President of Balearics backs nautical sector

In the lead up to the 2015 Balearic parliamentary election, which is to be held on 24 May, the current president of the Balearic Islands, José Ramón Bauzà, addressed an audience of maritime professionals at the Club de Mar in Palma de Mallorca last week, in order to express his support for the nautical sector.

Speaking alongside Bauzà was Jaime Martinez Llabrés, minister of tourism and sports. Those also in attendance of particular note were David Gómez Picard, director general of the Balearic Islands’ Ports, Antonio Deudero Mayans, director general for ports and airports and Alberto Pons, president of the Port Authority, as well as many interested parties from the yachting sector.

The event held particular poignancy, as much of the yachting industry in Palma is concerned that a change in leadership from Bauzà, the People’s Party (PP) candidate, could halt the progress that is being made in the Balearics to open it up for superyacht charter. Bauzà is seen as the Balearics’ voice in Madrid and this is where most of the problems with taxation that the industry faces stem from.

Most of the afternoon’s discussion circulated around the topic of bureaucracy in Spain, and the fact that it continues to stifle the growth of the nautical sector. Bauzà acknowledged this and emphasised the importance that he and his party place on allowing the sector to grow, which he said was reflected by his presence at the meeting.

During a question and answer session, Pons raised his hand to point out that, in the four years of PP leadership, the national commercial ports within the Balearics have risen from 1.6 million euros in debt to 6 million euros in profit. He added that 46 per cent of this income comes from the yachting sector – an impressive and revealing statistic that further highlighted the importance of keeping a stable leadership in place to enable this positive trend.

In a poll conducted by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas between 23 March and 18 April, 2015, the intention to vote in the Balearics stood at 30 per cent in favour of the PP, while Las Ciudadanos follow closely behind with 22.7 per cent of the intended votes.