IBIZA LEISURE INDUSTRY TO GROW 10%

Leisure industry in Ibiza will grow 10% in two years and will remain "the world benchmark" 

Ibiza leisure industry is feeling proud after conclusions drawn from the Tourism Yearbook of the Balearic Islands 2016, which in its section 'Pros and Cons of Leisure Tourism in Ibiza' links the international success and economic power of the island with its nightlife.

"We are very pleased with this report. We like to see two independent experts confirm something we already knew, but we often like to hide this because of the fear of different reactions"

José Luis Benítez, president of Ocio de Ibiza, the association that brings together the main nightclubs and beach clubs on the island. Benítez shares with the co-authors of the report, José Ramon Cardona and Carmen Azpelicueta, without the potential tourism product: 

"The island would lose much of the differentiation and with it the implicit economic advantages."

According to the Ibiza boss, last year nightlife increased its turnover by 4%, amounting to around 500 million Euros, and it raised recruitment by 7%, with over 8,000 direct and indirect jobs. Looking ahead to the next tourist season, Benítez expects the sector will grow another 5%, consolidating as "the world benchmark" for nightlife.

But this offer generates disadvantages and "negative impacts", especially among the resident population, which the President of Ocio de Ibiza said: 

"Not everything is valid in the sector, for all there are standards and for us also and employers are obliged to comply with them. These types of companies can be at some point annoying. The association will try to see the problems ahead and minimize them, but it is complicated. The resident population has the right to rest and to live well. Today Ibiza lives of tourism. We wish we could have other types of industries instead of just waiting for the summer and arrival of tourists, but we have to be realistic, the sector continued to generate income in times of crisis. If we are able to sit at a table and look forward respecting the rules of the game we will continue to have a product differentiated from our competitors."

The sector will undergo major changes this summer, with movements in the Grupo Pachá and the arrival of Hï instead of the now-defunct Space Ibiza. However, a lot of beach clubs will advance their openings to the month of March. 

"The sector is very lively and invests to leave nothing to fortune"

The goal is to get seasons of 7 or 8 months

From the nightlife sector, they say for this season the months of July and August are already FULL!

"People want to go sooner. The aim is for a season which lasts seven or eight months. We were asked to extend the season and we are doing it."