The Effects of Tourism in Menorca

1. Reasons why Menorca is a popular destination from the UK, Germany and Scandinavia:

* With rising amounts of disposable income, tourists can afford to travel further on their holidays. This has also led to the demise of such British holiday resorts such as Brighton, Blackpool and Cornwall.

* Also, the diminishing costs of flying due to budget airlines providing charter flights and the construction of a new airport with a longer runway coupled with the reduced time of flying to Menorca due to advances in Jet aircraft and the smoothness of arranging a holiday through Package holidays mean that flying to Menorca is less strenuous, more hassle-free and accessible than in the past.

* The climate is more tropical because it is further south than the UK, Germany and Scandinavia. Also, due to the island’s small size, no residency will be far from the beach.

2. The attractions for tourists as illustrated by figures 3.40 and 3.41:

In Figure 3.40:

* The white sand and clear blue sea- the coast. In combination with the climate, attractive for tourists that enjoy beach holidays.

* The scenery – Menorca has a lot of forestry. It is much greener and lush than its Balearics.

* Development one the sea front- means that there are hotels right on the seafront that allows excellent access for tourists that want a beach holiday.

* A promenade along the coastline- means that tourists that wish to walk along the coast without walking along a beach full of people. By being on the edge of the forest, it encourages people to take an interest in the environment and allows people who want ‘quiet recreation’ to pursue their desired activities.

Figure 3.41

* The harbour is an attraction for tourists.

* The open-air caf� by the water provides a relaxing stop for the tourists.

* The boats indicate that water ports are an appealing past time for holidaymakers.

3. The jobs that will have been created by the tourists will be:

* Craft and retail industries will have increased custom due to increased population.

* Services industries eg. Food production, builders, restaurants, caf�s, hotels, taxi drivers/car hire

* Airports will produce jobs for local communities

* Civic services will employ more people to sweep towns etc.

4. When tourists bring money to Menorca, parts of the income proceed through taxes to the government, who spend some of the money on public services (eg. Better roads, hospitals, redeveloping downmarket areas etc.) This money then encourages more people to come to the country that brings even more money in through taxes that can be spent on public services. This is repeated over and over.

5. Menorca attracts few tourists during November-April due to two things:

i. The climate. During the winter months, the temperature is rarely above 15OC. Also, the monthly rainfall for the 6 winter months averages at 5.5 mm. This is compares with an average temperature of 27OC during the peak summer season – June, July and August. In these three months, the average rainfall is 1.3 mm. The less attractive climate during the 6 winter months means that holidaymakers going for ‘sun and sand’ will be more likely to go during the three summer months (June, July and August) than during the winter months.

ii. The other reason is that most families go on holiday in summer due to school holidays and booked absences from work. This also ties in with part I). Holidays in the summer are more convenient from an organisation view, and provide the best weather.

6. The problems caused by the influx of tourists to the island are:

iii. The lack of income during the winter due to the decrease in tourism.

iv. The local environment. The tourists will leave more litter, lead to an increase of pollution due to the industrial expansion that is needed to provide a good service to the tourists. The tourists will also damage things such as the woodland, and the animals to which the woodland is their habitat by trekking through the greenery. Also, room is needed to expand the countries’ infrastructure, which could well lead to deforestation.

v. The cultures of the local Menorcans will be diluted by the import of foreign cultures. Eg. Cuisine, language, currency, music and manners.

7. The disadvantages and advantages of the use of the local language, Minorqui are:

Advantages:

The preservation of the local culture, and to make sure that the local population do not get too disillusioned with the measures taken concerning local tourism

Disadvantages:

Is not helpful to tourists, who could find it hard to understand the happenings in Menorca. This could a factor that prevents tourists going to Menorca repeatedly, lessening sustainable tourism. Also, they may collect less revenue from advertising due to the lessened interest from companies trying to influence a foreign audience, who will not understand them.

8. To protect the environment, the Menorcan officials are:

* Prevent buildings 250m from the coast can be no more than two storeys high.

* A bridle path around the coast to encourage quiet recreation has been set up.

* The UN have designated Menorca a Biosphere Reserve to acknowledge the natural environment of Menorca.