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The Mayor's Views - San Jose

In our third interview with Ibiza's top politicians we talk with Josep Mari Ribas

In our third interview with Ibiza's top politicians we talk with Josep Mari Ribas 'Agustinet,' Mayor of San Jose de Sa Talaia. The borough with the largest number of tourist beds in Ibiza, over 23,000, San Jose contains the popular resorts of Playa den Bossa and Cala de Bou, more commonly known as San Antonio Bay, and has some of the island's most popular beaches and coves.

1.What type of tourism currently dominates the district of San Jose and what type of tourist are you trying to attract?


Around 75% of our tourist market consists of middle class families who occupy the hotels and other types of accommodation along the San Jose coast; those being Cala D’hort and Es Cubells, Cala Vadella, Cala Tarida, the length and breadth of Cala de Bou, finishing halfway long the Portmany Bay.

In the zone of Playa den Bossa, we accommodate a much younger sector of the public. We want the tourists who visit our town and their surroundings to continue to enjoy its natural beauty, as we believe is currently the case.

2.What facilities are on offer to visitors during the off season?


Thanks to our mild climate, we are able to guarantee a wide range of sporting and leisure activities throughout the winter months. Our Hiking and Cycle Routes are very popular as are our football facilities, swimming pools and so on.

The 35 beaches along the San Jose coast also form a part of our attraction to the Winter Visitor, bearing in mind that they can be enjoyed with greater ease in the low season, and this combined with our gastronomy, local festivals, the cultural heritage and the beauty of our surroundings makes the district of San Jose nothing if not even more authentic than in high season.

Our residents are fully aware of the fact that so much is on offer here for them and tourists alike; indeed, many of our residents were tourists who came to live after discovering the diversity of San Jose.

3.What improvements are currently being carried out to the hotels and tourist infrastructure in general in the municipality of San Jose?


The hotels as well as restaurants, commercial businesses and so on, continue to direct their energies towards improving their facilities. The Government will also be continuing to make very important investments in the tourist sector.

Cala de Bou, for example, has had some €6 million invested in plans to upgrade the quality of service and facilities on offer and of course, we’ll also be focusing on other areas of the municipality.

4.What impact or consequence will the new legislation on disco opening times have?


We believe it to be a positive change in so far as logical co-existence goes; that is to say, between those visitors who come to enjoy the nightlife and those who seek a more relaxing break, and of course, our own permanent residents.

5.What are your views on the upcoming tourist season?


We are very optimistic about the tourist season this year. We have many attractions in the district to offer our summer visitors and we are continually working to improve the tourist infra-structure.

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