvià.

This year has started with the elimination of motor elements on the beaches. Except for Magaluf beach, motorized recreational activities such as popular bananas or parachute towing by boat are not allowed on the other beaches.

The beaches have also been rebuoyed to increase the swimming zone from 90 to 200 meters, the maximum allowed by law. Anchoring of boats is not permitted in these areas. The buoys are equipped with ecological anchors to protect the seabed.

In Calvià, the most stringent protocols for cleaning posidonia are applied through the public company Calvià 2000. It is a procedure aimed at preserving the environment to the maximum, retaining sand on the beaches, and ensuring the natural cycle of posidonia. Last year, 4,600 tons of posidonia were removed, which were stored in municipal tents. Once dry, the weight dropped to 2,600 tons, which were returned to the beaches after the tourist season.

Just at the Santa Ponça water regeneration station (ERA), up to 10 million liters of water per day can be saved. It has the capacity to produce more than 20,000 cubic meters of regenerated water, of which 10,000 (quality 1.1) are suitable for irrigating private gardens, parks, street cleaning, WC cisterns, and sports fields, and the rest (quality 2.1) for golf courses and agricultural irrigation. This represents the capacity to regenerate the wastewater produced each day by a population of 118,000 inhabitants. All the use of regenerated water translates into savings of potable water from the ordinary network. The network of regenerated waters is constantly expanding.

Calvià has a parallel network of regenerated water of 55 kilometers that crosses the municipality, allowing the irrigation of public green areas. Just on the longitudinal axis of the municipality, the Paseo Calvià, there is a network of 24 kilometers for the irrigation of 100,000 square meters.

Work is being done on the project to expand by 17 more kilometers with a budget that exceeds 4 million euros provided by the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS). The goal is to reach 914,000 square meters irrigated with regenerated water.

Another aspect in which Calvià has set the standard in terms of innovation is the concern for the problem of microplastics reaching the sea, affecting the environment and the food chain. The European Commission has set a deadline of eight years until 2031 so that there are no more artificial grass football fields with the current system. They must be replaced with alternative materials that are not harmful.

The Julián Ronda field in Costa d'en Blanes is the first in the Balearic Islands and the third in Spain equipped with this sustainable and environmentally friendly technology. The new artificial turf is the latest generation. The main novelty is that it includes an organic infill of granulated corn, instead of the microplastics used until now. The corn granulate is biodegradable and harmless in case it reaches the sea.

Design and implement a management system in the city that provides the necessary data to obtain strategic information that helps to understand visitor behavior, and among other aspects, analyze the possible evolution of tourist activity both by the supply and demand of tourism and markets.

The protocol was signed in 2022 and is currently 85% implemented. It is budgeted at 4 million euros, of which 60% corresponds to Next Generation funds and 40% to the City Council.