Sebastian Ebel, CEO of TUI Group, met with representatives of the local population in Mallorca to discuss the current challenges in tourism on the island.
He was accompanied by Thomas Ellerbeck (member of the TUI Group Executive Committee and Chairman of the TUI Care Foundation) and TUI Labour Director Sybille Reiß.
The TUI delegation spoke with local representatives, including directors of trade unions, the agricultural sector and the sustainability lobby.
As elsewhere in Spain, there were recent protests in Mallorca against the consequences of mass tourism.
Ebel, who led the meeting in Spanish, stated that it had been a “very open and constructive conversation.”
“For me, it was important to understand that the protests are not directed against tourism in general, and certainly not against package holidays, but against specific related challenges such as housing shortages, resource consumption and mobility restrictions.” There was also a positive response from the Mallorcan side. “It’s good that a tour operator of TUI’s stature is showing interest in the background of the protests,” union representative Silvia Montejano told the newspaper Diario de Mallorca. 
(Photo: Shutterstock). Ebel acknowledged that he cannot solve all the consequences of tourism, but stressed that with TUI he can contribute to ‘sustainable and responsible tourism’.
The interlocutors from Mallorca were satisfied with Ebel’s statement that ‘tourism should be as the Mallorcans want it’.
During the meeting, environmental issues, the housing crisis and overcrowding were discussed, among other things.
‘The conversation with Ebel is an example of what we are striving for. We need more contact between business and civil society.’ Ebel recently caused a stir with some remarkable statements.
In an interview with the Bild Zeitung, he spoke out in principle in favor of a ban on the sale of real estate to foreigners in touristically attractive regions such as Mallorca.
The housing shortage is a central problem.
‘There are protests against certain excesses such as rising rents, the lack of available housing, increased house prices and traffic. And we have to take that seriously, because the same thing could happen to us,” says Ebel. Photo: Sebastian Ebel.
