01 Gibraltar Tourism Cover:Statesman supplements 18/11/2013 17:15 Page 1 Rock solid investment Gibraltar: tourism, property, travel Sponsored by HM Government of Gibraltar 02-Infographics:Statesman supplements 19/11/2013 11:55 Page 22 FACTS & FIGURES Sources: Gibraltar Tourist Board, Gibraltar Taxi Association. 2 | NEW STATESMAN | 18-24 NOVEMBER 2013 03 contents:Statesman supplements 18/11/2013 17:24 Page 3 CONTENTS New Statesman 7th Floor John Carpenter House John Carpenter Street London EC4Y 0AN Tel 020 7936 6400 Fax 020 7936 6501 [email protected] Subscription enquiries, reprints and syndication rights: Stephen Brasher sbrasher@ newstatesman.co.uk 0800 731 8496 The tourism and transport minister’s view P4 Supplement Editor Guy Clapperton Design & Production Leon Parks Graphics Naomi Ashworth Commercial Director Peter Coombs 020 7936 6753 Account Director Eleanor Ng 020 7936 6417 Tourism afloat P14 Bricks and mortar P8 More than a day break Gibraltar is a great place for a day trip. That’s an entrepreneur in the leisure industry, to how a lot of people treat the peninsula; they make some hard cash. Themes have so far visit Spain or Morocco and travel there during included chess, jazz, literature and much else. daylight hours. Infrastructure is certainly an issue, but the Inevitably, they bring a heavy footfall to the territory is making progress with government jurisdiction and the Gibraltar Tourist Board is support, as Neil Costa MP explains. There is happy to see them – but it’s keen to make people nightlife, accommodation, a new luxury stay on for everything else that’s going on. floating hotel, and of course the luxury There is architecture, history and culture. shopping is well known. There is an opportunity to buy property, and Gibraltar is still a great place to go and have the longest-established estate agent on the your picture taken with an ape. But there is a lot Rock explores that market. There are specific more happening, though – as we hope readers event-led opportunities to visit and, if you’re will understand. l This supplement, and other policy reports, can be downloaded from the NS website at newstatesman.com/supplements ARTICLES First published as a supplement to the New Statesman 22-28 November 2013. 4 Building on success © New Statesman Ltd. All rights Gibraltar wants more than day trippers, says Neil Costa MP reserved. Registered as a newspaper in the UK and USA. 7 Property on the Rock The paper in this magazine Bricks and mortar retain value in Gib, says Solomon Levy originates from timber that is 10 Getting around sourced from sustainable forests, responsibly managed The infrastructure is solid but needs some improvement, says Bob Pugh to strict environmental, social 12 Taken by events and economic standards. The manufacturing mills have Centering visits around events pays dividends, says F Oliva both FSC and PEFC 14 Hotel ahoy! certification and also ISO9001 The new luxury facility on the Rock will have a major difference COVER DESIGN PARKS LEON BY COVER and ISO14001 accreditation. 18-24 NOVEMBER 2013 | NEW STATESMAN | 3 4-8 Tourism Gibraltar Interview:Statesman supplements 18/11/2013 17:27 Page 4 GOVERNMENT VIEW Tourist Gibraltar: works in progress by Guy Clapperton Tourism in Gibraltar is growing but not fast enough for the Gibraltar Tourist Board. They want people to come for more than a day and stay for the heritage and culture eil Costa is a man with things on his succeeds, there will be many pickings for quite a mixed profile of visitor and they mind. He is tourism and transport people with the right business ideas. each require a different strategy and dif- Nminister in Gibraltar – to give him “We have to develop our visitor pro- ferent marketing.” his full title he is the Hon. Neil Costa MP file,” confirms Guerrero. “The majority of So if there are that many visitors on a (one of his predecessors was named Holi- our visitors come for the day across the Rock some six square kilometres in area, day, and yes of course they’ve heard all the border. A lot of them will be people who why does the profile need building? “We gags); youthful, energetic and liaising are already holidaying in the areas around are trying to attract more people to stay closely with the jurisdiction’s Tourist Gib, and we also have people from ships. overnight, from the UK market and other Board. The board’s chief executive, Nicky There are 180 visits scheduled to Gibraltar markets in Europe,” says Guerrero. “The Guerrero, is equally occupied. from cruise ships, and the ships are getting UK remains a core market and will do so It’s a tiny peninsula so nobody works bigger,” he adds. Some ships will have up for the foreseeable future. This isn’t just that far from anybody else. But, along with because of the obvious connection of Gib a lot of other officials, the two men work being British by history, but air connec- from Europort, the large concrete and ar- A shipful of visitors can tions are well established. Brits can be guably faceless building towards the south mean a 10 per cent boost there in two or three hours, which adds to of the Rock. It is, of course, their job to per- the ‘day trip’ nature of the destination. suade incoming tourists that the territory to the population This is something the Gibraltar Tourist itself is anything but faceless. In fact, Costa Board, along with the chief minister, Fa- has a particular subset of this aim in mind; to 3,000 passengers on board. That’s ef- bien Picardo, find frustrating. he wants to turn people away from simply fectively a 10 per cent boost to the popula- This doesn’t mean the day trippers staying one night (if they stay that long, tion, in a single day – except one day this aren’t welcome, stresses Costa. “We’re the Rock’s well known for attracting day year they had four ships in one day. not dismissing those at all, they do pro- trippers) and encourage them to take a As well as people visiting Gib as a vide sound economic activity. But what longer stay. He is also determined to at- destination in its own right, a large num- we’d prefer for Gibraltar is a weekenders’ tract visitors from territories who haven’t ber use it as a transit point, says Guerrero. break.” This happens already, but the in- previously been in the habit of sending “They come to us and use our airports be- habitants would clearly like to see more. many tourists over. The opportunity for cause they prefer it to the ones in the sur- Guerrero concedes that the typical image the right entrepreneurs will be clear – if he rounding areas,” he says. “So we have of a visit is of a trip that lasts a couple of 4 | NEW STATESMAN | 22–28 NOVEMBER 2013 4-8 Tourism Gibraltar Interview:Statesman supplements 18/11/2013 17:27 Page 5 importantly they have different themes. “There’s your standard Rock tour,” says Guerrero, “but there are other sights. There’s very beautiful architecture; you’re tempted to look at eye level and see the shops when you walk down the streets, but you miss a lot if you don’t look up.” Ironically, for a place that has been un- der UK jurisdiction for 300 years, the tourism people are now starting to market the place as “undiscovered”. Guerrero says that when the government hosts meetings, and attendees spend the night, they end up finding themselves enjoying it perhaps more than they had expected and agreeing it’s a great destination. “You mustn’t ignore our unique geographical location,” he adds. “There aren’t many places where you can stand on a 400ft peak and look out at three countries span- ning two continents.” Of course, you can see Spain, but on a clear day you can make out the African coast as well. People want- ing to explore it further will find it’s a ferry ride away. If it all sounds a little too convenient to be true, then it probably is – at the mo- ment. Costa concedes that as well as mar- keting the Rock, which has many benefits, Neil Costa MP there is a need to improve connectivity, infrastructure and links with other terri- hours, a bit of shopping, see the apes and weather is fine, but the beaches are small tories. “We are working daily on sustain- out. “Whereas in the past, people might and the locals tend to descend on them, able connectivity to Spain,” he says. have come for a day to shop, what we’re reasonably enough, and fill them up when “Unfortunately there were two airlines, aiming to do, once they’re here, is to entice they get the chance. “Of course, there’s Iberia and British Airways, which had them again,” explains Costa. “So while space for tourists, but if 3,000 of them de- aircraft that were just too big so they were we’re continuing to promote Gibraltar scended on the beaches, there wouldn’t be only ever half full. Had they had a smaller internationally, through trade fairs or one- for long,” comments Costa. aircraft they would have been full, but to-one meetings with cruise line execu- The current administration has con- because they used the 320 and 390 it just tives, airline executives, tour operators in tinued its predecessor’s work in develop- wasn’t sustainable.” The timing of the the UK and so on, there has been less work ing infrastructure for overnighters.