"De bon de veres": Island Council focuses on local products and more visitors outside the high season

"De bon de veres": Island Council focuses on local products and more visitors outside the high season

Presentation in Palma and a look at the streets: Why the campaign is already sparking conversation

On Monday morning, in the middle of Palma's old town, a new campaign by the Island Council was presented at the La Misericòrdia cultural center. On the square in front, market baskets rattled, delivery vans drove by, and cafés were filled with the scent of fresh café con leche — a typical Palma scene that suits the idea well: visitors should experience Mallorca more often and in different ways.

"De bon de veres" is the initiative's title. It aims to combine two things: more tourists in the off-season and greater visibility for products made here. Island Council president Llorenç Galmés presented the campaign; afterwards, the new tourism director Tomeu Ferragut explained how the action should work in practice.

At its core is the message that Mallorca is not just summer sand and hotel pools. At Palma's markets, in small bakeries in Inca and at wineries in the island's interior, products are made that carry protected designations of origin. Wine, sobrasada, ensaimada or almonds — the campaign wants to spotlight these products more and offer them to visitors as part of an authentic island experience.

For many people in Mallorca this means hope: small producers who work in the winter months gain more visibility; restaurants and craft businesses can develop offers outside the traditional season. On Carrer de Sant Miquel or at the Mercat de l'Olivar, one can imagine tourists experiencing local tastings at information booths or attending workshops in artisan workshops.

What this could mean in practice: weekend routes through villages with tastings, certificates for hotels that feature regional products on their menus, or joint actions between markets and tour operators. Such measures distribute visitors more evenly in time and space — and that's good not only for the economy, but also for the quality of life of the island's residents, a dynamic explored in Mallorca in August: Fewer Regular Visitors, but the Cash Registers Are Ringing.

Another, almost inconspicuous effect: increased attention to local specialties strengthens identity. If visitors return home with a pack of sobrasada from a small cave in Deià or a bottle of wine from Binissalem, Mallorca stays in their memory longer than if they only bring back photos of the beach.

The campaign sounds pragmatic; whether it takes off depends on implementation. There are good chances if public institutions, producers' associations, markets and hosts work together. Simple, visible signals help: clear symbols on products, regular weekend events in the off-season, cooperation with tour operators and digital offers that make real experiences bookable.

On the way there, everyday scenes will show success: a hotel serving a thank-you board with local cheeses in November, a bus taking excursionists to an almond grove, or a market stall where the seller presents his range into late autumn. Such small observations say more than an advertising line.

The campaign is not a cure-all against seasonality — but it is an attempt to think of the island as a whole, as framed in The Island Says No to Overcrowding: What the Survey Really Means.

If in the coming months more signs of "De bon de veres" appear on streets, markets and coasts, you will be able to tell whether the idea really catches on by the smell of freshly baked ensaimada or the sound of a winery tour.

Outlook: The next steps are obvious: local action plans, visible collaborations and easily accessible offers for guests. Those who now bake small rolls in everyday life — literally — could as a result ensure that Mallorca remains a bit livelier year-round.