To The Alcúdia Station: Estación Náutica

Never let it be said that things move swiftly. So slowly do they move that you can be forgiven for believing that whatever they are had been forgotten. As is, or was, the case with the Estación Náutica in Alcúdia.

You have to go back to February 2009 to be reminded of when this concept first surfaced in Alcúdia. In May of that year it was actually signed into being. And then? Silence. But the silence has now been broken. The business association behind the “estación” in Alcúdia has finalised the process of its candidature to become a part of the Asociación Española de Estaciones Náuticas (AEEN). A further meeting in January should seal this candidature and allow Alcúdia to call itself an “estación náutica”.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Put out the bunting perhaps. We would do if we really knew what the whole thing was about and, more importantly, what benefits it is likely to bring. I can go back to a meeting at Alcúdia town hall in February last year to remind myself of the degree to which attendees were unclear. I can recall a later meeting, one that I didn’t attend, but which was – as it was described to me – full of those looking to extract whatever benefits they could for themselves. Whatever the concept was, it appeared to be a recipe for self-interest.

Let me try and clarify. An “estación náutica”, and this description is aided with the words of the head of tourism in the town as expressed in May 2009, is “a tourist product with accommodation and water-sports activities sold as a tourist package that allows the tourist to engage in the likes of sailing and underwater activities and complementary activities such as golf and horse-riding”. Alcúdia will become the first such “estación” in Mallorca; others exist elsewhere in the Balearics and on the mainland. AEEN’s website declares that these centres are the “best nautical destinations in Spain”.

There is a lengthy document which lists the requirements for becoming an “estación náutica” and the benefits of doing so. If I try and put them in a nutshell, they demand levels of quality and service of all participating members, of whatever type of business, and the use of the “estación náutica” brand as a mark of quality. There is also a requirement, one to tackle seasonality, which demands a minimum of the principal offer of accommodation and water-sport activities from March to November; a requirement that should be a benefit.

The concept does not necessarily mean creating anything new – Alcúdia has plenty of water-sports activities plus all the complementary activities and offers. It is largely a marketing exercise.

Anything that might assist tourism in Alcúdia (or anywhere else that fancies branding itself in this way) has to be welcomed. But questions do arise. One is why it requires an outside agency, AEEN, to bring parties together in establishing a “brand” that already exists? Or rather, could have existed if parties had been minded to put their heads together to come up with something similar.

Secondly, would it really help with lengthening the season? Menorca has such centres. Are they operating for the minimum period set out? Maybe they are, but whether anyone is going to them or indeed can get a flight out of season, I couldn’t honestly say. Thirdly, there is the matter of organisation.

What you will have is a further agency involved in tourism, one separate to the town hall but which will presumably work alongside the town hall. There will be a separate website, a separate office (like a tourism information office, I guess) and separate promotional material. Duplication is everything in tourism promotion.

This could all be a great success, and innovation is not to be sniffed at, if success does follow. But what would be useful to know is what hard benefits have accrued to those resorts in the Balearics and the mainland that already operate as an “estación náutica”. Does this marketing have a positive bottom-line effect? Well, does it? I have searched for examples which might indicate this, but without success.

However, one does also need to consider this in the longer-term. Establishing a reputation as a water-sports centre doesn’t happen overnight, nor does one for high quality. So in terms of measuring benefits, some patience is necessary.

There remains, though, one final question. The name “estación náutica” might mean something to the Spanish, but what does it mean to those from other countries. How is it translated? A nautical destination in English, according to AEEN. Sorry, this doesn’t cut it. Water-sports centre or resort? Better perhaps, but isn’t Alcúdia already known as this? Maybe it isn’t, in which case fine, but water-sports resort conjures up an image of something different, of something specific, of something new. And unfortunately, apart from the “brand” name, it is none of these.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

Sail Away

The “estación náutica”. You may recall this being mentioned previously. On Friday, various businesses got together in Alcúdia to sign into being the first such “estación” in Mallorca. If you don’t recall this or are unclear as to what it is, here is what the head of the town hall’s tourism describes it as: “a tourist product with accommodation and water-sport activities sold as a tourist package” which will allow the tourist to engage in things such as sailing, underwater activities and skiing (water skiing, one presumes) and complementary activities like horse-riding and golf. In other words, the tourist will be able to do things that he has until now. So what’s the deal? Good question.

The first problem with this whole notion is how it is presented to tourists. In the case of British tourists, this problem starts with what it is called. Literally, “estación náutica” means nautical station, i.e. it doesn’t mean anything. Let’s hope they don’t resort (sic) to “nautical centre”; the word nautical is widely used locally and used erroneously as the English-speaker associates it with sailing and sailing only. The closest translation that will mean something will be water-sports centre or resort, and this, one suspects, is how it will be presented. But the trouble with this is that it suggests a physical centre, and there is not going to be one; all it is, is a coming-together of existing activities under this “brand”. And that, essentially, is what this whole exercise is – a marketing exercise. There’s nothing wrong with promoting Alcúdia as  a resort with lots of water-sport activities, but to call it a water-sports resort would also hint at something rather more than the packaging of otherwise separate attractions, accommodation and probably restaurants.

Underlying this concept is a desire to attract the so-called “quality” tourist, i.e. the one who has pretty deep pockets. But does a branding process achieve this, or will it? There is some advantage for tourists who like to organise activities prior to their holiday and this they will be able to do, but not everyone wants this. The tourist interest is more often to know what is available as opposed to actually booking it in advance. And this availability already exists.

At a more altruistic level, there is a further notion that this is a communal promotion of the resort by individual businesses which have only the best interests of Alcúdia at heart. Oh that it was. I am told that meetings have been conspicuous by the degree of self-interest that has been evident. Frankly, you wouldn’t expect anything else. Businesses will only get involved if there is something in it for them. Why hadn’t they got together before, rather than have the idea “sold” to them by the Spanish government’s tourist promotional wing?

It’s not a bad idea in itself. Alcúdia does have a lot of water sports; it is a significant centre for yachting and sailing. To promote the resort in this way is fine. But I can predict that at some point the internet forums will be filling up with Brit tourists saying that they have heard that there is a new water-sports centre in Alcúdia. And this, in a nutshell, is where what is otherwise a fair approach falters in terms of its name and therefore its marketing.

AlcudiaPollensa At Eurovision
Our annual invite to the centre of music cutting-edge, this year we were taken to Moscow and fêted, as befits this best of all blogs. And what an event. The highlight was the opening set – you can’t keep a good communist or ex-communist country down; it was just like the Beijing Olympics. But the bird introducing the gig had scrubbed up well and had looked to create a pro-Spanish vote with her flamenco dress – not that she kept it on, as in she changed at least three times. And not that it helped Spain.

Ronan Keating co-wrote the Danish entry and seemed to have been singing it as well, the Spanish Soraya wanted to be taken and shaken – like a vacuuming ad of yore. The trick when she “disappeared” was disappointing; she didn’t disappear, even if she did later given her lack of votes. Jade. Unremarkable song, but even for a cynic like myself, it was a hell of a performance; quite out of keeping with the rest. Spanish TV had the Spain entry as being among the favourites, and what happened (despite fraternal seven points from Portugal)? Second to bottom. Anyway, one can but hope that Lord Lloyd-Webber was well remunerated so that he can return to Mallorca for a future birthday thrash.